|
What an interesting thread this is! I've been away from home, so haven't had a lot of time to think about the question, but I will post what thoughts I have now.
The Hobbit is not my favourite Tolkien book, and I did not have the privilege of reading it as a child. I read it as a prelude to the LotR, and in the course of the years, I reread the latter more often than the former. However, I've come to enjoy it again in the past couple of years, certainly prompted in part through discussions here. Why is something I'll have to ponder longer.
I generally do enjoy books with a female slant, though not necessarily the modern ones, and being able to identify with the primary characters is important to me. However, that does not exclude the male characters - depending largely on how well they've been characterized and how the dialogue is written. The main character of one of my favourite books (The Far Pavilions) is male, and I can identify with him strongly.
It's not about gender - it's about humanity! And even when it's about Hobbits, it's about humanity. Perhaps the women can choose a character with whom they can identify on some level - either Bilbo, as the underestimated underdog who develops unexpected strength, or one of the Dwarves, or another character. If they could choose to be one of them, which one and why? How would they write themselves into the story? Do they feel wronged by someone like Thorin? Do they like to get things moving like Gandalf?
As Mithalwen's signature has said (I'm not sure of the exact words), "Men are from Earth, women are from Earth - just deal with it!" Do we have to divide everything into gender issues?!
__________________
'Mercy!' cried Gandalf. 'If the giving of information is to be the cure of your inquisitiveness, I shall spend all the rest of my days in answering you. What more do you want to know?' 'The whole history of Middle-earth.. .'
|