Gender Roles In Lord Of The Rings

Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien is a male dominated novel. There are few women roles in the novel which are underdeveloped with characters that minimally progress the plot. In other cases, the women are relegated to character groups such as the Ent-wives and Orcs, thereby obfuscating their individuality. The lack of a strong female presence in the Lord of the Rings trilogy is reflective of traditional gender roles in British society which creates an imbalance in the novel. The gender imbalance in the Lord of the Rings trilogy is seen in minor character groups. There are no female characters in two fantasy groups: the Ents and the Orcs. Both the Ent-wives and female Orcs are absent in Lord of the Rings. Treebeard explains that the Ent-wives ran away long ago to create a garden in better lands. This explanation is unsatisfactory to the reader, as it simply does not make much logical sense. Female Orcs, like the Ent-wives, are also not present, but this time without an explanation. The mood of the book would have greatly improved if women were included even in these minor character groups or if the author had a

Eowyn is portrayed in a more powerful way, has a greater presence and more dialogue than other female characters. Eowyn’s only powerful moment in the novel is when she marches into battle dressed as a man. She stabs the Nazgul Lord, who prior to his death, had declared that “no living man may hinder me!” As he died, she replied by saying, “you look upon a woman. Eowyn I am.” Tolkien initially gives Eowyn credit for her brave deeds. However, after returning from battle, she is shunned by her community who would rather her brave deeds be committed by a man. This is because, as a woman, she was deemed incapable of going into battle despite her successful, heroic actions. It is distressing to the reader to see her shunned rather than extolled for her brave deeds because of her