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Tolkien's female characters
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Many call him the master of fantasy. Throughout his career, he wrote hundreds of poems and stories. J.R.R. Tolkien was a pioneer of fantasy literature during the mid-1900’s and continues to be one of the most famous writers to this day. As a young boy, Tolkien loved to learn about words and languages. As he grew older, he came to enjoy not only learning about words but also writing them.
Before Tolkien became famous as a writer, he helped work on The New English Dictionary where he researched the history and origins of words starting with the letter W. He also translated many stories from Anglo-Saxon, Middle English, and other languages. But Tolkien’s most famous work is as an author. His best known works are The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy.
Despite his great success, some critics believe that there is something considerably wrong with Tolkien and his work. These people claim that he is sexist. This is because there is a lack of female characters in many of his stories and the few that do exist do not play any major roles. They also suggest that many of the female characters play the part of a stereotypical housewife, staying at home cooking and cleaning while the men go off to war. Candice Fredrick and Sam McBride, the authors of Women Among the Inklings: Gender, maintain that,
Males operate within a system that is overtly patriarchal. Men are the doers, workers, thinkers, and leaders. Women are homemakers, nurses, and distant love interests. (109)
They argue that this could be because Tolkien had very few female influences in his life. His mother died when he was a young boy, he only had one wife with whom he hardly interacted with later in life, and the vast majority of his colleagues were male scholars. In...
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...ications, 1992. Print.
Conrad-O'Briain, Helen. "Overview of 'Lord of the Rings'." Epics for Students. Ed. Elizabeth Bellalouna. Vol. 2. Detroit: Gale Group, 2001. Literature Resources from Gale. Web. 22 Mar. 2010.
Enright, Nancy. "Tolkien's females and the defining of power." Renascence: Essays on Values in Literature 59.2 (2007): 93+. Literature Resources from Gale. Web. 22 Mar. 2010.
Fredrick, Candice, and Sam McBride. Women among the Inklings: Gender, C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, and Charles Williams. Wesport (Conn.): Greenwood, 2001. Print.
Hatcher, Melissa McCrory. "Finding woman's role in The Lord of the Rings." Mythlore 25.3-4 (2007): 43+. Literature Resources from Gale. Web. 22 Mar. 2010.
Tolkien, J. R. R. The Fellowship of the Ring. New York: Ballentine, 2003. Print.
Tolkien, J. R. R. The Return of the King. New York: Ballantine, 1983. Print.
Gender plays a role in literature, often reflecting the culture at the time of their creation. In such cases, it is also easy to tell the expectations of men and women in society. Gender roles in the works The Odyssey and The Epic of Gilgamesh are similar to which there is an obscure line between the two genders. Although most women are presented as maternal figures in both works, they are mainly seen as tools at the disposal of men.
The characterizations of women have, throughout history, been one of the most problematic subjects in literary tradition. An extraordinary dichotomy has existed with women as being both the paragon of virtue and the personification of evil. Ancient Greeks feared women, and poets such as Hesiod believed the female sex was created to be the scourge of the gods and the bane of men (Fantham 39). Romans, on the other hand, incorporated tales of brave and virtuous women as an intrinsic part of their legendary history (219). Many Catholic saints, revered for their piety, were notoriously misogynistic (Dollison 106), and yet the church counted legions of holy women in the rosters of saints alongside their male counterparts. Despite much historical controversy as to the precise nature of women, none of this confusion seems to seep into the writings of George MacDonald, and there appears to be no conflict to MacDonald’s regard towards women in his female characters in The Princess and the Goblin. The character of the Grandmother in particular is one of the most complimentary fabrications of the figure of the mature female in literature. MacDonald created this fascinating construct of femininity by steeping the Grandmother not only in the arcane feminine symbols such as spinning, pigeons, and the moon, but also in his own concept of the ideal woman, as wise and compassionate as she is mysterious.
This story begins with a small fellow by the name of Bilbo Baggins. This fantasy story was written in 1956 by J.R.R. Tolkien. It is about a hero’s journey through the dangers and wonders of Middle Earth. Although it was not meant to become such a well-known book, it is filled with much literature. Throughout the book, Tolkien uses literary devices such as repetition, similes, and metaphors to develop the theme of cunning and cleverness.
The paper will begin with a look at the life of Tolkien. This will serve the purpose of providing some context for the novel. Looking into the life of Tolkien will also serve to give the reader some insight into the mind that gave birth to such a rich land and why the novel may have some importance for sufferers of mental illness. Next will likely be a short summation of the
Tolkien, a man who shaped so many lives, his story gave so many people meaning, passion and love. He alone created a world for us few who choose to escape to it. Tolkien's writing is as deep as the world he created, purely descriptive and imaginative creating a tale that will forever be remembered and loved by generations to come.
In C.S. Lewis’ sixth book, our heroine Jill Pole sets out on her first adventure into Narnia. She sees giants, evil witches, a green serpent and many more creatures. Accompanied by Puddleglum and Eustace Scrubb, the trio set out on a journey to find the Prince Rilian. Although the three friends go on their adventure together, Puddleglum, Scrubb, and other male characters do most of the grunt work. The Chronicles of Narnia have been criticized for being sexist over recent years. The slander that this book has received is happening now because societal definitions of sexism have changed since this book was written. The Silver Chair was published in 1953, while all accusation of sexism started in the 1990’s. There are small instances of sexism in C.S. Lewis’ novel, The Silver Chair.
Since the beginning of human civilization, women have often occupied inferior roles in society while the dominant role has been played by men. In Homer’s The Odyssey gender roles in Greek society are emphasized showing how men controlled society while women were undervalued and constantly disrespected. Although it may be argued that Homer poses some rather feminist views, it is evident by several elements that The Odyssey is a misogynistic text. First, women in the Odyssey were continually oppressed by men never having true free will. In addition, Women were depicted as symbols of lust, seduction, and evil who bring destruction to men, undermining the true values of women. Furthermore, Women were expected to remain loyal to men while men have no expectation for themselves which promoted gender inequality. Exemplified by these three elements, it is evident that The Odyssey is a misogynistic text depicting a society where women occupy subservient and inferior positions.
The Hobbit, written by John R. R. Tolkien, is a fantasy novel published on September 21, 1937. It was written as a prelude to the famous series, The Lord of the Rings, written seventeen years later. The Hobbit introduces the reader to an incredibly immersive fantasy world, that enriches the reader into its epic storyline. The story takes place in a land called Middle-earth, a land filled with enchanting surprises and magical wonders. It was the perfect playground for Tolkien to develop his main character Bilbo Baggins. Bilbo Baggins was a small hobbit, who unaware in the beginning would become a large role in the plot. It is through this character that Tolkien implemented the theme of heroism into the story. Bilbo’s unexpected adventure with the dwarves and the wizard gave him the opportunity to develop into the ultimate hero of Tolkien’s tale. Bilbo’s epic journey to become the hero of the story begins when Gandalf, the wizard, tells Bilbo of an expedition that would soon change his life forever.
Women, on the other hand, play many more roles than men in this classic. Take Ninsun, the mother of Gilgamesh, for example. She plays the role of the loving, caring mother and also that of the wise counselor that provides guidance. From the very beginning of the book, Gilgamesh seeks guidance from his mother. When he has two dreams about an axe and a meteor, full of concern, he seeks the advice of his mother. At this point, she plays the role of the guiding, comforting mother by analyzing his dreams and relating the two objects to something good, Enkidu, that will soon come into Gilgamesh's life. "My son, the axe you saw is a friend...and I, Ninsun, I shall make him your equal. A mighty comrade will come to you, and be his friend's saviour..." (George, I, 288-291).
For one, Tolkien is not sexist because he illustrates his female characters as growing individualists. Three of the most prominent of these female characters are Eowyn, Galadriel, and Arwen from the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Once Eowyn is knocked back from the rejection of Aragorn, she “must search for healing” (Enright 93). Because Eowyn is forced away from a companionship, she must learn to become an individual in order to be successful. The power of leadership is a motif throughout the stories of the Lord of the Rings and “Galadriel is a stronger embodiment of this power than her husband Celeborn”
Due to traditional stereotypes of women, literature around the world is heavily male-dominant, with few female characters outside of cliché tropes. Whenever a female character is introduced, however, the assumption is that she will be a strong lead that challenges the patriarchal values. The authors of The Thousand and One Nights and Medea use their female centered stories to prove their contrasting beliefs on the role of women not only in literature, but also in society. A story with a female main character can be seen as empowering, but this is not always the case, as seen when comparing and contrasting Medea and The Thousand and One Nights.
Bryan E. Conversion and Canversence The Role and Function of Women In Post-Medieval Icelandic Folktales. Sandinawain Studies 83.2(2011): 165-190. Academic Search Complete. Web. 21 March.2014.
The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien has been given high praise, yet a portion of the novel falls short for critic and that is the women of his world. Some have alleged that he paints an “old-fashioned, misogynistic depiction of women” (Neville 101).When his novel was published this was the accepted view of women. Therefore, are readers holding Tolkien to our moral standers today, not stopping to contemplate what society thought of women when this novel was written? Others have thought that his society shows women as “decorative but ultimately powerless, as pawns in a man’s world” (Neville 101). Much of Tolkien’s world comes from ancient Anglo-Saxon and Norse myth, thus again it would be understand that his women might fit this idea. Yet looking at the women in The Fellowship of the Ring, the idea that these women are powerless, pawns of men does not come to mind. Despite what numerous critics have supposed about the women in Tolkien’s world, they are not powerless pawns of men.
Throughout literature, authors employ a variety of strategies to highlight the central message being conveyed to the audience. Analyzing pieces of literature through the gender critics lens accentuates what the author believes to be masculine or feminine and that society and culture determines the gender responsibility of an individual. In the classic fairytale Little Red Riding Hood, the gender strategies appear through the typical fragile women of the mother and the grandmother, the heartless and clever male wolf, and the naïve and vulnerable girl as little red riding hood.
Roald Dahl was a famous British writer. He was inspired to write because of his dreams and life experiences. He enjoyed telling bedtime stories to his children. These bedtime stories were published and some were made into films. Roald Dahl was great writer and was recognized for his work.