[Marileangorifurnimaluim]

I think for the most part the characters other than the Hobbits are archetypes, a little more fleshed out than normal, but still... Whenever I see archetypes I don't think it matters whether they're male or female: they're rocks in the course of the stream, directing it one way or the other. The fact that of the five Hobbits (I include Bilbo) there are no girl Hobbits, doesn't bother me either. Five is an awfully small percentage, a focused little group, and the boys do tend to buddy up, yes?

I don't know why, but in fantasy feminist themes seem to flop (Bradley a notable exception). Eowyn works only because of the quasi-viking quality of the Rohirrim. Feminist themes in SciFi on the other hand do well.