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Lack of Female Characters
http://www.arwen-undomiel.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=71&t=21948
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Author:  Hanasian [ March 2nd, 2017, 7:52 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Lack of Female Characters

Elthir wrote:
Hey there are thousands of females in the chapter about Beorn.

Or at least that's the buzz I'm hearing ;-)


:lol: :lol: :lol:

The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings were written during a time when most women did what Arwen (in the books) did. Stay home, pray, sew, etc. It was probably considered to him that it was quite bold to have Eowyn go out on to the front lines, which was good writing on his part. It was maybe a nod to the Viking shieldmaidens? I'm sure Elthir has a letter or two to explain it. ;)

Anyway, I'm not sure it really mattered much in the Hobbit what the genders were.

Author:  Elthir [ March 2nd, 2017, 8:18 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Lack of Female Characters

I'm just happy someone got my pun :)

Author:  Hanasian [ March 2nd, 2017, 8:44 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Lack of Female Characters

Elthir wrote:
I'm just happy someone got my pun :)

Lol... only took 5 years!

Author:  Elthir [ March 2nd, 2017, 1:55 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Lack of Female Characters

Just goes to show: you can run from a bee pun (even for five years)... but you can't hive.

I apollengize :hide:

Author:  Hanasian [ March 2nd, 2017, 6:47 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Lack of Female Characters

:lol: :headwall:

Author:  Evil.Shieldmaiden [ March 2nd, 2017, 7:46 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Lack of Female Characters

Image

Author:  Gandolorin [ April 2nd, 2017, 11:27 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Lack of Female Characters

When I think about it, JRRT was being eccentric vis-a-vis the generic dragon quest (as in many other aspects) by not having a princess to be rescued from the blighted lizard. What a curmudgeon! (which is probably one of the reasons I find him sympathetic - I differ with him in quite a few real-world opinions, but he appears to hold some - perhaps not explicitly stated but to be recognized without excessive "digging" - that seem to be difficult to reconcile with some of his stated orthodoxies.

Author:  Héalic [ December 11th, 2017, 1:35 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Lack of Female Characters

I think Tolkien wrote it the way he wrote it for a reason. Lack of female characters does not take away from the story at all and adding them in doesn't work well, as we have seen in the movies. I wish it was still socially acceptable to just not have female characters.

Author:  Gandolorin [ December 11th, 2017, 3:12 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Lack of Female Characters

Eighty years after The Hobbit’s publication date now, and when I watch (usually for a very short time before I want to “fwow up”) series, more accurately serials, soaps, telenovelas … and I often see a thunderingly pathetic depiction of women there. Too much stuff from US television which (among other things) has badly gone down the tubes since the days of Alzheimer Ronnie. I’ll take The Hobbit the book kept free of such garbage before seeing it polluted by current garbage. And Tauriel coming uncomfortably close to Mary Sue is no help; actually PJ pushed Galadriel to the edge of such trash too close for comfort (though I did like her seriously “not amused” manner when taking out Sauron …). Things have not become uniformly better even in the western world in the last 80 years.

Author:  Patrick07 [ July 30th, 2018, 7:09 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Lack of Female Characters

Beriadanwen wrote:
So, I just re-read The Hobbit and this time around I was thinking about the lack of a single female character in the novel. I still love the book, but it is quite disappointing that the presence of women in Middle Earth is basically completely ignored (the only exceptions being a mention of Bilbo's mother and a mention of the women and children of Esgaroth). Obviously, middle earth is made up of many patriarchal societies, however Tolkien did include a few very strong female characters in the Lord of the Rings.

I'm just wondering what other people thought about this (why you think he decided to not have any female characters or what effect this had on your enjoyment of the novel).

Personally, I'm very interested the portrayal of women in literature, movies, tv, etc., and to see a complete lack of even peripheral female characters definitely indicates a completely prêt masculine world in which men make all the important decisions. At the same time, I do adore the story of Bilbo, the unlikely hero, who I do not think possesses typically "masculine" traits, being able to hold his own and be a leader. Overall, The Hobbit is undoubtedly an excellent story, but I think it is lacking in this aspect of the narrative.

Yes, I agree with you

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