Women in The Lord of the Rings

• 1. Tolkien's Biographical Context

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  J. R. R. Tolkien lost his father in South Africa and his mother in England a few years later, leaving him an orphan as a boy. He was raised by Father Francis Xavier Morgan, a Catholic priest who guided his early education. The young Tolkien attended boys' grammar schools before entering Exeter College at Oxford University. At that time, the college admitted only male students, creating a strictly all-male environment for his formative years. After serving in the British Army's Lancashire Fusiliers during World War I, he witnessed the horrors of trench warfare. Life as an officer became more bearable through the support of a male batman or servant. Following the war, he became a professor of English Language at the University of Leeds and later returned to Oxford. There he taught at Pembroke College where he created the Inklings, an all-male literary group with C. S. Lewis. Among his influences were boys' adventure stories like those by H. Rider Haggard and John Buchan. In an interview, Tolkien stated that Haggard's novel She was his favorite work. Dale Nelson notes that Tolkien was spontaneously moved by mythopoeic and straightforward adventure romance found in such books. On Buchan's influence, Nelson writes that Greenmantle tells of desperate chances and plentiful good luck. In On Fairy Stories, Tolkien wrote that Treasure Island left him cool but Red Indians were better due to bows and arrows. He preferred the land of Merlin and Arthur over other lands. A letter to his son Michael reveals his conservative views about women. He stated men were active in their professions while women were inclined to domestic life. Melissa Hatcher describes Tolkien as possibly being the stodgy sexist Oxford professor that feminist scholars paint him out to be.

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• 2. Critiques Of Female Absence

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  The Lord of the Rings has repeatedly been discussed as being a story about men for boys with no significant women characters. There are 11 women in the work, some mentioned only briefly. Catherine Stimpson, a scholar of English and feminism, wrote that Tolkien's women were hackneyed stereotypes either beautiful and distant or simply simple. Robert Butler and John Eberhard in the Chicago Tribune stated that all races from Hobbits to Elves get their due but women do not. They argued Tolkien did not think much about the female sex despite being happily married with a daughter named Priscilla. Their view held that Edith Mary and Priscilla seemed to have practically no influence on his writing. Linda Voigts defended Tolkien by pointing out he was brought up in a male world living among male scholars at a time when Oxford was a boys' club. Butler and Eberhard noted that women in the novel see little action giving Arwen as an example. A strong-willed woman like Éowyn was created when the teenaged Priscilla asked her father for a female character. Candice Fredrick and Sam McBride referenced the all-male Inklings group stating Middle-earth is very Inkling-like. While women exist in the world they need not be given significant attention and can if one is lucky simply be avoided altogether. Melissa McCrory Hatcher writes that Hobbit women like Rosie Cotton and Lobelia Sackville-Baggins serve only as housewives or shrews. Dwarf women are hardly feminine while the Entwives are lost. Goldberry appears as a mystical washer-woman according to this critique.

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• 3. Defenses Of Female Power

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  Carol Leibiger in the J.R.R. Tolkien Encyclopedia and Maureen Thum replied that charges of insignificance were disproven by Tolkien's vigorous characterization of Éowyn. Leibiger stated that while female characters appear like chaste medieval ladies doing little but encouraging menfolk, prominent women are extremely powerful in their own right. Theologian Ralph Wood argued Galadriel, Éowyn, and Arwen are far from being plaster figures. Galadriel is powerful wise and terrible in her beauty. Éowyn has extraordinary courage and valor. Arwen gives up her Elvish immortality to marry Aragorn. Wood further argued Tolkien insisted everyone faces the same kinds of temptation hope and desire regardless of gender. Nancy Enright stated that few female characters define power which she suggests is a central theme of the novel. She commented that heroic male figures such as Aragorn and Faramir use traditional masculine power tempered with awareness of its limitations. Boromir fits the picture of the powerful male warrior hero yet is weaker morally and spiritually than those who exercise deeper power. Boromir falls while less typically heroic characters including all the women survive. Enright denied that absence of women in battle meant female power was not important. Women embody Tolkien's critique of conventional views of power illustrating his Christian view that selfless love is stronger than selfish pride. Weronika Łaszkiewicz noted Tolkien's heroines have been both praised and severely criticized having an ambiguous image of passivity and empowerment. This could result from personal experience where early 20th century Englishwomen normally stayed home looking after children. His environment was overwhelmingly male and Inklings believed full intimacy with another man impossible unless women were totally excluded.

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• 4. The Valkyrie Reflex Debate

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  Leslie A. Donovan writes that because there are rather few women in the book feminist commentators like Lisa Hopkins argue scarce women are strong authoritative and disproportionately important to the narrative. Donovan calls this phenomenon the Valkyrie reflex arguing against it using hobbit women as examples. Lobelia may be valkyrie-like but her greediness and covetousness early in texts are not common valkyrie traits. Rosie Cotton's teasing of Sam is at best vaguely reminiscent of a valkyrie inciter yet her wholesome ordinariness has no relationship to Odin's battle goddesses. Ann Basso wrote in Mythlore that all women in The Lord of the Rings are either noble or ethereal like Éowyn and Galadriel or simple rustics like Rosie. Goldberry appears as a biblical Eve figure to Galadriel's Mary. In her view the roster of women are rich and diverse characters well drawn and worthy of respect. Hasser considered the most significant point about Goldberry's depiction is she shares domestic duties with her husband appearing equal to him in status. Maureen Thum states Éowyn wears two masks first unconventional then conventional. She appears initially as a medieval romance heroine standing silent behind King Théoden's throne looking on with cool pity in her eyes. Soon it becomes clear she is no meek subordinate thinking for herself. She appears conventionally beautiful as a romance lady with long hair like a river of gold. Yet slender and tall she was strong and stern as steel a daughter of kings. Her second mask is appearance of a male Rider of Rohan named Dernhelm riding to battle against orders. In Old English dern means secret concealed while helm is helmet covering for head. This unconventional mask conveys Éowyn's rebellious nature far more powerfully than any overt account of her thinking.

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• 5. Ordinary Women As Mediators

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  Commentators such as Megan N. Fontenot and theologian Fleming Rutledge state ordinary women have vital role mediating between epic fantasy and ordinary life. Rosie's warm relationship with Sam allows readers to connect to his heroic adventures and noble characters like Aragorn that Sam encounters. Ioreth transforms heroic events of War of the Ring into stories she can tell to country relative showing how actual events turn first into shared stories then into epic. This allows reader to see narrative as result of inevitable changes wrought by passage of time as Middle-earth distant past changes into present-day Earth. Tolkien wrote in letter that simple rustic love of Sam and Rosie nowhere elaborated is absolutely essential to study of chief hero character. It relates theme of ordinary life breathing eating working begetting to quests sacrifice causes and longing for Elves and sheer beauty. Amy Sturgis describes how Rosie is reimagined by female fans keeping up with daunting competition from regal Galadriel and courageous Eowyn. She becomes variously paragon of hearth iconoclast of bedroom or agent of supernatural reflecting contemporary taste for three-dimensional complex heroine at center stage. The explosion in Rosie's fan fiction surely depended both on Internet and Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings film trilogy where Rosie played by Sarah McLeod. Lobelia Sackville-Baggins was modelled on elderly lady he knew yet commentators suggest unfavourable caricature of Vita Sackville-West. Journalist Matthew Dennison called Lobelia memorable comic relief whose name resembled Sackville-West's while frustrated attempts secure Bag End mirrored unsatisfied longing to inherit family home Knole House. Fontot drew attention to Lobelia's substantial character development despite minor importance contrasting initially unsympathetic characterization to courageous defiance against Sharkey's thugs armed only with umbrella.

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• 6. Film Adaptation Transformations

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  Tom Shippey comments leading women may have seemed insufficiently prominent to those responsible for marketing Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings film trilogy. Publicity shot for Two Towers depicted Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn with upheld sword center Arwen and Éowyn either side giving impression love triangle. To do that drastic changes required since Tolkien has Éowyn speak 42 words of which just 5 are to Aragorn. In film Éowyn appears in 14 out of 62 scenes. Similarly Arwen does not speak at all in book's Two Towers whereas she features prominently in 3 scenes in film. Film uses material on Arwen from Appendix 5 while for Éowyn some Gandalf dialogue given to Grima Wormtongue so she can appear directly. Janet Brennan Croft writes book Arwen never temptress or obstacle but inspiration source of strength. When Éowyn presents temptation his unquestioned commitment faith relationship helps him pass test. Contrast Jackson's Aragorn reacts to both women as distractions if not outright temptresses. He tries reject Arwen's pendant though says it is hers give even rather harsh towards Éowyn infatuation where Tolkien speaks great delicacy care feelings. Maureen Thum comments more positively Jackson presents vivid picture story three powerful women visual importance matching unusually high significance novel dominated men. Jackson stresses what Tolkien implies portraying Éowyn feelings Aragorn skill battle. She finds invented scenes appropriate reflecting Arwen significance. Although reworking three characters often departs radically text accurately represents Tolkien view women.

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