I hate to come off as a nymphomaniac, but...

[Lush]

First of all, I am not entirely sure that this thread belongs in the Books Forum, since it is a response to concerns voiced in the Movies Forum. At the same time, it concerns Tolkien more than it does Peter Jackson. I'm throwing it in here for the time being, but if the greater powers (i.e. Esty) feel like bumping it off, I won't object too much.

Here is the deal: A whole lot of our members have been expressing their displeasure at the fact that one of the movie posters for TTT features a trio of Aragorn, Arwen, and Eowyn. The chief concern, aside from the obvious alteration of story events, is the possibility of a "love triangle" that would do injustice to Tolkien's vision.

Some of our more zealous members are even threatening severe bodily harm to Peter Jackson, if Aragorn, for example, even for one second appears to be swaying in his affections for Arwen.

Well, I happen to think that he is attracted to Eowyn, but overcomes that attraction quickly and efficiently, as any decent man would.

The thing is, Tolkien's style of writing did not permit a whole lot of Freudian, or, in general, simply sexual innuendo. At the same time, Tolkien wasn't a simple-minded idiot either.

Think about it in this terms: Aragorn is a man of flesh and blood, he has been away from Arwen for a great deal of time (we assume that they did not consummate their relationship until marriage, but I think it's safe to think that Arwen's very prensence satisfied Aragorn on a level above sex), he has been through a lot of stress and hardship lately, and suddenly he is confronted with the vision of Eowyn:

"...and he thought her fair, fair and cold, like a morning of pale spring that is not yet come to womanhood."

TELL ME if that doesn't SCREAM of at least some form of attraction.

This is NOT to say that Aragorn was ready to drop everything and come chasing after the blonde-he was too strong of a man for that-but I think it's a little naive for us to assume that Aragorn was some inhuman being that had never harbored an impure thought. His real strength, I think, is shown in the act of overcoming desire, as opposed to denying desire altogether.

Furthermore, I think the fact that Aragorn explicitly denies Eowyn the chance to accompany him, can also be interpreted as Aragorn's way of ensuring that he will no longer be tempted. Think about it: Eowyn is an able woman, and a shieldmaiden to boot. In a war where everyone who can fight is needed, why does Aragorn insist she stay behind? It could be that he's not thinking about her in terms of a fighter, but in terms of a woman. An attractive woman. And he doesn't want, or need, any more temptation. Aragorn's a smart guy.

Basically, my central argument is against those people who adamantly believe that sexual desire was something completely absent from the works of Tolkien. Granted, it was definitely on the smallest scale imaginable, but it was there. It was also, to a greater extent, present in The Silmarillion, but I will write on that later.

Therefore, I wish people would stop freaking out so much about that silly poster, and go back to speculating on Orli's prowess as a shield-surfer. At least those conversations could provide a good laugh.