The International Relations of Middle Earth

[Lalwendë]

Originally Posted by Tuor in Gondolin

One bit he touched on, not mentioned above, was feminist philosophy in LoTR. I hadn't realized there were several variants of feminism. Ruane devotes a chapter to it. James cited several varieties...

Once you step out of your door on that road there's no knowing where it will take you...I'm still getting over the recent Suzanne Moore controversy. Apparently, if you want to get into discussing modern feminism you're going to have to learn what intersectionality and privilege checking are. I count myself as a feminist but apparently I am a dinosaur for not knowing these terms.

I don't know if you could actually classify each female character as representative of a particular aspect of feminism - it's a constantly shifting philosophy. But you could certainly read Tolkien's works and apply different types of feminist reading to it. For example, if you applied this new concept of 'intersectionality' then you could conclude that most of the female characters are quite privileged, though you could have a field day with Eowyn's cross dressing. Not. Going. There. Right now...

I always think Galadriel has a little bit of the Maggie Thatcher about her, especially when she thinks about what might happen if she gets her hands on the One Ring