This Saturday (at 6pm ET (New York time)) Hall of Fire will be talking about the valiant shieldmaiden of the Rohirrim — Éowyn, the White Lady of Rohan.
For a while she was silent, as if pondering what this might mean. Then suddenly she laid her hand on his arm. ‘You are a stern lord and resolute,’ she said; ‘and thus do men win renown.’ She paused. ‘Lord.’ she said, ‘if you must go, then let me ride in your following. For I am weary of skulking in the hills, and wish to face peril and battle.’
Éowyn, the White Lady of Rohan
Throughout the War of the Ring, Éowyn appears as one of the most conflicted characters, torn between desire and duty. She wishes to journey into battle with the Rohirrim and win renown, but is compelled by responsibility and position to remain and steward her folk.
She also feels an instant attraction to Aragorn, but by the end of the Return of the King her heart turns towards another. She is a passionate woman who is quick to act and chafes against constraint and tradition as she strives to be the one who controls her own destiny.
Heroine? Deserter? Feminist role model? Norse archetype? Symbol of Middle-earth’s renewal? These are just a few of the things we’ll examine in what’s sure to be a lively chat!
Suggested reading
The Two Towers – The King of the Golden Hall
The Return of the King – The Passing of the Grey Company
The Return of the King – The Muster of Rohan
The Return of the King – The Ride of the Rohirrim
The Return of the King – The Battle of the Pelennor Fields
The Return of the King – The Steward and the King
Tolkien’s heathen feminist
Letter #244
Time zone conversions
Not sure what time the chat will be where you are? Check this little conversion table out for some help. Alternatively, check our handy Event Announcer over on Time and Date for the correct time in your area.
America:
6.00pm EDT (New York)
5.00pm CDT (Chicago)
4.00pm MDT (Denver)
3.00pm PDT (Los Angeles)
Europe:
11.00pm BST (London)
11.00pm CST (Paris)
1.00am EEST (Helsinki)
Asia-Pacific
8.00am AEST (Sunday) Brisbane
9.00am AEDT (Sunday) Sydney, Melbourne
11.00am NZDT (Sunday) Wellington
How long do your topic chats go for?
Our chats usually last from an hour to ninety minutes, and are very newbie friendly. Simply drop in and join the conversation! However, our main room, #theonering.net is open 24 hours a day. We don’t always talk Tolkien there, but if you have a burning question, you’ll usually find one or two of “the regulars” up for a chat!
Where — connection details
Chat happens on #thehalloffire on irc.theonering.net — the TORn IRC server. You can connect instantly via our embedded Mibbit client that works inside your web browser.
Alternatively, you can install a dedicated chat program such as mIRC on your computer and just plug in the following connection details.
Server: irc.theonering.net
Port: 6667
Channel: #thehalloffire
