Behind his chair stood a Woman clad in White

First impressions are important, and the line quoted in the title of this post is the very first look we get of Eowyn. The line is easy to miss, as it is buried between the description of King Theoden as we see him for the first time and the description of Grima Wormtongue, who is seated at the king’s feet.

Eowyn is dressed in white, like the other major female character of The Lord of the Rings, Galadriel. Indeed, there are some striking similarities between the two women on first appearance such that I can’t help but think some sort of echo is intended. In the very early pages of “The Mirror of Galadriel,” we learn three or four things about Galadriel that form our first impressions of her:

(1) She is seated beside Celeborn. These are not exactly thrones, but these seats seem like the nearest things to thrones in Lothlorien;
(2) She is tall, no less tall than her husband;
(3) She is dressed all in white;
(4) Her hair was of deep gold.

The introduction to Eowyn is briefer, as she is not the focal character, but we have her (1) standing behind the throne and (2) dressed all in white. Further description of Eowyn will be added as the scene progresses, with the very next mention of her being: The woman hastened to the king’s side, taking his arm…

So immediately there are similarities and divergences between Eowyn and Galadriel. Both are women attached to great lords, though Eowyn is clearly in a subservient position whereas Galadriel is presented at least the equal of her husband (to begin with). Both are dressed in white, representing purity, nobility, peace.

Galadriel soon comes to dominate her opening scenes, and Celeborn is rapidly forgotten, fading into the background. Eowyn provides support for her aging uncle, support that he will soon no longer need. But Eowyn does not fade into the background as Theoden needs her no more for physical support. She instead becomes increasingly central, the support that Theoden did not know he needed.

As Theoden is led outdoors—supported by Eowyn—we finally receive a fuller description of her. Indeed, it is only when Theoden has returned to his right mind that we learn her name. If until this point we even noticed her at all, it is easy to think of her as some sort of nurse or serving woman. But Theoden addresses her as ‘Eowyn sister-daughter,” telling her that “The time for fear is past.”

I love that Tolkien went with a reconstructed Anglo-Saxon compound “sister-daughter” rather than the French-derived “niece.” It’s a great little touch that those of us who enjoy etymology appreciate as Tolkien slowly builds out the impression that the Rohirrim are essentially horsed Anglo-Saxons!

But Theoden’s comment that the time for fear is past could be read as dismissive of her womanhood. Indeed, I think there is a good argument to be made for Theoden not seeing the potential in his sister-daughter precisely because of her sex. That said, he does not dismiss her as entirely as the film version seems to show, for by the end of the chapter, he is entrusting the people into her care precisely as a shield-maiden who is capable of fighting. She is not just a woman with a knife but a warrior in her own right. It is, perhaps, better to read Theoden’s treatment of her as an attempt to preserve the line of his fathers rather than as dismissing her as a woman.

Anyhow, that is a topic for another post. Returning to first impressions, we finally get a fuller description of her now that she has been identified as Theoden’s niece. As she passes indoors, leaving her uncle in the care of Gandalf, we get the following to further link her with Galadriel:

As she passed the doors she turned and looked back. Grave and thoughtful was her glance, as she looked on the king with cool pity in her eyes. Very fair was her face, and he long hair was like a river of gold. Slender and tall she was in her white robe girt with silver; but strong she seemed and stern as steel, a daughter of kings.

Like Galadriel, Eowyn is described as tall and with golden hair. But rather than the deep wisdom that is almost immediately highlighted in the Elf-queen, Eowyn’s strength, both physical and mental/emotional, is emphasised. This is of course to begin to warm the reader to the idea that she is going to play a unique role in the war to come. Galadriel’s role will be one of counsel; Eowyn’s will eventually be as a warrior.

Lastly, the narrator closes this opening description of Eowyn by telling us that this is the impression of Eowyn as seen through the eyes of Aragorn, continuing:

Thus Aragorn for the first time in the full light of day beheld Eowyn, Lady of Rohan, and thought her fair, fair and cold, like a morning of pale spring that is not yet come to womanhood.

And in that same moment, she becomes aware of Aragorn. This is all a bit of drama that gets played up into a potential love interest, again more heavy-handed in the films than in the book though it is still here. Again, Tolkien goes with the Anglo-Saxon rather than the French: “fair” rather than “beautiful.” It is careful word choice for more than reason: it also serves to place Eowyn on the spectrum of beauty from the radiance of Galadriel, the mythic beauty of Arwen, and the human fairness of Eowyn.

But she is “fair and cold.” The cold can seem standoffish, perhaps arrogant and proud. The description, however, compares it the a pale spring morning, that is, to a moment when the potential for renewed warmth and life has not yet come to fruition. Eowyn is on the verge of womanhood. She not yet in full flower. The coldness is more like a hesitancy, an uncertainty, a fear—as Theoden called it—that has not yet given way to the hope of summer. In early spring, there is always the worry that the next day will bring winter right back.

Eowyn does not know what all this means, all that she has just seen pass between her uncle and Gandalf. There is hope that the winter is past, but it is too early to tell, and the fear that Theoden will sicken again and come under the spell of this other man is no doubt playing on her mind.

The similarities between Eowyn and Galadriel, especially in how they are introduced, are important to note. As are the differences. Galadriel is confident and wise; she has lived a long time but her days are also coming to an end. Eowyn by contrast is confident with youth but lacks the wisdom to see that this spring is really a portent of summer and not just a false moment of renewed hope. She is at the opposite end of life from Galadriel: one is beautiful with age and wisdom; one is fair with the potential of womanhood.

Galadriel possesses the fulness of elf-hood, which is beginning to pass from the world. Eowyn possesses the fulness of humanity, whose time is just beginning. As Galadriel fades further and further into the background of the story, Eowyn will grow more and more in stature.