#I also think about infant mortality coinciding with maternal death historically speaking

[readingreddingread]

While I'm still in the Eowyn headspace:

I happened to watch this clip after my caretaking of a relative was done and hospice had taken over. It made me think about the state of her mind leading up to her choice to ride to battle(wrote that essay 3 different ways ffs) and how much she had already lost at this point if some of the book canon holds with the movie in regards to the death of her parents, her aunt and how a different sort of tragic it is that her cousin is younger rather than older in the Jackson film series.  Eowyn at whatever point her uncle started to lose himself to Saruman and Wormtongue's fuckery has already 18 years or so ago lost her father to violence, then not long after her mother to illness. Theoden raised her and Eomer in his own household, he was their father figure and after Elfhild's death in childbirth (if that's film canon) their only parent figure. For you see Bernard Hill was in his late 50's, Theodred's actor looked late teens to me and book!canon age or Miranda Otto's age she would have been old enough to have watched him grow up from a baby. Probably did older sibling shit with him maybe even held his little hands as he learned to walk, gave him comfort and assurances when he was sad and unsure. Like her own older sibling who she does not know 100% is alive at the moment nor where he is did for her. Some helpful people who saw him isn't the same as seeing him herself no matter how trustworthy because for a warrior is always close to their death mmkay. So I thought to my self she's grieving for her cousin in blood but brother of her heart while afraid for her brother in blood and feeling dread for the future. It does look narratively foreboding for the future of a people when the young but grown heir predeceases an old king doesn't it?