and If you think the book is sexist, does it affect your enjoyment of the story?
It’s very sexy.
Oh IST…never mind
It certainly portrays a sexist society, but that doesn’t necessarily mean the book itself was sexist. It’s like asking whether Huckleberry Finn was racist.
Does it? I realize that many of the central characters are male, but there are a large number of strong female characters as well - none seemed subservient or in any way treated as less valuable.
or perhaps I don’t know what the OP means by “sexist”.
As for a dictionary meaning
I don’t recall any of that.
Unless you count that Drawf women and the Ent-Wives have gone missing.
If nothing else, you’ve got the fact that no females were allowed to go to war or off on adventures. Yes, Eowyn went off to war anyway, but she had to disguise herself as a man to do so. And out of the 23 main adventurers in The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings, all were male.
A large number?
I count Galadriel, Eowyn, and…
Help me out here. Who else is there? Goldberry?
Luthien is pretty badass (if you include the Silmarillion), but I’m drumming my fingers trying to think of female characters who were even present in the story. Arwen barely appears in the LotR and her main contribution is stitching together Aragorn’s banner, although I’m sure it was quite lovely.
Well, now, Shelob is female and was important to the story, so there’s another one.
So…females are bitchy spiders? Not helping the case. 
large number - ok - I should have said -
Of the women who are featured - 1 is a queen and the other kills The WitchKing.
It could be said that the 2 of them is 1/5 of the main chars of the series.
Eowyn could be said to be a voice against the Sexism of the time (and even modern) - by wanting to be part of the battle itself and take her place there.
Even when Theoden was wanting her to stay with the people, it wasn’t because she was a weak woman, it was because of her qualities as a leader - he could have named any of the other men to rule in his place and he didn’t.
I was originally including Arwen, but she isn’t really in the books themselves.
Since there is no other outright statements or commentary on the role of women during the begnning of the “age of MEN”, we can’t really comment on how they are treated elsewhere.
Another female mentioned in passing is Belladonna Baggins from whom Bilbo is said to have inherited his rather unhobbit-like adventurous streak.
From the Hobbit and LOTR era (approximately,) there were some notable strong female characters. Unfortunately he never developed most of them to their full potential. I’ll skip Arwen and Eowyn as there’s been adequate discussion about them already.
A) The three remarkable daughters of the Old Took: Belladonna, Donnamira, and Mirabella
B) Galadriel, (probably) the last Calaquendi female in Middle Earth and ruler of a great realm. A peer of Fëanor.
C) Queen Beruthiel, a strong (if evil) female character.
D) Goldberry, otherworldly and mysterious even in JRRT’s legendarium.
Now, if we go back earlier than the 3rd age, we encounter more remarkable women!
I) The Valier Varda, Yavanna, and Nienna stand out from the rest of the female Ainur, IMHO.
II) Luthien, who whupped Sauron and enchanted Morgoth
III) Haleth, who led her people through some of the most desperate and bitter times of the 3rd age.
IV) Elwing, who managed to escape from the clutches of the sons of Fëanor with a Silmaril, and dared to defy the ban of the Valar by setting foot on the shores of Alqualondë.
V) Aredhel, who navigated the dangers of Ered Gorgoroth
VI) Andreth, wise woman of the people of Beor, who gave and got counsel from Finrod, and who loved Aegnor.
VII) Melian, whose attraction to Elwë I never really figured out
VIII) Niënor/Níniel who braved a dragon out of love for her brother/husband.
IX) Erendis, wife of Tar Aldarion of Numenor, notable for being bitter and bitchy
X) Fimbrethil, the entwife who definitely had her own agenda about how things ought to be.
So I’d have to say that JRRT thought a lot about female characters, and presented them in a myriad of different ways. Some were traditional, some fit sexist stereotypes, some fit mythic archetypes, and some fall into other, less definable categories.
You forgot Rosie, the cutest.
Not to mention Lobelia Sackville-Baggins - unpleasant for much of the story, but rightfully lauded for her guts, and her redemption.
Yeah, Lobelia is a far more significant character than Beruthiel, of all people.
And BMalion, I agree, but if we try anything Sam will kill us.
Nicely said. Lord of the Rings is based enough on traditional Western culture that it carries some of the same sexist tensions that our real cultures do. There are certainly distinct ‘male’ and ‘female’ roles in most of Middle Earth, even if some characters defy them from time to time. However, Tolkien treats his female characters with as much respect and seriousness as the male characters, so it’s never rubbed me the wrong way. It’s possibly worth noting that the elves, Tolkien’s most idealized race, have the least difference between sexes and the most warrior women/queens. On the other extreme, no-one’s quite sure if female orcs even exist.
Tolkien also spends a lot of time on Eowyn’s dilemma. She ‘has a spirit at least the equal of Eomer’s’ but is stuck being a nursemaid to Denethor and putting up with Grima, just because she’s got girly bits. She’s suicidal because of it. Tolkien’s sympathy for her comes through loud and clear. I really think it’s a far more interesting story because of that tension than it would have been if Tolkien had just written everything as being completely egalitarian.
“Now splaying her legs she drove her huge bulk down on him again… Shelob, with the driving force of her own cruel will, with strength greater than any warrior’s hand, thrust herself upon a bitter spike. Deep, deep it pricked, as Sam was crushed slowly to the ground.”
Are you sure? It’s rather hard to tell dwarves apart without a hedge clipper
I’m going to invent a number here and say that there’s about 100 named characters in LOTR. There’s probably a lot more than that.
About 10 of them are women.
While the portrayal of the women that are included is generally pretty fair, the do not make up much of the story.
That said, if you’re looking for novels with female role models, fantasy novels based on medieval battle and life (where women were subservient and broadly unable to participate in any power roles), you’re looking in the wrong place.
The world was a very sexist place when LOTR and such were written, and very few people thought much about it. Although those few people were revolutionary effective on society. Tolkien had few female characters, but in the context of his time, gave some of them very non-traditional roles. Eowyn and Galadriel coming to mind immediately.
Remember the important part that Arwen played? She was the one who got Frodo to Rivendale in time to be healed. And what did she say to Aragorn? That she was the better rider! And she was the one who got Elrond to reforge the sword that was broken.
I think you guys need to go back and read the books. It’s all right there in black and white!