Whoever you end up drawing, I love that you’re doing this! ♥️

Here's Théodwyn! - and for @camille-lachenille

She was so fun to draw!! I made a whole new pattern just for her!

Tolkien's women dying of grief because their husbands have died and their husbands are their only cause for living is his version of "dying in childbirth".

Tolkien might write a variety of excellent, strong and fascinating women (not as many as male characters, of course, let's not be crazy here) but the opinions reflected in his personal writing that most women are defined by men, and usually one man, that their abilities almost hinge on how much a man can inspire and interest them, that on falling in love she loses grip of everything else, does show up in his fictional writing too, which just how prevalent the "husband dies because of combination of the plot and his own personality" and "woman dies because husband dies" trope is in his writing.

And it's like, Eowyn has a speech about this. She rages to the heavens that women are told "you're place is in the home, and after the men are dead you can be burned in the home, because the men don't need it anymore". He has Eowyn literally call out this phenomena that a woman becomes dispensable after her husband dies, that it the husband, loving the husband, tending the husband, responding to the husband, that gives her life meaning, and with him gone there's nothing left for her to do but die. But then his writing of women is filled with that very same principle, with even Eowyn's mother "dying of grief" after Eomund's death.

And that's particularly irritating because Theodwyn wasn't even an elf, for whom grief was genuinely fatal. She was a mortal woman who just "died of grief".

Like, how? Did she kill herself? Starve herself? Was she already unwell and the loss of Eomund caused her to give up receiving treatment? It doesn't matter, the specifics don't matter because the specifics would mean Theodwyn made actual choices, it would mean showing how Theodwyn took steps to bring about her death, it would mean that maybe Theodwyn could have lived after Eomund's death, that Eomund's loss did not inevitable mean her own demise, it would mean she could have chosen otherwise, but didn't.

A Rohan Secret Santa gift for @celeluwhenfics! Happy holidays! ❄️

Summary: For all her life, Éowyn has worn winter as a second skin. (Or, a study of Éowyn, amid various winters.)

Rating: G

Word Count: 2.7k

Dead. It is a hollow word, Éowyn thinks, as hollow and heavy and brief as the thud of the door as her mother slams it in the face of the messenger.

Dead. It holds no meaning for her; meaning slips like water over stones, trickling, vanishing. What is death to her father’s laugh, as bright and living as the dance of flames? What is death to the rumble of his voice in his chest, like the tumbling of stones, as she leans her head against him?

She has been permitted to hear little of the news, but she gleans what she can from standing in the shadows, sifting words. And there are many of those—flurries of them, falling as fast as the late snow that falls white through the open door, left ajar and forgotten in the bustle of aunts that surround her mother. The snow will melt, come morning; it has never stuck in any of Éowyn’s years. Winters in the Mark are a thing of winds and frost, with only a dusting of snow on the coldest days that turns to water beneath the cold brilliance of the rising sun.

The orcs bore torches, she hears, and rose silent and sudden from the rocks of the Emyn Muil like a wall of flames in the night and then set fire to the corpses. 

Corpses. It is the first time she has heard the word and known it to be used in place of a name, a beating heart, the warm hands that first lifted her into a saddle and took the reins and led her gently around the paddock.

The Firstborn

Click here to read on AO3

Wearily, he rubbed his forehead, his eyes noting how she stood firmly on her feet. Her back was straight – an antithesis to her tumultuous blonde hair – and her jaw was set. It reminded him of his sister.

He sighed again, because it seemed his lecture on safety had fallen on deaf ears so audaciously.

He placed his hands at his waist, but then crossed his arms before dropping them at his sides.

It was easier being a ruler than a parent.

“You still do not think you have done something wrong, Nérael?” He asked.

She scoffed and raised her chin even higher.

Stubborn! Éomer, blessed and beloved King of the Mark, could not quite comprehend just how stubborn his firstborn was being. Had he been like this as well at the tender age of fourteen?

Also, though she didn’t die, Melian abandoned Middle-earth when Doriath needed her most, out of grief for Thingol. And though it is not explicitly grief, Mithrellas abandoned her family as well.

Not sure if that’s romantic or sexist of good old Tolkien.

I’ve praised his well-written strong female characters, and I still do and always will … but I admit this particular aspect feels problematic.

Lúthien is an exception, of course, as she went to the Halls of Mandos with the intent of saving Beren, rather than actually giving up. (And she’s always a badass in everything she does, dead or alive.) Also Andreth was old anyway when Aegnor died, so her passing could’ve easily been the effects of old age worsened by grief.

But this isn’t the case for any of the other aforementioned women. They each give up on their entire lives because of the absence of one man. This wouldn’t feel so problematic if it also happened to male characters as a result of romantic love. But the only male character who died of grief is Brego, who was mourning his son, not a lover. Perhaps Daeron may have died from his pain over Lúthien, but this is never explicitly written.

Got any headcanons or opinions about the 3 sisters of Théoden who weren’t Théodwyn??? What they were like, where they were during the events that we’re all familiar with, what their relationship with Théoden was like, etc.? It’s bonkers to me that we know they exist and that he preferred Théodwyn to the other sisters but that’s. literally. it!

Omg what a good question! Thank you for leading my thoughts in that direction. There is SO MUCH to unpack there, and even more to imagine, because as you said Tolkien left us a lot of room there (euphemism of the month). I will allow myself to add Morwen Steelsheen to this reflection, because I think it makes sense to link her to her daughters, and similar questions arise around her character.

But I’m a scientist, so let’s think about this rationally and stay organized. I will answer in four parts (I’m not sorry about it)

1. What the canon actually says 2. What are the possibilities, what must be ruled out and why 3. Why I will NOT be going there with my current WIP pHORSEuasion 4. Freeform headcanons I still have on this matter!

Part 1: Deep dive in the canon

Most of what we know about Thengel’s family comes from a couple paragraphs in Appendix A. I have laid out this information in a timeline, with the following assumptions, which can be contested, but that’s what I chose to work from: -Only one child is born per year -There are no twins in the family -The first child of a couple is born at earliest one year after their wedding -Ages given assume a birthday on January 1st. If the actual birthday happens after the event in the calendar year, the character would technically be one year “younger”

2905: Thengel born in Rohan 2922: Morwen born in Gondor 2943: Thengel (age 38) and Morwen (age 21) marry in Gondor Between 2944 and 2947: First daughter born in Gondor 2948: Théoden born in Gondor Between 2949 and 2953: Second daughter born in Gondor 2953: Thengel (age 48) becomes king of Rohan Between 2953 and 2962: Third daughter born in Rohan 2963: Théodwyn is born in Rohan. She is described as “a child of his (Thengel's) age” (Thengel is then 58 and Morwen is 41). 2977 or before: Théoden (age 29 or less) and Elfhild (age unknown) marry in Rohan 2978: Théodred born in Rohan. Elfhild (age unknown) dies 2980: Thengel (age 75) dies. Théoden (age 32) becomes king of Rohan 2989: Théodwyn (age 26) and Éomund (age unknown) marry in Rohan 2991: Éomer born in Rohan 2995: Éowyn born in Rohan 3002: Éomund (age unknown) and Théodwyn (age 39) die. Éomer is then 11 and Éowyn is 7 3017: Éomer becomes Third Marshal (age 26) 3019: Théodred (age 41) and Théoden (age 71) die. Éomer (age 28) becomes king of Rohan. Éowyn (age 24) and Faramir (age 36) marry in Rohan 3020 or later: Elboron, son of Éowyn and Faramir, born in Gondor. 3021: Éomer (age 30) and Lothiriel (age 22) marry Early Fourth Age: Elfwine, son of Lothiriel and Éomer, born in Rohan. Fourth Age 63: Éomer (age 91) dies Fourth Age 82: Faramir (age 120) dies

Therefore, we have at the start of the War of the Ring, let’s say in January 3019: Definitely alive: -Théoden -Théodred -Éomer -Éowyn

Possibly alive (no canonical death): -Morwen (age 97, but she is of Dunedain descent, so a long life is possible) -Her three eldest daughters, with ages between 75 (if the eldest was born right after their parents' wedding, in 2944) and 57 (if the third daughter was born right before Théodwyn, in 2962)

A few extra notes on the canon

One thing that I had not fully realized before, is that Théodred is born and Elfhild dies when Théoden is not yet king. Therefore: -Thengel technically met Théodred (he was 2 years old when his grandfather died) -Elfhild, although Théoden's wife, was never queen of Rohan -When Lothiriel becomes queen, Rohan has not had a queen since Morwen, 41 years earlier, at the death of Thengel in 2980 -Théodwyn was only 15, or going on 15, at that time. (I know that I have read somewhere the headcanon that she cared for Théodred from his birth, which is valid and possible, however in my opinion her age makes it doubtful that she would have been the main carer and parental figure.) -Théoden ascends to the throne whilst bearing not only the immediate grief of his father, but also the relatively recent (2 years) loss of his wife.

Of Théodwyn, we know that she was “the fairest” and “her brother loved her dearly”. After her husband was killed, she “took sick and died to the great grief of the king”. Théoden then “took [her children] into his house, calling them son and daughter”.

And we learn a little about Morwen when Éowyn is described: “Éowyn was slender and tall, with a grace and pride that came to her out of the South from Morwen of Lossarnach, whom the Rohirrim had called Steelsheen.” (I must say that I am questioning this past perfect “had called”. It sounds like Morwen is not there anymore, otherwise past simple “called” would have been used. But then, it is hard to pinpoint when in time the narrator is placing themselves in this passage. If referring to Éowyn’s early adult life, it would be a clue in the direction that Morwen is not alive anymore by the War of the Ring, or at least that she is not in Rohan anymore. If referring to an undefined point at the moment of writing in the Fourth Age, it means nothing at all. But we’re now at the level of microscopic details from the text!)

Enya as Luthien

Sissel Kyrkjebo as Theodwyn ( mother of Eomer and Eowyn )

Michelle Pfeiffer as Elerrian ( mother of Legolas and a descendant of Feanor )

Nicole Kidman as Celebrian ( Arwen's mom and Galadriel's daughter )

Daisy Ridley as Nerdanel ( estranged wife of Feanor and mother of her 7 sons )

Rachel Weisz as Lothiriel of Dol Amroth ( wife of Eomer )

Hedy Lamarr as Melian ( Luthien's mother and a late High Queen of the Teleri )

Jason Isaacs as Feanor