BEDA 14: Neville and Luna: an excuse to talk about The Lord of the Rings

So I was in a conversation recently about the semi-canon ship that is Neville Longbottom and Luna Lovegood. I need not go into details: we all know them. But something new occurred to me about this pairing, namely that they are incredibly similar to the Lord of the Rings coupling of Eowyn and Faramir.

So my thinking goes like this:
Faramir is the younger brother. He is least favoured, and loves his elder brother dearly, not begrudging him the limelight. Through story he grows into himself, earns the love of everyone through great deeds, and in the aftermath finds himself in the company of Eowyn.

Eowyn is an oddity. Cast in a female role in a male dominated world, she wants to fight. Determined to do her own thing against social wisdom, she succeeds with the help of a few friends. Having fought and proven herself against the most fell of opponents, she finds herself in the company of Faramir.

Now whether or not a pairing of these two underdogs is suitable or not is up for debate. I personally like the pairing, but can't say why. Certainly when I first read the chapter in The Return of the King devoted to them I was slightly bored, and then decided that it was a neat tying of loose ends. But then, I was probably about 9 and mostly wanted to get back to some action.

But are they Neville and Luna?
Neville is certainly in a younger brother position in the story. Despite being an only child, he is almost explicitly cast as an alternative to Harry. Despite being, early on, something of a 'loser', he is always loyal to Harry, never begrudging him the limelight. Through the story he grows into himself, earns the love of everyone through great deeds, and in the aftermath, of the films at least, finds himself in the company of Luna.

Luna is an oddity. She is always determined to do her own thing against social wisdom, and although Eowyn's general unhappiness in life is more clearly shown, we see in Luna's bedroom a glimpse of just how much she needed the friends she made in Dumbledore's Army. She succeeds, and proves herself to everyone, and in the aftermath, of the films at least, finds herself in the company of Neville.

So if you want some inspiration for.... Luville? Nena? Read that chapter of The Return of the King about Faramir and Eowyn. I can't remember which chapter it is, and the books are upstairs, and I really need to do some studying...