[Child of the 7th Age]

Atariel,

Thanks, Bethberry, for the kudos.

As I said before, I think there are a number of reasons having to do with Tolkien's own past and the nature of his writings why it would be difficult for a woman to fit easily into the fellowship.

But, Atariel, I wanted to make clear that, though we may loosely stand on the same side of the fence on this question, I radically dissent from your reasoning. Your arguments are based on common, outdated stereotypes.

1. The statement about the menstrual cycle is not valid since some women experience difficulty, while others do not. By the same flawed logic, you could argue that fifty-year old Frodo should definitely have been excluded from the fellowship on the grounds that he might have had a man's mid-life crisis, which is quite common.

2. "Girliness and "getting your dress dirty"....Please no. Do not tell me that after all this time, something like this still hangs over our heads.

3. "Women are notoriously *****y, chances are they would fall in love with someone, or have an argument with someone"..... Is this what happens when, we send up "mixed" crews of astronauts, male and female, which would be a comparably difficult task in crowded conditions. I had not heard such reports.

4. "Men versus women falling apart when someone dies." I guess that's why my close friend chose to go into hospice nursing and do the hard day-to-day work with terminally ill patients. Actually, she tells me that eighty percent of the health care workers in hospice situations are now women.

5. ..."the idea of a woman having an important role in, ultimately, a violent cause is laughable." Does this mean that the fifteenth-century Joan of Arc who rode at the front of the French troops was laughable?

Yes, women in battle situations are still the exception rather than the rule even today, but even in the middle-ages there were women who stepped forward. There are documented cases of the lady of the household taking over the efforts to reist a siege, after her own husband was killed.

If we take your logic even further, why would anyone include any hobbits in the company? If we're only looking for the blokes with the biggest muscles and hardest heads, as your argument implies, surely hobbits would not have been welcome.

Tolkien obviously thought differently. He could see how we all have different skills and contributions to make, and that the efforts of a Merry or Pippin in the Fellowship (to say nothing of a Frodo or Sam) were just as valuable as those of a Gimli or Legolas.

Helen,

I know we've politely disagreed about the topic you've raised before. I have to run now, but will respond later.

sharon

sharon, the 7th age hobbit