NOW LIVE! Today's the day you meet your new best friend. You don’t have to leave Wolfy behind... In 'Pets & Sidekicks' your companions level up with you!

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Message: <blockquote data-quote="kengar" data-source="post: 1290348" data-attributes="member: 3230">"Hinder me? Thou fool. No living man may hinder me!"Then Merry heard of all sounds in that hour the strangest. It seemed that Dernhelm laughed and the clear voice was like the ring of steel. "But no living man am I! You look upon a woman. Eowyn I am, Eomund's daughter. You stand between me and my lord and kin. Begone, if you be not deathless! For living or dark undead, I will smite you, if you touch him."The winged creature screamed at her, but the Ringwraith made no answer and was silent, as if in sudden doubt. Very amazement for a moment conquered Merry's fear. He opened his eyes and the blackness was lifted from them.The Witch King wasn't sure whether Eowyn could hurt him or not. Further, her act of defiance in the face of the fear and terror the Nazgul brought gave Merry hope to act when before he merely cowered on the ground. Eowyn proved to be a skilled warrior v. the attacking hell hawk when "A swift stroke she dealt, skilled and deadly. The outstretched neck she clove asunder, and the hewn head fell like a stone."The way the fight plays out in the book, Merry was undoubtably helpful and may even have saved Eowyn's life by wounding the Witch King, but it was her and not the hobbit whose strength and defiance gave them both the courage to fight at all.As far as credit to Merry goes, Aragorn proclaims in Chapter 10, when Merry wishes to travel to the Black Gate (I know he was there in the film, but he stayed behind in the book): "You are not fit for such a journey," said Aragorn. "But do not be ashamed. If you do no more in this war, you have already earned great honour. Peregrin shall go and represent the Shirefolk; and do not grudge him his chance of peril, for though he has done well as his fortune allowed him, he has yet to match your deed."IMNSHO, Eowyn is THE lead female of the LOTR. She is the most realized woman in the story as well as the one with the most depth. She undergoes the most development and change in the story. For the male characters, the hobbits are the leading males, followed -in terms of character development- by Theoden & Faramir. The rest of the characters in the books are largely static: Aragorn, Gandalf, Legolas, Gimli, etc. all of them are really rather static and boring.EDIT: and -for the purposes of race ("mankind" v. male)- according to Tokien's letters, hobbits are considered human.</blockquote>

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