Female Gender Roles in Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings

Amy, Sturgis H. “Reimagining Rose: Portrayals of Tolkien’s Rosie Cotton in Twenty-First Century Fan Fiction.” Mythlore: A Journal of J. R. R. Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature 24.3–4 [93–94] (Jan. 2006): 165–187. MLA International Bibliography. EBSCO. E. H. Butler Library, Buffalo, NY. 13 Oct. 2008 <http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0OON/is_/ai_n26869671?tag=artbody;col1>.

I am using this source because I saw a comment Tolkien made about how Rosie is important to Sam’s quest and how she is portrayed in fan fiction.

Chance, Jane. The Lord of the Rings: the Mythology of Power. Lexington, KY: UP of Kentucky, 2001.

I found this source from another article’s works cited and want to use it because it talks about how some female characters have roles of power and are heroines.

Donovan, Leslie A. “The Valkyrie Reflex in J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings: Galadriel, Shelob, Eowyn, and Arwen.” Tolkien the Medievalist. Ed. Jane Chance. London and New York: Routledge, 2003 (106–32).

I need to order this book through a loan. It is a collection of articles, and one of them talks specifically about the women it mentions in the title.

Enright, Nancy. “Tolkien’s Females and the Defining of Power.” Renascence 59.2 (Winter2007 2007): 93–108. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. E. H. Butler Library, Buffalo, NY. 13 Oct. 2008 <http://proxy.buffalostate.edu:2048/login?url=http://proxy.buffalostate.edu:2052/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=24658225&site=ehost-live>.

This source further talks about the powerful female characters in The Lord of the Rings and uses the source above this one as a reference.

Fife, Ernelle. “Wise Warriors in Tolkien, Lewis, and Rowling.” Mythlore: A Journal of J. R. R. Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature 25.1–2 [95–96] (2006 Fall-Winter 2006): 147–162. MLA International Bibliography. EBSCO. E. H. Butler Library, Buffalo, NY. 13 Oct. 2008 <http://proxy.buffalostate.edu:2048/login?url=http://proxy.buffalostate.edu:2052/login.aspx?direct=true&db=mzh&AN=2006300234&site=ehost-live>.

This source is helpful in that it specifically talks about Eowyn’s role of fighting. It even talks about the Entwives, which I hadn’t found in other sources.

Fredrick, Candice, and Sam McBride. “Battling the Woman Warrior: Females and Combat in Tolkien and Lewis.” Mythlore: A Journal of J. R. R. Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature 25.3–4 (2007 Spring-Summer 2007): 29–42. MLA International Bibliography. EBSCO. E. H. Butler Library, Buffalo, NY. 13 Oct. 2008 <http://proxy.buffalostate.edu:2048/login?url=http://proxy.buffalostate.edu:2052/login.aspx?direct=true&db=mzh&AN=2007652183&site=ehost-live>.

This article further talks about the perceived sexism in Tolkien’s novels, gives a brief history of women in literature, as well as more discussions of the main female characters in combat.

Hatcher, Melissa M. “Finding Woman’s Role in The Lord of the Rings.” Mythlore: A Journal of J. R. R. Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature 25.3–4 (2007 Spring-Summer 2007): 43–54. MLA International Bibliography. EBSCO. E. H. Butler Library, Buffalo, NY. 13 Oct. 2008 <http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0OOn/is_3-4_25/ai_n27253236?tag=content;col1>.

This article points out what feminist critics negatively say about Tolkien’s treatment of women in his trilogy. It gives a detailed discussion of Eowyn, talks more about Rosie Cotton, and addresses how women play a role in displaying Tolkien’s theme of peace.

Myers, Doris T. “Brave New World: The Status of Women According to Tolkien, Lewis, and Williams.” Cimarron Review (October 1971): 13–19.

I need to find this article online or order it in a loan because I want to get more information on the Inklings’ take on women so that it will emphasize how Tolkien portrays them in story.

Petty, Anne C. One Ring to Bind Them All: Tolkien’s Mythology. University, Alabama: The University of Alabama P, 1979.

This source is not primarily on my topic, but just by flipping through it I was able to read a few points about Galadriel and Shelob. It also reminded me how Eowyn was able to defeat the Nazgul when no other man could.

Rawls, Melanie. “The Feminine Principle in Tolkien.” Mythlore: A Journal of J. R. R. Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature 38 (Spring 1984): 5–13.

I also have to get my hands on this source. I was just attracted to it by the title.

The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien. Ed. by Humphrey Carpenter and Christopher Tolkien. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 2000.

This source has letters that Tolkien wrote to his son that show how he feels about women.

Tyler, J. E. A. The Tolkien Companion. New York, NY: St. Martin’s P, 1976.

This is a great source because it is somewhat of an encylopedia of characters and their names. I at least found a good point about Shelob being better at guarding Middle Earth than Sauron could have been.

Yates, Jessica. “Arwen the Elf Warrior?” Amon Hen165 (September 2000): 11–15.

I need to find this online or through a loan because as it stands I have more information on Eowyn, although Arwen is obviously one of the main women characters.

Emily Marvin? October 13, 2008, at 04:34 PM


Page last modified on October 23, 2008, at 11:45 PM