Do people really have a problem with her? I love her! She is my second favorite character after Aragorn. She is awsome. She is brave and self sacrificing. She would do anything for those she loves. I hated it at the end of ROTK when she lost who she was. She was such a great character. Tolkein ruined her. I hate Arwen. She so did not deserve Aragorn.
Why should Aragorn be with Eowyn? I already listed some reasons, but here goes...
1. They understand each other. They both had similar values. They had a passion for fighting for those they loved and were willing to do anything to protect those they cared for. They were both warriors. They got each other.
2. Arwen doesn't deserve Aragorn. She is a lazy, selfish, annoying person.
3. I like Faramir, really I do. However, he was horrible for Eowyn. She lost who she was when she got with him. You said that no one was warriors anymore, but that is not strictly true. Aragorn may not have fought anymore, but he never lost who he was. Eowyn gave up that whole part of her personality. That was who she was, and with Faramir, she lost it.
4. Eowyn was good for Aragorn. She kept him grounded. She was there for him.
5. Arwen didn't want Aragorn before she knew he was king. Eowyn loved Aragorn before she even knew that.
There is a short post for this thread. It goes: I prefer Faramir/Éowyn and Aragorn/Arwen. I should really leave it at that and spare you my long, convoluted, rather dull shipper’s history, but I’m not going to, because I can’t help myself.
Super long post ahead. Those with short attention span: Beware. 😛
Aragorn/Arwen
Aragorn and Arwen's relationship can be summed up in two simple words that Arwen says herself, "...both the sweet and the bitter." These two are the epitome of pure and eternal love. They feel as though their lives are better with each other than they ever could be apart, and are both willing to do anything to attain each other. Arwen gives up her immortality and family for Aragorn, and he in turn wins the War of the Ring and becomes the King of Gondor. There are many rebuttals to these acts of love that I have heard. One is that mortality was a gift so Arwen's sacrifice was not really a sacrifice at all. And another is that Arwen should not have made Aragorn do all those things to win her love. In truth, I would say that immortality would definitely be something to treasure. Living forever in the Undying Lands with your loved ones in eternal bliss does not sound like something I would want to give up. And Arwen had already given her love to Aragorn before he left for war. She was not the one to force Aragorn to make something of himself, Elrond was. He wanted no Man less than a King of Gondor and Arnor for his daughter. Not only were these conditions for Arwen's sake, but Aragorn's as well. Aragorn's fate was to become King, and he needed to embrace it. Arwen was his motivation, a reason to turn to when all of his hope was gone. Some say that Arwen treated Aragorn poorly and that their relationship was unequal, that Arwen didn't give him enough. Some say that Eowyn could have given him more. Actually, it is quite the opposite. Arwen gave up everything for love. She gave up her father whom she loved dearly, her brothers, and her mother whom she had not seen since she was young. Not only did she give them up, but she gave up an immortal life with them. She gave up the security that everyday would be perfect and that her days would never end. She gave up her whole life ahead of her for what would seem like an instant in her eyes with the man she loved. Aragorn also gave up much for his love. He gave up the security that his life would always be that of a ranger's. No pressures would be put on him, and no one would depend on him. He could have lived out his life quietly and alone, but he knew what he had to do not only for Arwen but for so much more. Arwen was what got him through that. They needed each other, and in fact Aragorn needed Arwen more than she needed him. So I do not see how Arwen could have treated Aragorn poorly.
Eowyn could not have given Aragorn anything except someone to practice fighting with. Eowyn had no idea what she or Aragorn needed. If Aragorn would have wed Eowyn, she would have turned into a cold shell that would have to sit in the shadow of a throne her whole life. For love to exist there must be equality. Eowyn did not understand Aragorn, and Aragorn did not love Eowyn but he pitied her. Again, Arwen and Aragorn needed each other, and were better together than they were apart. The bitter end to their story was movingly written by Tolkien, and it shows how much the two are dependent on one another. Some say that Arwen was selfish when Aragorn died, and she left her children alone in Minas Tirith. Some say that she had so much more to live for, so why did she leave? Arwen's prophecy was to exist until all she had gained was lost. Aragorn was everything in Arwen's life now that her family had left, so when he died a part of her also died. She could find no happiness in anything anymore. It would be selfish of her children to ask her to stay. One of Aragorn's last quotes sums up why their relationship is so beautiful: "In sorrow we must go, but not in despair. Behold! we are not bound for ever to the circles of the world, and beyond them is more than memory." They lived out their lives together in happiness, but although their parting was bitter, they would meet again beyond the "circles of the world".
*inhale...exhale*
*sigh*
Moving on...here we go:
Eowyn/Faramir
I have always been loathe to write this, worried about just what words I would use to defend my favorite pairing in literature. How could I give my reasons for loving this relationship when there were so many complex reasons? Éowyn/Faramir makes sense to me, intuitively. So how would I ever explain that? To me, the fact that their story rings true in my heart is the best argument for it, but that's not enough to win over the skeptics. The story of the Steward of Gondor and the Sheildmaiden of Rohan falling in love is probably the most satisfying of the two relationships. Éowyn and Faramir both need something to live for, and they find that in each other. They begin a new life, with a better understanding of themselves and their hearts. Their love story is a great example of light overcoming dark, the morning at the end of the darkest night. Their love is something that demonstrates the hope that the War of the Ring is all about: the people that will survive the war, the life they are fighting for. Faramir and Eowyn found each other, and they saved each other. Eowyn needed someone to understand and love her, not pity her. Faramir needed someone to love him, not just someone to notice him. Faramir was perfect for Eowyn because he did not pity her, but he truly loved her for who she was. Aragorn had only thought of Eowyn as a young and tragic girl. Their relationship was like that of a King and a soldier. She thought that she loved him but all she saw was someone to turn to, something to put hope in. An example of Aragorn's true feelings comes from Return of the King, when he is speaking to Eomer in the Houses of Healing. Aragorn says, "And yet, Eomer, I say to you that she loves you more truly than me; for you she loves and knows; but in me she loves only a shadow and a thought: a hope of glory and great deeds, and lands far from the fields of Rohan.". Eowyn thought that she loved Aragorn, because he filled her life suddenly with hope and a chance at greater things besides waiting on her King in the shadows of the throne while the world fell apart all around her.
Anyway, Eowyn does realize this after she defeats the Witch King and is brought back to life by Aragorn. She tells Faramir:
"I wished to be loved by another, but I desire no man's pity." And Faramir tells her in turn, "I do not offer you my pity. For you are a lady high and valiant and have yourself won renown that shall not be forgotten; and you are a lady beautiful, I deem, beyond even the words of the Elven-tongue to tell. And I love you. Once I pitied your sorrow. But now, were you sorrowless, without fear or any lack, were you the blissful Queen of Gondor, still I would love you."
Then at last Eowyn realizes what love is, and that it was right in front of her. So the Shadow passed from both of them and they fall in love. They were utterly and completely happy together, and the two characters grow on you, that you are ecstatic that the two end up together. Their love is what you would call a life-giving unison, simple and sweet.