#[i cannot fathom the pain theoden endured with his only son's death. his son. the boy he raised by himself.

[warhirrim]

hc: fatherhood. As we know, Théoden entered fatherhood rather tragically with the death of his wife, Elfhild, who passed in childbirth. The conflicting emotions would have been unfathomably difficult to compartmentalize. He would have experienced both the greatest and the worst moments of his life simultaneously --- Théodred was his pride, his bundle of joy, his only son, but Elfhild, his one, true love (he would never remarry). In fatherhood, he was utterly alone.

Then, just two years later, a new obstacle. His father passed, making him the next King of Rohan.

One might expect he would have no time to tend to little Théodred, that he would be absent, what with overseeing an entire realm, no wife by his side. But they would be wrong. Albeit busy, Théoden devoted as much time as possible in being an active, present, and loving participant in Théodred’s life. Undoubtedly, there was his mother, caretakers, servants, and tutors who aided --- it would have been easy to relegate all rearing to them --- but what his son needed was his dad. So he would refuse to miss those milestones and refuse to not watch his boy grow; he would teach his son to walk and talk, tell his son stories at night, teach him right from wrong, and be there with him the first time his little hands clamored up a horse, then onto armor, then a sword. It was exhausting, caring for two worlds. But it was more than Théoden’s duty. It wasn’t enough to just be a father. He wanted to be a dad.

By the time he’d adopted little Éomer and Éowyn to raise, his heart broken by the death of his beloved little sister, he’d already been a father for 24 years. A king, for 22. But as we can see from The Lord of the Rings and how dearly Éomer, and particularly Éowyn, loved their uncle --- even beyond uncle, truly. He was more than that to them, and he loved them as though his very own --- it’s clear that being a single father of three and a king did not interfere with his ability to actually be a dad. What’s more, the two even considered their cousin Théodred to be more like a brother. And who could blame them? The royal family of Rohan was a very tight-knit, loving, and tender family, and Théoden, despite being stretched thin in duties and responsibilities, was absolutely unwilling to sacrifice being a father to these children. He had so much love to give, and given how noble, brave, and kind they all grew to be, Théoden succeeded in both fatherhood and his kingship --- and he was undoubtedly proud of them all.