Faramir had spent the better part of his life bending over backwards trying to please his father, until he simply gave up fighting for a lost cause.
It was no secret that Denethor had always favored his eldest son. Boromir was a mighty warrior, and shared their father's views about the supremacy of Gondor and the renown of the House of the Stewards; while Faramir was a gentler soul who loved lore and music and all things beautiful.
When a mysterious dream came to him in a troubled sleep he hoped that the errand to go to Imladris would be appointed to him, so that he could get into Denethor's favor; then Boromir put himself forward and their father chose him over his younger brother. That ultimately resulted in Boromir's death, much to Faramir's grief and his father's despair.
However, he was deeply saddened when he learned that Denethor had eventually succumbed to his burden of sorrow and decided to take his own life. Faramir had loved his father dearly in spite of everything, and now he was lucky to have the newfound affection for the White Lady of Rohan to help him through the pain.
Both he and Éowyn had survived death and many other sorrows; they knew grief well enough and were therefore able to heal each other's heart, then start a new life together.
It was only when his son Elboron was sitting on his lap that Faramir felt he could finally understand his own father. Even though he'd never had the chance to meet his grandfather, he'd been told that Ecthelion used to put his trust in strangers rather than in his own son; and that surely had been a heavy blow for a man as proud as Denethor, who'd been hating Thorongil – who was no one else than the Lord Aragorn – and Mithrandir ever since.
Feeling slighted by his father had prompted Denethor to desire glory and renown for his sons, for he loved them both after his own fashion; even Faramir who reminded him closely of Finduilas, his beloved wife that had died untimely.
One fine morning Prince Faramir set out from his dwelling in Ithilien along with his beautiful wife and child; little Elboron widened his eyes in wonder as he beheld the walls of Minas Tirith at last. They walked in silence to the place where the Houses of the Dead once stood, and Éowyn laid a bunch of wildflowers among the charred ruins.
Little white flowers that resembled the ones that now grew on King Théoden's mound.