The One Ring affected races differently, not genders [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img]. Galadriel always had her *thirst* for power, and the tom-boyness she had in Aman did not fully wear off.
But then, she also grew wiser with the years. And, before I repeat everything everybody had already said, I'll quit [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img].

Although, wouldn't it be nice to think that if Isildur had been a woman, he would have thrown the Ring into Mount Doom? [img]smilies/biggrin.gif[/img]

-Aredhel

Oh I don't know about that! [img]smilies/biggrin.gif[/img] Seriously though, if the Ring had a mind of it's own, & an intense draw to others, perhaps it used men's lust for power to manipulate men, & women's lust for jewlery to manipulate women? [img]smilies/cool.gif[/img]

I have to disagree with you there. I think that it really does affect both genders fairly equally, see other people's countless examples of Galadriel [img]smilies/biggrin.gif[/img] .

[ August 16, 2003: Message edited by: The Only Real Estel ]

Precisely. The Ring would use anyone to try and get back to its master, and it always seems to have tailored the proffered temptation to suit the individual. With Gollum it seems to have been its basic appearance as a shiny, possibly valuable item; with Sam it was the thought of turning the plateau of Gorgoroth into a garden; and with Bilbo it was mainly the ability to disappear at will.

The Ring picked on some element in the holder's personality and worked on it, and that works irrespective of gender.

[ August 16, 2003: Message edited by: The Squatter of Amon Rûdh ]

Hmmm, you know, I think the Squatter has hit upon it.

"...proffered temptation to suit the individual"
Percisely! It doesn't really matter what gender the tempted person is, it is more about how ambitious he/she is. That is why Gandalf and Elrond feared the Ring so much; they have too much to strive for. I think that one of the reasons for Bilbo to be able to let go of the Ring was because he didn't want very much from life at that point - just to go "see the mountains" and visit his friends; he's already reached his main goal.

It seems logical to assume that women would be equally tempted by the Ring . . . if there were any women in Middle Earth. ;)

It isn't so much the ambition of Gandalf and Elrond (and Galadriel) that make them specially susceptible to the Ring, but the fact that they already have so much native power of their own.

Well, according to Gandalf the reason Bilbo was able to give up the Ring was that at the start of his possession of it, he had shown Gollum mercy in the Orc-cave.

FOTR The Shadow of the Past

Generally I would agree with Squatter: the Ring's call to people was that it offered power beyond that they already had, power to accomplish dreams and prevent fears from coming true. Anyone would be ultimately open to such a call. I could see Éowyn falling under the Ring's sway just as easily as I could her brother, or Háma the Doorward of Théoden.

It is true that the ore power you already have, the more dangerous the Ring is. However, someone with power who doesn't want to do anything with it would be affected differently than someone who is trying to achieve a desparate goal. The latter one would likely be more easily tempted by the Ring, don't you think?

It seems to me that the greater the individual's power, the more the Ring wants them, because such persons are often in positions of responsibility or authority that could provide it with many more inroads to corrupt them. The Ring wants to get back to its master, and in being used sends up flares, so to speak, to tell Sauron where it is. The more powerful the user, the more it can be used to do things that would really get noticed.

But I think that I would not say that ambition is a key; rather, I would call it need. Granted, to ambitious persons, anything that will further their ambition can be perceived as a need. But I think that hobbits like Bilbo and Frodo and Sam were able to resist for as long as they did because they had little in the way of the kinds of need that Elrond and Gandalf and even Boromir had, due to their greater responsibilities. Eówyn, IMHO, is something of an unusual case, because she had already been manipulated by Saruman through Wormtongue, into a state of despair in which she believed that she was in a cage and could only regain her honor and freedom through battle. Even so, I think it likely that the Ring would have gotten to her less through temptations of herself as a war hero and more through making her believe it would give her the power to heal Théoden and restore The House of Eorl to dignity and glory. But alas, as Gandalf said, it wouldn't stop there.

Just my nickel's worth.

It isn't a question of gender, though, which was my point.

And my point too.

And a perfectly well-taken point. Women are just as vulnerable to the lure of the Ring as men.

I'm pretty sure gender had little to do with it, since if you noticed women were not even as exposed to the Ring as men. How many women even saw the Ring? Since LotR seems to be a male-dominated story, the chances of women even seeing the Ring are few.

I wonder how a female Hobbit would have fared against the Ring's temptation. As well as Frodo? What would the Ring have had as a tool to pry its way into their hearts? Lobelia Sackville-Baggins probably would've seen herself with Bag End and the world's supply of silver spoons. ;)

Interesting question! We don't know much about female Hobbits, since Tolkien never used them in an important sort of sense. The only female Hobbits we 'know' of are Rosie and Lobelia. They seem to be very traditional, very unlike the elves. As in you'd probably never see a female Hobbit go to war, or even learn something beyond gardening, sewing or cooking (did any Hobbit learn much more than that? :p). So I'd say that the psyche of the female would be that she couldn't carry the Ring, and that would hinder her, if nothing else.

If Smeagol's beloved grandmother took the Ring away from him, what do you think would have happened to her? How'd she be tempted? To become the most prominent and respectful member of their settlement?

Difficult to say without knowing more about her, but I think it's safe to say that she would have fallen sooner or later, one way or the other. The Ring had an exceptional power to tempt and eventually corrupt. Gandalf feared to wield it, Elrond shunned to hide it, and even Frodo attempted to claim it at the last. I don't think female gender would be sufficient protection against its evil!

I have to agree with Inziladun on this one. I imagine that given the chance, we would have heard a similar speech from Eowyn's lips as we heard from Boromir's, what with the driving the hosts of Mordor and having everyone flock to her banner and all.