Princes of Dol Amroth

By:Isabeau
 February, 25 2006

Questions about the life and times of Imrahil and his family can be asked here, including questions about Ultimatums, Kin-Strife and the shorter stories. Discussions about Brand can go either here or in the Best-Loved Son thread, since his stories sort of overlap both cycles.

Comment:
I was a bit surprised at Eowyn's anxiety about her involvement (or lack thereof) with her infant son's care. Given how iconoclastic she is in general, not kowtowing to the society ladies, etc., I was a bit startled at first that she went along with the dictate to leave nursing to a wet-nurse, even though she was clearly torn about that decision. But I suppose her upbringing didn't afford her many nurturing female role models, so perhaps here the pressure to conform touched upon something she didn't feel confident about in the first place? Poor thing -- how many modern mothers today get similarly badgered into uncomfortable compromises that they're assured are for the best!

I was a bit disappointed to see her being waspish with Maidh about "no more onion pies." I perceived that she was venting and trying to assert her concern for her son ... but it did seem kind of ironic for her to chastise Maidh for an unforeseeable "error" Maidh made while serving as a substitute for Eowyn in such a fundamental, intimate way. I guess I was expecting Eowyn to display solidarity with Maidh -- Brand did more to acknowledge the imposition of a finicky baby on the woman nursing when he noted how annoying his mother found it to only eat bland foods. I suppose that, unlike Brand or Hethlin, Eowyn's disdain for the constraints of social rules and traditions doesn't necessarily translate into an egalitarian attitude toward the lower classes. (Geek aside: of course I had to look up the root of "Maidh" which is a great choice of name for the nurse, both in its Noldorin meaning and what it conveys to the English-speaking reader).

How close are Eowyn and Arwen at this point? I can't imagine Arwen surrendering the feeding of her children to wet-nurses. Of course that doesn't mean she'd feel herself in a position to offer advice to Eowyn on that front ...

Isabeau I'm SO excited and pleased that you've picked up this story again! :)

Because we have been getting a lot of spam, we now have a security number which you have to enter in order to post a journal reply. In the field marked validation number, enter seven zero three seven as a four place number.