[Child of the 7th Age]

Ok, ok. I am feeling very persnickety tonight. So I will disagree with everyone else on this thread.

If I were you, I might actually tell those girls that, while you might not totally agree with their assessment of Hobbit, they have hit upon a criticism that has some validity. And those who know Tolkien, who've delved into the by-ways of Silm and HoMe, are actually more competent to make such a judgment concerning the lack of female characters than students such as these who've barely cracked open a page.

The plain fact is that Tolkien was capable of delineating very strong female characters if and when he cared to do so. Galadriel, Luthien and Andreth are certainly three strong examples of such. Galadriel does make an appearance in Rings, but in a fairly fleeting way. And there are elements of strength in Eowyn. But there is simply no female characters equivalent to Luthien or Andreth in either Rings or Hobbit. What I would give to have just one Wise Woman appear! There are certainly mythic precedents for this that JRRT could have drawn on. There could have been such a character blended into either book, but Tolkien chose not to do it.

The strong female character in Hobbit would have had to be presented in a different way than in LotR. But surely that is not impossible. Just take a look at the character of Gandalf whom the professor certainly succeeded in fitting into two very different books. It could have been done with a female character if the will was there.

Not every book has to have a strong female character......just as not every book has to have a strong male character. But since we know what Tolkien could do when it comes to depicting strong females, we are the ones who should feel deprived.....not these bone-headed girls whom, I'm quite sure, have never seen the Luthien of the Silm or the Andreth of Morgoth's Ring. I do lament the lack of the truly strong female character, especially the "mature" female character as depicted in Andreth. In that sense, I have some sympathy for these women in your class, even though their complaints obviously spring from ignorance.

If you really want to give these girls a headache, give them an assignment. Explain that Tolkien's character almost always have some roots in existing myths and legends. Then ask them to do some snooping and come up with some mythic female characters whom Tolkien might have "adapted" to fit into Middle-earth and specifically into the Hobbit in the same way that Dwarves and Orcs were adapted by the Professor. That should keep them busy and out of trouble!