While some may view LOTR as simply a man’s story, others will point out the significant roles the women have, especially the three major characters – Galadriel, Éowyn, and Arwen.
It is also not necessarily about the amount or the presence of women in the legendarium, but claims have been made concerning the roles of women in LOTR – with some thinking that they were either only mentioned very briefly or in relation to other characters, or that they simply just had simple traits – at least compared to the men in the story.
At first glance it may seem true that women are kind of brushed off to the side – but once we dig deeper in the characters arcs, we may find more significance to them than we would otherwise think.
A story made by and for men and boys?
Simpson’s quote
Catherine Stimpson, a scholar of English and feminism, has mentioned that Tolkien’s women were “hackneyed … stereotypes … either beautiful and distant, simply distant, or simply simple.”
Again – it may seem that she had a point at first glance if you look at numbers and proportions alone – especially if you take into consideration that most of the main characters are male, including an entire fellowship and all of the major characters in its predecessor, The Hobbit. Additionally, the three major female characters – they weren’t mentioned nearly as often as the men, nor were they part of the fellowship.
This is commonly attributed to Tolkien’s experience in the war and the Inklings in all or mostly male environments. Because of that, it would possibly never occur to him to have a female protagonist in LOTR or even just as many female characters as some other works today to the extent that many would expect.
This claim however is not unique to time as it has been said since the books first came out in 1954. Tolkien points out, and it seems obvious, that he did indeed include a sizable amount of women in LOTR and his legendarium. But it didn’t matter to him how many men or women were in his legendarium, showing that his main motive was to tell a story, regardless of the gender of the character – though the gender may have an influence on the character.
The only criticism that annoyed me was one that it ‘contained no religion’ (and ‘no Women’, but that does not matter, and is not true anyway). (Letter 165)
However, this lack of women seems to appear more on the surface than it is actually true in Tolkien’s works.
Arwen in books and movies
For example, Peter Jackson did indeed have more scenes with Arwen than Tolkien did in the books at first glance, leading to many thinking that PJ was trying to pick up after Tolkien to champion the female roles in LOTR. However, that didn’t mean that Tolkien didn’t care nor write much about Arwen.
Tolkien did indeed write about Arwen, though it was mainly in the appendices, which PJ probably used to create more Arwen scenes. Thus it can also be concluded that Arwen was important equally in both Tolkien and Jackson’s versions.
Chicago Tribune – Influence of Women in Tolkien
Meanwhile, in the Chicago Tribune, Robert Butler mentioned that…
“Hobbits, elves, dwarves, men, wizards: They all get their due in J.R.R. Tolkien’s “Lord of the Rings” trilogy. Women, on the other hand, do not.
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.”
However, many women in Tolkien’s legendarium were in fact influenced by his wife and his daughter. For example, when beginning to write about Beren and Lúthien in the Silmarillion, he was indeed influenced by his own relationship with his wife. Tolkien writes a letter to his son after the death of his wife, mentioning the influence she had on Lúthien.
“I never called Edith Lúthien – but she was the source of the story that in time became the chief part of the Silmarillion. It was first conceived in a small woodland glade filled with hemlocks at Roos in Yorkshire (where I was for a brief time in command of an outpost of the Humber Garrison in 1917, and she was able to live with me for a while). In those days her hair was raven, her skin clear, her eyes brighter than you have seen them, and she could sing – and dance. But the story has gone crooked, & I am left, and I cannot plead before the inexorable Mandos.” (Letters)
And now, if you look at their graves, you can see “Beren” and “Lúthien” carved below their respective names. This is the most notable source of his wife’s influence on his work, though it can be said that his wife and daughter have influenced other characters as well. Many of the characters had sons and daughters, which he may have had influence on them when creating other characters.
Chapman’s quote
“Tolkien just wasn’t interested in females,” Vera Chapman, the secretary and founder of the British Tolkien Society, says in Daniel Grotta’s biography, “J.R.R. Tolkien: Architect of Middle-earth.” “He had a story to tell and the female element just wasn’t necessary, except towards the end when his children, for whom he was writing, were growing up. . . .”
While it is true that a lot of the main characters are males, including all the 9 members of the fellowship of LOTR, the fellowship also does not constitute all the male characters.
For example, the elves, aside from Legolas, were not part of the nine members of the fellowship regardless of their gender, and it had nothing to do with their gender at all. It was simply the fall of the Elves and dominion of Men or mortals, and most Elves simply weren’t interested in war in this part of the Third Age – which could be why Galadriel and Arwen did not fight in battle.
“[Elves] were skilled in the lore of healing bodies, though such men abstained from hunting and went not to war until the last need.” (“Laws and Customs of the Eldar”)
Meanwhile, Éowyn, a mortal, while not part of the original fellowship – did indeed fight in battle, having fought and defeated the Witch-king of Angmar.
Female Characters roles in LOTR
Additionally, despite many claims that there are no strong women, or that the women there play a more marginal role compared to the male counterparts, there are still a lot of strong female characters in Tolkien’s legendarium.
Today, we will briefly focus on the three major characters of LOTR, – Galadriel, Arwen, and Éowyn – though I acknowledge there are other female characters in LOTR such as Goldberry, Rosie, Elanor the fair, Lobelia, and Shelob – not to mention many in The Silmarillion and other works of Middle-earth.
Galadriel
Galadriel, the princess of the Noldor, dwelt in Lothlórien and stayed there during the War of the Ring. Galadriel was born in Valinor during the Years of the Trees but would spend most her time in Middle-earth to establish a ruling there. This makes her able to see the entire view of Arda having lived through all the ages.
While she is most known for giving gifts to the fellowship so that they can go on, she also bore one of the Three Rings, Nenya, which allowed her to conceal evils – and would also make her a significant elven character along with Elrond, the keeper of Vilya. However, she would wait until after the Fall of Sauron to use it to preserve Lothlórien.
She was also able to perceive Sauron’s nature, and had a power of foresight – being able to see the future which is referred to as elf-magic.
This Mirror was used to foreshadow the events happening in the Shire.
“‘…But [the Mirror], if you will, is the magic of Galadriel. Did you not say that you wished to see Elf-magic?’
‘I did,’ said Sam,…’and I’d not mind a glimpse of what’s going on at home.’” (FOTR, “The Mirror of Galadriel”)
And Sam would find out a lot of things about The Shire through the mirror of Galadriel.
Arwen
Arwen was from the half-elven line, being the daughter of Elrond. She often resembled Lúthien, an elf who would fall in love with a mortal and share the fate with him. By resembling Lúthien she would help unite Elves and Men in peace.
While marrying Aragorn was a major reason for her decision, this fate and her ability to decide was always there as a half-elf.
As a descendant of Elrond’s line, Arwen would be able to choose her fate. Her father, Elrond chose to be immortal while Elros, Elrond’s brother, chose a mortal life. Arwen would choose a similar fate that Elros would.
Arwen would become the Queen of the Reunited Kingdom after giving Frodo her spot in the Undying Lands. Elrond would ask her to wait until Aragorn would become the king of Gondor and Arnor, which he eventually would do. They would wed after the War of the Ring.
However, many were confused by why Arwen decided to not go to the Undying Lands, suggesting that she should be able to reunite with her kin.
While she mainly made the decision to be with Aragorn, this choice would have been available regardless as she was part of a line that allowed it. She would give her spot to Frodo knowing how much he was suffering. It can be presumed she arranged this before choosing a mortal life.
She must’ve been written in the same way as Aragorn or Elros, who are Númenóreans.
“…the early Númenóreans, though being fallen, by a special grace generally approach nearest to the unfallen Quendi, particularly in their right relations to God, to incarnate existence and self mastery, the natural world, and in their interests and arts.”
(NoME, App. A. “Metaphysical and Theological Themes”)
Thus her choice was either to be an elf or to be of a kind most similar – and neither seem to be superior experiences to the other but rather different experiences in and of themselves.
Éowyn
Eowyn’s story began when she had a desire to marry Aragorn and to fight and die in battle. Her main reason is to face peril and do great deeds in battle and to die in honor as a result.
It seems that she would have a story about wanting to be more than a mere woman, or to go beyond what she perceives as a stereotypical female role. But this is also what Tolkien originally intended in earlier drafts, for Aragorn and Éowyn to wed until he started writing about Arwen. It seems after that, Tolkien simply intended a different story arc for Éowyn. Thus, Aragorn would not reciprocate her feelings for him, as he had already loved Arwen.
Éowyn would disguise herself as a man named Dernhelm at first, though eventually she would reveal her identity as a woman and defeat the Witch-king of Angmar.
However, many may be confused by Éowyn’s choice at the end, to be a healer and marry Faramir, thinking that she was tamed to adapt more of a gentle role just because she is a woman. However, this seems to be more about the general message that there needs to be more to the battle than fighting and doing great deeds in battle.
“I will be a shieldmaiden no longer, nor vie with the great Riders, nor take joy only in the songs of slaying. I will be a healer, and love all things that grow and are not barren.’” (ROTK)
Tolkien’s mother, Mabel Tolkien
Lastly, we will discuss how the women in Tolkien’s life and their influences in his works. We have discussed earlier about how his wife, Edith, was a more direct influence in his works.
However, he was also inspired by his mother, mainly due to her conversion to Catholicism when Tolkien was a small boy, in an area that largely discouraged it. They grew up in Victorian England, which was primarily defined by the attendance and worship of the Church of England, or being a good Anglican.
Mabel Tolkien received her instruction of the Catholic Faith at St Anne’s in Birmingham, and due to England being primarily Anglican, they were stuck with the “slum-lands” of the area while the Anglicans would receive the best church architecture.
She expected her conversion to cause a rift in her family. And indeed it did – her sister, May’s husband, Walter Incledon, objected so strongly to visiting a Catholic Church ever again, as he was a strong Anglican – and she gave in to this demand that she stopped practicing as a Catholic.
Mabel would convert and later provide religious instruction to her sons so she would begin looking for a knowledgeable parish as the priest who taught her, Fr. Dowling would be ready to retire by then, and she would later select Fr. Francis Morgan as the executor of her will and the guardian of her sons. She would settle on the Birmingham Oratory which was particularly supportive of convert women like herself. She had to support herself and was “particularly vulnerable both to the effects of anti-Catholic prejudice and to the difficulties of obtaining employment as Catholics.” (Adams)
As a result, they would buy a house on Warwick Street to provide a base for convert women. A year later, Tolkien would be received into the Church himself, as a convert, since he would be past the age of reason in the Catholic Church.
“When writing The Lord of the Rings, to arrange the schedule of events in his fictional world so that they corresponded…with key dates in the life of Christ: the Fellowship set out from Rivendell on December 25 (the date of Christ’s nativity), and the Ring is destroyed on March 25 (the date of the Annunciation)…[which] he deliberately chose to heighten the effect.” (Holly Ordway, Tolkien’s Faith: “Formation”)
