Lord Of The Rings: Eowyn's Real Ending, Explained - Was It Triumph Or Tragedy?

Éowyn is a major part of "The Lord of the Rings" story. She helps lead the people of Rohan to safety in the midst of the invasion of Saruman's Uruk-hai army during "The Two Towers." Then, she defeats the Witch-king with her own hand in "The Return of the King" — an event that is one of the best scenes in "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy. Throughout this process, she is shown as a depressed and desperate individual who feels trapped by her life and, eventually, wishes to escape it through a glorious death on the battlefield.

Despite the moody overtones, Éowyn's heroic actions pave the way for the shieldmaiden to hang up her Nazgûl-stained gear, marry Gondorian royalty (specifically Faramir) and live out a life of peace and healing. That's right. Éowyn's ultimate trajectory is one that starts with tragedy and ends in triumph. But the uplifting fate of the hardened, bitter, and hopeless warrior maiden of "The Lord of the Rings" is anything but clear in Peter Jackson's iconic film trilogy.

In the theatrical version of the films, Éowyn (Miranda Otto) and Faramir (David Wenham) are given one post-Ring-destroyed shot looking smiley and happy together. In the "Lord of the Rings" extended editions, we get a slightly longer explanation in a cut scene (less than a minute long) where the two are shown in the Houses of Healing in Gondor, where Faramir comforts a despondent Éowyn and eventually, the two hold hands. Not surprisingly, J.R.R. Tolkien gives us a much more detailed account of the coming together of these two character arcs and where it leads Éowyn in the wake of her death-defying feats on the battlefield.

Éowyn is a shieldmaiden of Rohan. In other words, she is a battle-trained woman warrior — and a royal one, at that. Her mother was Théodwyn, the sister of King Théoden. When Éowyn is just 7 years old, her father, Éomund, is killed by orcs and her mother dies of an illness shortly after that, leaving Éowyn and her older brother, Éomer, orphaned and under their uncle's protection. She is raised in the king's house and witnesses the gritty details of his decline before "The Lord of the Rings." This leads Éowyn into a deep depression.

There is even a moment in both the books and Jackson's films, where Éowyn explains what she fears. In "The Return of the King" book, she starts by saying, "I am of the House of Eorl and not a serving-woman. I can ride and wield blade, and I do not fear either pain or death." When asked what she does fear, she responds, "A cage [...] To stay behind bars, until use and old age accept them, and all chance of doing great deeds is gone beyond recall or desire."

This sets the stage for Éowyn's desperate gamble, where she disguises herself as a warrior and rides off to the Battle of the Pelennor Fields. In that fight, she wins eternal fame by killing the Witch-king but almost dies in the process. She is brought to the Houses of Healing (basically, Minas Tirith's hospital) where Aragorn helps her heal before he heads off to attack the Black Gate, leaving a physically healed but still emotionally and mentally distraught Éowyn behind.

The shift that turns Éowyn's fortunes doesn't come from Aragorn's healing, but from the words of another of J.R.R. Tolkien's impeccably awesome characters: Faramir. The son of the Steward of Gondor and Boromir's brother, Faramir is also wounded and brought to the Houses of Healing. There, he heals up and meets Éowyn. They talk for days, and slowly Faramir's wise, uplifting words help soften the heart of his battle-hardened and scarred companion.

In "The Return of the King" book, at the end of Éowyn's time spent healing alongside Faramir, Tolkien wrote, "Then the heart of Éowyn changed, or else at last she understood it. And suddenly her winter passed, and the sun shone on her." Éowyn goes on to share this transformation with her new beau, Faramir, saying, "I stand in Minas Anor, the Tower of the Sun [...] and behold! The Shadow has departed! I will be a shieldmaiden no longer, nor vie with the great Riders, nor take joy only in the songs of slaying. I will be a healer, and love all things that grow and are not barren."

After the One Ring is destroyed, Éowyn goes back to her homeland to bury her uncle. Then, she returns to Gondor, where she and Faramir set up shop in the garden-like region of Ithilien (the same area where Frodo and Sam stew some rabbits), and she becomes known as the Lady of Ithilien. We know that she and Faramir have kids, too, as "The Lord of the Rings" talks about how their grandson, Barahir, helps record some of the histories of Middle-earth.

The last we hear of Éowyn is around the age of 37, when the appendices of "The Return of the King" say, "Great gifts are sent to [Merry] by King Éomer and the Lady Éowyn of Ithilien."

So there you have it. Éowyn's story is one that starts with tragedy and ends in triumph. The best part is that, for fans, her story isn't over, as Miranda Otto will reprise the role once again when the Lady of Ithilien returns in the Warner Bros. anime "The War of the Rohirrim" at the end of 2024.