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Some commentators describeTolkienas placing women only in background roles while the male protagonists see all the action.[1]ArwensewingAragorn's banner,by Anna Kulisz, 2015, inspired byEdmund Leighton's 1911Stitching the Standard.

The roles ofwomen inThe Lord of the Ringshave often been assessed as insignificant, or important only in relation to male characters in a story about men for boys. Meanwhile, other commentators have noted theempowermentof the three major women characters,Galadriel,Éowyn,andArwen,and provided in-depth analysis of their roles within the narrative ofThe Lord of the Rings.

Weronika Łaszkiewicz has written that "Tolkien's heroines have been both praised and severely criticized",[2]and that his fictional women havean ambiguous image,of "both passivity and empowerment".[2]J. R. R. Tolkienspent much of his life in an all-male environment, and had conservative views about women, prompting discussion of possiblesexism.Much of the action inThe Lord of the Ringsis by male characters, and the nine-person Fellowship of the Ring is entirely male.

On the other hand, commentators have noted that theElf-queen Galadriel is powerful and wise; Éowyn, noblewoman ofRohan,is extraordinarily courageous, killing the leader of theNazgûl;theElfArwen, who chooses mortality to be withAragorn,the man she loves, is central tothe book's theme of death and immortality;and that other female figures like the monstrous spiderSheloband the wise-woman of Gondor, Ioreth, play important roles in the narrative. Tolkien stated that theHobbitwoman Rosie Cotton is "absolutely essential" to understanding the heroSam's character, and the relation of ordinary life to heroism.[T 1]

Tolkien's background[edit]

Further information:J. R. R. Tolkien
Secluded male environment:[2]Pembroke College's Old Quad, where Tolkien had his teaching rooms

The author of the bestselling fantasy novelThe Lord of the Rings,[3]J. R. R. Tolkien,was orphaned as a boy, his father dying in South Africa and his mother in England a few years later. He was brought up by his guardian, aCatholic priest,Father Francis Xavier Morgan,and educated at boys'grammar schoolsand thenExeter College, Oxford,which at that time had only male students. He joined theBritish Army'sLancashire Fusiliersand saw the horror oftrench warfare,with life as an officer made more bearable by the support of a malebatmanor servant. After the war he became a professor of English Language at theUniversity of Leeds,and then at theUniversity of Oxford,where he taught atPembroke College.[4]At Oxford, he created an all-male literary group with another Oxford professor of English,C. S. Lewis,calledthe Inklings.[5]

AmongTolkien's influences,he stated that he enjoyed reading boys'adventure stories,such as those byH. Rider HaggardandJohn Buchan.Tolkien stated in an interview that Haggard's novelShewas his favourite. The scholar of English literature Dale Nelson notes that Tolkien "was evidently spontaneously moved bymythopoeicand straightforward adventure romance "[6]as in Haggard's books. On Buchan's influence, Nelson writes thatGreenmantletells "of desperate chances and plentiful good luck, of cross-country pursuit and massive battles... [and] the heroism of a handful of men".[6][7][8]InOn Fairy Stories,Tolkien wrote that "Treasure Islandleft me cool.Red Indianswere better: there were bows and arrows..., and strange languages, and glimpses of an archaic way of life, and, above all, forests in such stories. But the land of Merlin and Arthur[a]was better than these, and best of all the nameless North of Sigurd and the Volsungs,[b]and the prince of all dragons. Such lands were pre-eminently desirable. "[T 2]

As seen in a letter to his sonMichael Tolkien,he held conservative views about women, stating that men were active in their professions while women were inclined to domestic life.[T 3]While defending the role of women inThe Lord of the Rings,the scholar ofchildren's literatureMelissa Hatcher wrote that "Tolkien himself, in reality, probably was the stodgy sexist Oxford professor that feminist scholars paint him out to be".[5]

Roles for women[edit]

A story about men for boys[edit]

Further information:Sexuality in The Lord of the Rings

The Lord of the Ringshas repeatedly been discussed as being a story about men for boys, with no significant women characters;[1][9]there are 11 women in the work, some of them mentioned only briefly.[2]Catherine Stimpson,a scholar of English and feminism, wrote that Tolkien's women were "hackneyed... stereotypes... either beautiful and distant, simply distant, or simply simple".[10]

Robert Butler and John Eberhard, in theChicago Tribune,stated that all the races fromHobbitstoElves,Dwarves toWizards,get their due in the novel, but "Women, on the other hand, do not."[11]In their view, "Tolkien didn't think much about the female sex. Yes, he was happily married, and yes, he did have a daughter. But his wife, Edith Mary, and daughter, Priscilla, seemed to have practically no influence on his writing."[11]They quoted the scholar of medieval andOld English literature,Linda Voigts, as defending Tolkien, pointing out that, brought up in a male world and living among male scholars at a time when "Oxford was a boys' club",[11]he could not have been expected to be a modern feminist.[11]Butler and Eberhard wrote that the women in the novel see little action, giving the example ofArwen.In their opinion, a strong-willed woman,Éowyn,was created when the teenaged Priscilla asked her father for a female character.[11]

The critics Candice Fredrick and Sam McBride, referencing the all-male Inklings group, wrote that "Middle-earth is very Inkling-like, in that while women exist in the world, they need not be given significant attention and can, if one is lucky, simply be avoided altogether."[12]Melissa McCrory Hatcher, while not discounting the women altogether, writes thatHobbit womenlike Rosie Cotton and Lobelia Sackville-Baggins serve "only as housewives or shrews",Dwarfwomen are hardly feminine, theEntwivesare lost, andGoldberry"is a mystical washer-woman".[5]

Few but powerful women[edit]

The Tolkien scholars Carol Leibiger, in theJ.R.R. Tolkien Encyclopedia,and separately Maureen Thum, replied that Stimpson's charge was definitely disproven by Tolkien's vigorous characterisation ofÉowyn(and inThe Silmarillionby numerous strong female characters such asLúthien).[13][14]Liebiger stated that while Tolkien's female characters appear like "chaste medieval ladies ofcourtly romance",doing little but encouraging their menfolk to be heroic, the few prominent women in the narrative are in fact extremely powerful in their own right.[13]

ThetheologianRalph Wood replied thatGaladriel,Éowyn, and Arwen are far from being "plaster figures": Galadriel is powerful, wise and "terrible in her beauty"; Éowyn has "extraordinary courage and valor"; and Arwen gives up her Elvish immortality to marry Aragorn. Further, Wood argued, Tolkien insisted that everyone, man and woman alike, faces the same kinds of temptation, hope, and desire.[1]

The scholar of English literature Nancy Enright stated that the few female characters inThe Lord of the Ringsare extremely important in defining power, which she suggests is a central theme of the novel. She commented that even the apparently heroic male figures such asAragornandFaramir"use traditional masculine power in a manner tempered with an awareness of its limitations and a respect for another, deeper kind of power".[15]She argued that Faramir's brotherBoromir,who fits the picture of the powerful male warrior hero, is in fact "weaker morally and spiritually"[15]than those who exercise the deeper kind of power, and noted that Boromir falls while the "less typically heroic characters",[15]including all the women (and the apparently unheroic Hobbits) survive.[15]She specifically denied that the absence of women in battle, Éowyn excepted, and among the nine members of theFellowship of the Ring,meant that female power and presence are not important in the novel.[15]On the contrary, she wrote, the women embody Tolkien's critique of the conventional view of power, and illustrate his Christian view that selfless love is stronger than selfish pride and any attempt to dominate by force.[15]Liebiger noted that Tolkien's attitude towards destructive masculine power is "compatible with that of contemporary feminists".[13]

Weronika Łaszkiewicz noted that "Tolkien's heroines have been both praised and severely criticized",[2]stating that his fictional women havean ambiguous image,of "both passivity and empowerment".[2]She suggested that this could be a result of his personal experience. Firstly, women in early 20th century England normally stayed at home and looked after the children, she noted, and Tolkien expected as much of his wife Edith, even though she was a skilful pianist. Secondly, his environment was overwhelmingly male, and other Inklings, especially Lewis, believed that "full intimacy with another man was impossible unless women were totally excluded" from their intellectual and artistic discussions; Łaszkiewicz notes that Edith resented the Inklings meetings.[2][16]

The scholar of humanitiesBrian Roseburywrote that Tolkien gave his mother's memory "something of thenuminousintensity which radiates from the adored, benevolent, intimately present or achingly distant, feminine figures of his work ",[17]naming Galadriel, Arwen, Goldberry and the remote Varda/Elbereth.He adds that the differing interests of Tolkien and his wife Edith may be "dimly discernible" in the estrangement of the Ents and the Entwives, while their long-delayed romance is evident inElrond(as Father Francis Xavier, Tolkien's guardian), who forbids Aragorn to marry Arwen unless he becomes king ofGondorand Arnor. He notes that the delayed marriage of the servant-hobbitSamwise "Sam" Gamgeeand Rosie Cotton is a homelier echo of the theme.[17]

A diverse roster[edit]

The female hobbit characters inThe Lord of the Ringsall have limited roles.[18][19]They include Rosie Cotton, Sam's fiancé; Rosie's mother Mrs Cotton; Mrs Maggot, the wife ofFarmer Maggotwho assisted Frodo's departure fromThe Shire;and Lobelia Sackville-Baggins, the wife ofBilbo Baggins's cousin, who covets hisBag Endresidence and his collection of silver spoons.[19]In theJ.R.R. Tolkien Encyclopedia,Katherine Hasser observed a lack of role-separation between male and female Shire-folk, as several men perform domestic duties such as cooking, cleaning, arranging parties, purchasing and wrapping gifts; Bilbo in particular adopts and nurtures the young Frodo by himself.[20]

Leslie A. Donovan writes that because there are rather few women in the book, feminist commentators such as Lisa Hopkins have argued that the scarce women are strong, authoritative, and disproportionately important to the narrative. Donovan calls this "theValkyriereflex ", and argues against it, not least with the hobbit women. Lobelia" may be valkyrie-like, but her greediness and covetousness early in the texts are not common valkyrie traits ", while" Rosie Cotton's teasing of Sam "is at best" vaguely reminiscent "of a valkyrie inciter, but" her wholesome ordinariness has no relationship to Odin's battle goddesses ".[21]

Ann Basso wrote inMythlorethat all the women inThe Lord of the Ringsare either noble or ethereal like Éowyn and Galadriel, or simple rustics like Rosie, with one exception:Goldberry,the River-woman's daughter, wife ofTom Bombadil,who appears as a biblicalEvefigure to Galadriel'sMary.In her view, the "roster of women" are "rich and diverse [characters], well drawn, and worthy of respect".[22]Hasser considered the most significant point about Goldberry's depiction as a feminine figure is that she shares domestic duties with her husband, and appears equal to him in status.[20]

Mediating between epic fantasy and the reader's world[edit]

Commentators such as Megan N. Fontenot,Fleming Rutledgethe theologian andEpiscopal priest,and indeed Tolkien, have stated that the ordinary women, such as Rosie and the prattling woman of Gondor, Ioreth, have the vital role of mediating between the world of epic fantasy and ordinary life.[T 1][23]Rosie's warm relationship with Sam allows readers to connect to Sam's heroic adventures, and in turn to the noble characters such asAragornthat Sam encounters.[23]Ioreth's transformation of the heroic events of the War of the Ring into stories she can tell to her country relative shows how actual events turn first into shared stories and then into epic. This allows the reader to see the narrative inThe Lord of the Ringsas the result of the inevitable changes wrought by the passage of time asMiddle-earth in the distant pastchanges into the present-day Earth.[24]

The powerful women[edit]

Galadriel[edit]

Further information:Galadriel
Circe Offering the Cup to OdysseusbyJohn William Waterhouse,1891:Galadriel's support of theFellowship of the Ringhas been compared to that ofCirceandCalypsoforOdysseusinHomer's epic.[25]

The Elf-queen Galadriel, Lady ofLothlórien,is the most powerful female character in Middle-earth during the Third Age.[13]Tolkien portrays her as all-seeing, able to read people's thoughts.[5]She uses this power to test the loyalty of each of the Fellowship in turn; David Craig, writing inMallorn,comments that Tolkien would not have had a man do this, so it is "a gendered moment".[13][26]She gives each of the nine members of the Fellowship of the Ring a personal gift, chosen to assist them with the quest to destroy the One Ring, and with their personal journeys, as with her gift to Sam the gardener of a box of earth to restore the fertility of his garden, the Shire.[5]

Mac Fenwick compares Galadriel and what he sees as her monstrous opposite, the giant and evil spiderShelob,with the struggle between the good and the monstrous female characters inHomer'sOdyssey.Like Galadriel,CirceandCalypsoare rulers of their own secluded magical realms, and both offer help and advice to the protagonist. They helpOdysseusto avoid destruction by the female monsters, theSirenswho would lure his ship on to the rocks, andScylla and Charybdiswho would smash or drown his ship; Galadriel gives Frodo thePhial of Galadriel,which by her power contains the captured light ofEärendil's star that shines in the darkness and is capable of blinding and warding off the threat of Shelob, an embodiment of darkness who is forever opposed to the light of the Elves.[27][28][29] Galadriel's gifts, too, are Homeric, including cloaks, food, and wisdom as well as light, just like those of Circe and Calypso.[25]

The scholar of English literature Maureen Thum describes Galadriel's masked power. She appears conventionally as a romantic medieval heroine in a garden, gives suitably medieval gifts, is admired from afar. But far from being imprisoned in her garden, she rules her realm and all who enter it "feel the power of the Lady".[T 4]At the end of the book, the reader discovers that she is the bearer ofNenya,the Ring of Adamant, one of the three Elven-Rings, explaining her power to conceal and protectLothlórienfrom the Dark Lord's gaze.[30]Wayne G. HammondandChristina Scullobserve that "Adamant" means both a type of hard stone, and "stubbornly resolute", a description that well suits the quality of Galadriel's resistance toSauron.[31]

Scholars includingMarjorie Burnsand Sharin Schroeder have compared and contrasted Galadriel with Ayesha, the powerful and beautiful eponymous heroine ofRider Haggard's 1887lost worldadventure fantasyShe: A History of Adventure.Burns points out numerous similarities between Galadriel, Ayesha, and theArthurianLady of Shalott.Both scholars note however that whereas Ayesha overreaches her power and perishes on re-entering the immortal flame, Galadriel understands that she cannot wield the One Ring, though Frodo offers it to her freely; she helps the quest to destroy it, and accepts the diminution of her power and the fading of her realm that result. Schroeder observes that where Ayesha is capricious, enjoying male admiration, Galadriel is serious, testing the members of the Fellowship for loyalty. Schroeder notes that Galadriel is self-aware, knowing that "she is as fallible as they are", and as much in need of testing: and indeed accepts Frodo's testing.[32][33]

Éowyn[edit]

Further information:Éowyn
Éowyn's appearance on the Pelennor Fields has been compared to that of the shieldmaidenHervorin the "Battle of the Goths and Huns",as depicted inHervor's DeathbyPeter Nicolai Arbo.[34]

Thum states that Éowyn wears in turn two masks, the first unconventional, the second conventional.[30]She appears initially as a medieval romance heroine, a "woman clad in white",[T 5]standing silent and obedient behind KingThéoden's throne. But soon it becomes clear that she is no meek subordinate, as "she looked on the king with cool pity in her eyes":[T 5]she thinks for herself. Further, she appears conventionally beautiful as a romance lady: "Very fair was her face, and her long hair was like a river of gold."[T 5]But, Thum writes, this too is swiftly gainsaid: "Slender and tall she was... but strong she seemed and stern as steel, a daughter of kings."[T 5]Éowyn's second mask is the appearance of a maleRider of Rohan,"Dernhelm", as, against orders, she rides to battle.[T 6][30]InOld Englishdernmeans "secret, concealed", whilehelmis "helmet", a covering for the head.[35]Thum comments that this unconventional mask conveys Éowyn's rebellious nature far more powerfully than would any overt account of her thinking.[30]

Jessica Yates wrote that Éowyn meets all the requirements for a classicwoman warrior:a strong identity; skill in fighting; weapons and armour; a horse; special powers, seen when she turns the Ringwraith's prophecy of doom back onto him; and being modest and chaste.[5][36]Leibiger added that Éowyn is the only strong human female inThe Lord of the Rings(Galadriel and Arwen being Elves), noting that her rejection of the woman's place in the home leads her to fulfil the prophecy about the leader of the Ringwraiths, the Witch-King of Angmar, that "not by the hand of man will [he] fall".[13]

Melissa Hatcher wrote inMythlorethatThe Lord of the Ringshas as a central theme the way that "the littlest person, a hobbit, overcom[es] the tides of war": that the real power is that of healing, protecting, and preserving.[5]She noted that Éowyn tries the path of the warrior and then becomes a healer, and that some academics have interpreted her choice as weak submission. Hatcher stated that instead, Éowyn is following Tolkien's "highest ideal: a fierce commitment to peace", embodying the "full-blooded subjectivity" that Tolkien believed necessary for peace.[5]She described Éowyn as "a complete individual who fulfills Tolkien's theme of peace, preservation, and cultural memory."[5]

Hatcher cited the philosopher Gregory Bassham's list of the six essential ingredients of happiness in Middle-earth, namely "delight in simple things, making light of one's troubles, getting personal, cultivating good character, cherishing and creating beauty, and rediscovering wonder", and stated that these are all seen in Éowyn and the Hobbit Sam, the gardener who inherits Frodo's Bag End and restoresthe Shire,"but in very few others".[5][37]

Arwen[edit]

Further information:ArwenandThe Tale of Aragorn and Arwen
Arwen has been compared to a lady in medieval romance.[38]The Rescue of GuineverebyWilliam Hatherell,1910.

Arwen is depicted as extremely beautiful; she is in Hatcher's view "a symbol of the unattainable, a perfect match for the unattainable Aragorn in Éowyn's eyes."[5]Leibiger wrote that Arwen's lack of involvement follows the general Elvish pattern of retreating to safe havens already established inThe Silmarillionand continued inThe Lord of the Rings.[13]

Enright wrote that Arwen, likeChrist,isan immortal who voluntarily chooses mortality out of love,in her case for Aragorn. She granted that Arwen is not a conspicuous character, and unlike Éowyn does not ride into battle, but stated that her inner power is "subtly conveyed" and present throughout the novel.[15]

The Tolkien scholarVerlyn Fliegerwrote that the love of Arwen and Aragorn gives the hero his most definite romance characteristics. The relationship fits into the medieval romance tradition where the knight has "to endure hardships and perform great deeds for the love of a lady".[38]She noted that Tolkien "buries [this]... in his appendixes" for the reader to find "if he looks".[38]Other than that, she wrote, there are just "a few scattered references in the story proper" to show that they are romantic lovers, but even those mostly do not so much as mention Arwen's name.[38]For example, when Galadriel gives gifts to each of the Fellowship as they leave Lothlórien, she asks Aragorn what he would like. He replies "Lady, you know all my desire, and long held in keeping the only treasure [Arwen, Galadriel's granddaughter] that I seek. Yet it is not yours to give me, even if you would...."[T 7]

The fantasy and science fiction authorMarion Zimmer Bradleywrote that the Hobbit Merry sees why Éowyn is part of the story while Arwen is not, "for Éowyn, too, achieves the passing of the 'Heroic Age'"when girls rebel against being women and" dream of male deeds ".[39]

The relationship between Aragorn and Arwen is made even more tender because of its origins. It, like the tale of Beren and Luthien, was written to be a reflection of Tolkien's own relationship with his wife, Edith. They were prevented from a relationship for a time, but when the time came they were reunited. He longed for her for years, and she gave up an engagement and her church to be with him, much like Aragorn had to wait to marry Arwen, and she gave up her immortality for him.

Other women[edit]

Rosie Cotton[edit]

"Simple 'rustic' love":[T 1]the portrayal of Rosie Cotton bySarah McLeodinPeter Jackson'sLord of the Ringsfilm trilogyhelped to create an "explosion" of fan fiction about the character.[40]

Tolkien wrote in a letter that "the simple 'rustic' love of Sam and his Rosie (nowhere elaborated) isabsolutely essential[his italics] to the study of his (the chief hero's) character, and to the theme of the relation of ordinary life (breathing, eating, working, begetting) and quests, sacrifice, causes, and the 'longing for Elves', and sheer beauty. "[T 1]Megan N. Fontenot, writing inTor.com,considered Rosie important as an emotional anchor for her would-be husband, and a real world anchor for readers.[23]Echoing Tolkien's remarks, she wrote that their relatable relationship helped to makeAragorn and Arwen's idealised romancebelievable, and set it in context.[23]Tolkien wrote about Rosie and Sam's eldest daughter, Elanor, within the book's Appendices, describing her uncommon Elf-like beauty and how she became amaid of honourto Queen Arwen.[41]Elanor inherits theRed Book of Westmarch,anin-universe framing device,[T 8]from Sam when he sails to Valinor after his wife's death.[41]

Amy Sturgisdescribes inMythlorehow Rosie is reimagined byfemale fans,somehow keeping up with the "daunting" competition "from the regal Galadriel and courageous Eowyn to the exotic Arwen and commandingMelian",in response to the character's" incomplete literary portrait "by Tolkien.[40]She becomes in their fan fiction variously "the paragon of the hearth, the iconoclast of the bedroom, or the agent of the supernatural",[40]reflecting "contemporary taste for a three-dimensional, complex heroine at center stage".[40]Sturgis comments that the "explosion" in Rosie's fan fiction surely depended both on the Internet and onPeter Jackson'sLord of the Ringsfilm trilogy,[40]where Rosie was played bySarah McLeod.[42]

Lobelia Sackville-Baggins[edit]

Further information:Bilbo Baggins § Name

While Tolkien wrote toAllen and Unwinthat Lobelia Sackville-Baggins was modelled on an elderly lady he knew,[43]commentators have suggested that she is an unfavourable caricature ofVita Sackville-West,anaristocraticnovelist and gardening columnist in Tolkien's time.[44][45]The journalist Matthew Dennison called Lobelia a memorablecomic reliefcharacter whose name resembled Sackville-West's, while her frustrated attempts to secure Bag End mirrored Sackville-West's unsatisfied longing to inherit her family home,Knole House.[44]The Tolkien scholarTom Shippeyobserves that thesocially-aspiringSackville-Bagginses have attempted to "Frenchify" their family name,Sac[k]-villemeaning "Bag Town", as a mark of theirbourgeoisstatus.[46]Fontenot drew attention to Lobelia's substantial character development in spite of her minor importance: she contrasted her initially unsympathetic characterisation to her courageous defiance againstSharkey's thugs duringThe Scouring of the Shirearmed with only an umbrella, and her generosity in helping displaced Shire-folk. Fontenot stated that Lobelia was "a compelling character in her own right", an "unexpected hero" whose story serves as a reminder that even the most irritable or contemptuous individuals may have redeeming qualities.[43]

Ioreth[edit]

Ioreth, who triggers the acclamation ofAragornas King, has been likened to theSamaritan woman at the wellwho recognised Jesus as the Christ.[24]Painting byAngelika Kauffmann,1796

Ioreth is a talkative wise-woman who works as a healer at the Houses of Healing inMinas Tirith.The WizardGandalflearns from her that "the hands of the king are the hands of a healer", which inspires him to persuade Aragorn to tend to the wounded survivors of theBattle of the Pelennor Fields,in the process defining Aragorn's power and publicly proving his birthright as the rightful claimant to the kingdom's vacant throne.[18][19]Rutledge compared Ioreth's announcing role to three Biblical women:Anna the Prophetesswho is "looking for the redemption of Jerusalem", and who lets Jerusalem know about the infant Jesus;[47]Naaman's Israelite slave girl, who tells her mistress that the prophetElishacan heal;[48]and theSamaritan woman at the well,who says "Can this be the Christ?"[49][24]

Rutledge ascribes a second role to Ioreth when the war is over: she shows, through her amusingly[24]depicted ordinariness, how current events turn first into lore, stories that get repeated and shared, and eventually into epic, part of Tolkien's construction of a body of myth, legend, and stories supposed to be about the distant past of the real world. Tolkien has presented the story of The War of the Ring from the point of view of the Hobbits. Now, back in the city, the Ring destroyed, and Sauron defeated, readers hear Ioreth, "no longer a towering Old Testament prophetess but an amusing goodwife full of words",[24]explaining everything to her country relative. Sam has become "an esquire"; the other Hobbits are in Ioreth's words "princes of great fame"; Frodo is already a legend, though his personal reality is very different. The reader is back at the level of ordinary folk, and Ioreth is part of a narrative that illuminates how stories develop.[50][18]

Gilraen[edit]

Further information:Born of Hope

Gilraen,Aragorn's mother, is briefly mentioned by Tolkien, speaking a sadlinnodof her loss of hope for herself, though she has given the world her son Aragorn, who is also namedEstel,"Hope".[T 9]Kate Madison's 2009 fan filmBorn of Hopegrows from this small hint. The film imagines a time in the life of Aragorn's parents, Gilraen and Arathorn. Madison plays a non-canonical character, Elgarain, who has a passion for her friend-in-arms Arathorn, which she keeps hidden as he is already with Gilraen. Orcs attack the village as Arathorn and Gilraen are deciding how to keep the infant Aragorn safe. Elgarain is mortally wounded fighting off the orcs from Gilraen's hut.[51][52][53]

In film[edit]

Further information:Peter Jackson's interpretation of The Lord of the Rings
The Tolkien scholarTom Shippeyremarks the appearance of alove trianglein this poster forThe Two Towersfilm, unlike in the book.[54]

Shippey comments that the leading women may have seemed insufficiently prominent to some of those responsible for marketingPeter Jackson'sThe Lord of the Ringsfilm trilogy.He noted that a publicity shot forThe Two TowersdepictedViggo Mortensenas Aragorn with upheld sword in the centre, with Arwen and Éowyn on either side to give the impression of alove triangle.He commented that to do that, "pretty drastic" changes were required, not least because Tolkien has Éowyn only speak 42 words, of which just 5 are to Aragorn; whereas in the film, Éowyn appears in 14 out of 62 scenes. Similarly, he notes, Arwen does not speak at all in Tolkien'sThe Two Towers,whereas she features "prominently" in 3 scenes in the film. To achieve this, the film uses material on Arwen from Appendix 5, while for Éowyn, Shippey states, some of Gandalf's dialogue is given toGrima Wormtongueso that Éowyn can appear directly.[54]

The Tolkien scholarJanet Brennan Croftwrites that in the book, Arwen is "never a temptress" or obstacle, she is "an inspiration and a source of strength", while when Éowyn presents a temptation, "his unquestioned commitment to and faith in his relationship with Arwen helps him pass the test".[55]In contrast, she writes, Jackson's Aragorn "reacts to both women... as at least distractions if not outright temptresses".[55]She notes that in the film, Aragorn tries to reject Arwen's pendant, though she says it is hers to give, and he is "even rather harsh towards Éowyn's infatuation", where Tolkien has him speaking "with great delicacy of care for her feelings".[55]

The scholar of literature Maureen Thum comments more positively that Jackson presents "a vivid picture" of the story's three powerful women, their visual importance matching their "unusually high significance in a novel... dominated... by men".[56]Thum writes that Jackson "stresses what Tolkien implies"[56]by portraying Éowyn's feelings for Aragorn and her skill in battle. She finds the invented scenes for Arwen appropriate in reflecting Arwen's significance. She considers that Jackson has not changed Tolkien's portrait of Galadriel, other than to emphasise the power that Tolkien mentions that she has. In Thum's view, although his reworking of the three characters often departs radically from Tolkien's text, he accurately represents Tolkien's view of women.[56]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^Arthurian legend,retold in modern works such asAlfred Tennyson'sThe Lady of ShalottandGalahad.
  2. ^Norse saga,retold inWilliam Morris's 1876The Story of Sigurd the Volsung and the Fall of the Niblungs.

References[edit]

Primary[edit]

  1. ^abcdCarpenter 2023,#131 to Milton Waldman, 1951
  2. ^Tolkien, J. R. R.(1964). "On Fairy-Stories".Tree and Leaf.George Allen & Unwin.p. 39.OCLC247412364.
  3. ^Carpenter 2023,#43 to Michael Tolkien, 6–8 March 1941
  4. ^Tolkien 1954a,book 2 ch. 6 "Lothlórien"
  5. ^abcdTolkien 1954,book 3, ch. 6 "The King of the Golden Hall"
  6. ^Tolkien 1955,book 5, ch. 3 "The Muster of Rohan"
  7. ^Tolkien 1954a,book 2 ch. 8 "Farewell to Lórien"
  8. ^Tolkien 1954a,Prologue, "Note on the Shire Records"
  9. ^Tolkien 1955Appendix A "The Númenórean Kings"

Secondary[edit]

  1. ^abcWood, Ralph C.(2003).The Gospel According to Tolkien.Westminster John Knox Press.pp. 2–4.ISBN978-0-664-23466-9.
  2. ^abcdefgŁaszkiewicz, Weronika (2015)."J.R.R. Tolkien's Portrayal of Femininity and Its Transformations in Subsequent Adaptations".Crossroads: A Journal of English Studies.11(4): 15–28.doi:10.15290/cr.2015.11.4.02.ISSN2300-6250.
  3. ^Wagner, Vit (16 April 2007)."Tolkien proves he's still the king".Toronto Star.Archived fromthe originalon 9 March 2011.Retrieved8 March2011.
  4. ^Carpenter, Humphrey(1978) [1977].Tolkien: A Biography.Unwin.pp. 24, 38, 39, 41, 60, 80, 89, 91, 114–115, 122.ISBN0-04-928039-2.
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  6. ^abNelson, Dale (2013) [2007]. "Literary Influences, Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries". InDrout, Michael D. C.(ed.).J.R.R. Tolkien Encyclopedia.Routledge.pp. 366–377.ISBN978-0-415-86511-1.
  7. ^Carpenter, Humphrey(2000) [1977].J.R.R. Tolkien: A Biography.Houghton Mifflin.p. 168.ISBN978-0-61805702-3.
  8. ^Shippey, Tom(2000).J. R. R. Tolkien: Author of the Century.HarperCollins.pp. 127, 347–348.ISBN0-261-10400-4.
  9. ^Croft & Donovan 2015,Introduction.
  10. ^Stimpson, Catharine(1969).J.R.R. Tolkien.Columbia University Press.p. 18.ISBN978-0-231-03207-0.OCLC24122.
  11. ^abcdeButler, Robert W.; Eberhart, John Mark (1 January 2002)."In Tolkien, it's a man's world, and with good reason".Chicago Tribune.Retrieved21 July2020.
  12. ^Fredrick, Candice; McBride, Sam (2001).Women Among the Inklings: Gender, C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, and Charles Williams.Greenwood Press.p. 108.ISBN978-0313312458.
  13. ^abcdefgLeibiger, Carol A. (2013) [2007]. "Women in Tolkien's Works". InDrout, Michael D. C.(ed.).J.R.R. Tolkien Encyclopedia.Routledge.pp. 710–712.ISBN978-0-415-86511-1.
  14. ^Thum, Maureen (2004). "The 'Sub-Subcreation' of Galadriel, Arwen, and Éowyn: Women of Power in Tolkien's and Jackson'sThe Lord of the Rings".InCroft, Janet Brennan(ed.).Tolkien on Film: Essays on Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings.Mythopoeic Press.pp. 231–256.ISBN978-1887726092.
  15. ^abcdefgEnright, Nancy (2007)."Tolkien's Females and the Defining of Power".Renascence.59(2): 93–108.doi:10.5840/renascence200759213.ISSN0034-4346.
  16. ^Partridge, Brenda (1983). "No Sex Please—We're Hobbits: The Construction of Female Sexuality inThe Lord of the Rings".In Giddings, Robert (ed.).J.R.R. Tolkien: This Far Land(PDF).Vision andBarnes & Noble.pp. 179–197.ISBN978-0-3892-0374-2.
  17. ^abRosebury, Brian(2003) [1992].Tolkien: A Cultural Phenomenon.Palgrave.pp. 137–138.ISBN978-1403-91263-3.
  18. ^abcNepveu, Kate (28 June 2010)."LotR re-read: Return of the King V.8, 'The Houses of Healing'".Tor.com.Retrieved31 January2021.
  19. ^abcNepveu, Kate (1 November 2010)."LotR re-read: Return of the King VI.5, 'The Steward and the King".Tor.com.Retrieved25 February2021.
  20. ^abHasser, Katherine (2013) [2006]. "Goldberry". InDrout, Michael D. C.(ed.).J.R.R. Tolkien Encyclopedia.Routledge.pp. 245–246.ISBN978-1-1358-8033-0.
  21. ^Croft & Donovan 2015,"The Valkyrie Reflex", pages 221–257.
  22. ^Basso, Ann McCauley (2008)."Fair Lady Goldberry, Daughter of the River".Mythlore.27(1). article 12.
  23. ^abcdFontenot, Megan (11 February 2021)."Exploring the People of Middle-earth: The 'Absolutely Essential' Rosie Cotton".Tor.com.Retrieved25 February2021.
  24. ^abcdeRutledge, Fleming(2004).The Battle for Middle-earth: Tolkien's Divine Design in The Lord of the Rings.William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.pp. 305–308.ISBN978-0-80282-497-4.
  25. ^abFenwick, Mac (1996)."Breastplates of Silk: Homeric Women in The Lord of the Rings".Mythlore.21(3). article 4.
  26. ^Craig, David M. (2001). "'Queer Lodgings': Gender and Sexuality inThe Lord of the Rings".Mallorn(38): 11–18.
  27. ^Lionarons, Joyce Tally (2013)."Of Spiders and Elves".Mythlore.31(3): 5–13.
  28. ^Bassham, Gregory; Bronson, Eric (2013).The Lord of the Rings and Philosophy: One Book to Rule Them All.Open Court.p. 35.ISBN978-0-8126-9806-0.
  29. ^Grant, Patrick (1973)."Tolkien: Archetype and Word".Cross Currents(Winter 1973): 365–380.
  30. ^abcdCroft & Donovan 2015,"Hidden in Plain View", pages 281–305.
  31. ^Hammond, Wayne G.;Scull, Christina(2005).The Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion.HarperCollins.p. 324.ISBN978-0-00-720907-1.
  32. ^Burns, Marjorie(2005).Perilous Realms: Celtic and Norse in Tolkien's Middle-earth.Toronto, Ontario, Canada:University of Toronto Press.pp. 114–116, footnote 33 (page 194).ISBN978-0-8020-3806-7.
  33. ^Croft & Donovan 2015,"She-who-must-not-be-ignored", pages 70–96.
  34. ^Young, Helen (2015).Fantasy and Science Fiction Medievalisms: From Isaac Asimov to A Game of Thrones.Cambria Press. p. 55, note 37.ISBN978-1-62196-747-7.The gender-role inversion in Arbo's painting does not last for long: later in the film, Éowyn takes the same position as the shield maiden Hervor in the painting, lying on a field strewn with dead bodies, where her brother, Éomer, finds her. The colors in Arbo's painting are the golds, reds, yellows, and blues found in Rohan in the film, down to the white of the steed that, in the painting, has survived its rider.
  35. ^Clark Hall, J. R.(2002) [1894].A Concise Anglo-Saxon Dictionary(4th ed.).University of Toronto Press.pp. 85dierne,"hidden, secret", 177helm,"defence, helmet".
  36. ^Yates, Jessica (2000). "Arwen the Elf Warrior?".Amon Hen(165 (September 2000)): 11–15.
  37. ^Bassham, Gregory (2003). "Tolkien's Six Keys to Happiness". In Bassham, Gregory; Bronson, Eric (eds.).The Lord of the Rings and Philosophy.Open Court.pp. 49–60.ISBN978-0812695458.
  38. ^abcdFlieger, Verlyn(2004). "Frodo and Aragorn: The Concept of the Hero".In Rose A. Zimbardo; Neil D. Isaacs (eds.).Understanding the Lord of the Rings: The Best of Tolkien Criticism.Houghton Mifflin.pp. 122–145.ISBN978-0-618-42251-7.
  39. ^Bradley, Marion Zimmer(2004). "Men, Halflings, and Hero Worship". In Rose A. Zimbardo; Neil D. Isaacs (eds.).Understanding the Lord of the Rings: The Best of Tolkien Criticism.Houghton Mifflin.pp. 76–92.ISBN978-0-618-42251-7.
  40. ^abcdeSturgis, Amy H.(2006)."Reimagining Rose: Portrayals of Tolkien's Rosie Cotton in Twenty-First Century Fan Fiction".Mythlore.24(3). Article 10.
  41. ^abFontenot, Megan (25 February 2021)."Exploring the People of Middle-earth: Elanor Gamgee".Tor.com.Retrieved27 February2021.
  42. ^Catherall, Sarah (2 March 2004)."Oscars just another day for Mrs Gamgee".The New Zealand Herald.Retrieved12 March2021.
  43. ^abFontenot, Megan (14 January 2021)."Exploring the People of Middle-earth: Lobelia Sackville-Baggins, an Unexpected Hero".Tor.com.Retrieved25 February2021.
  44. ^abDennison, Matthew (18 August 2015)."Behind The Mask: Vita Sackville-West".St Martin's Press.Archivedfrom the original on 20 September 2015.Retrieved20 April2020.
  45. ^Doctorow, Cory (16 September 2019)."Tolkien's Lobelia Sackville-Baggins is probably a misogynist satire of women's rights campaigner Victoria Sackville-West".Boingboing.net.Retrieved5 March2021.
  46. ^Shippey, Tom(2001).J. R. R. Tolkien: Author of the Century.HarperCollins.pp. 5–11.ISBN978-0261-10401-3.
  47. ^Luke 2:22, 36–38
  48. ^2 Kings 5
  49. ^John 4:28–29, 39
  50. ^Rutledge, Fleming(2004).The Battle for Middle-earth: Tolkien's Divine Design in The Lord of the Rings.William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.pp. 349–350.ISBN978-0-80282-497-4.
  51. ^Lamont, Tom (7 March 2010)."Born of Hope – and a lot of charity".The Observer.Retrieved16 April2013.
  52. ^Reid, Robin Anne (2009)."The Hunt for Gollum: Tracking issues of fandom cultures".Transformative Works and Cultures.3.doi:10.3983/twc.2009.0162.
  53. ^Ide, Wendy (12 February 2010). "Born of Hope".The Times.
  54. ^abShippey, Tom(8 July 2014)."Tolkien Book to Jackson Script: The Medium and the Message (audio talk with transcript)".Retrieved8 January2021.
  55. ^abcCroft, Janet Brennan(2011)."Jackson's Aragorn and the American Superhero Monomyth".In Bogstad, Janice M.; Kaveny, Philip E. (eds.).Picturing Tolkien.McFarland.pp. 216–226.ISBN978-0-7864-8473-7.
  56. ^abcThum, Maureen (2005). "Sub-subcreation of Galadriel, Arwen, and Éowyn: Women of Power in Tolkien's and Jackson's 'The Lord of the Rings'".InCroft, Janet Brennan(ed.).Tolkien on Film: Essays on Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings.Mythopoeic Press.pp. 231–256.ISBN978-1887726092.

Sources[edit]

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