Very interesting article. I would only nitpick at a small detail, I wouldn’t call Tolkien’s mother a single parent as she was married when she had them. I know it’s common usage, but it’s still insulting to a woman who did things in the right order and then tragedy befalls her. It would be better to say something like after becoming a widow she had to raise them alone.
--Tolkien identifying Galadriel with the Virgin Mary is an extremely late phenomenon; the "Galadriel Unstained" thesis that he proposes in that letter and those notes in Unfinished Tales came at the very end of his life. For most of his life, his idea of Galadriel was far closer to Mary MAGDALENE: “...but actually Galadriel was a penitent: in her youth she was a leader of the rebellion against the Valar, and at the end of the First Age she proudly refused forgiveness or permission to return. She was pardoned because of her resistance to the final and overwhelming temptation to take the Ring for herself.” A far better Marian type can be found in Varda, Queen of the Stars, one of the three mightiest of all the Valar and the one Morgoth hated and feared the most.
--To describe Galadriel as being "submissive" to Celeborn is ludicrous. It's clear from reading the full legendarium that the two deeply loved each other; but it's also true from Unfinished Tales and The Silmarillion that Galadriel was clearly the one who wore the pants in that relationship. After all, when Sauron and Celebrimbor staged their coup that drove Galadriel out of Eregion, she had to cross the mountains to Lorinand, but Celeborn stayed behind because Celebrimbor, and I am not making this up "held him in little account." And in the scene from Fellowship that you cite, Galadriel absolutely does not submit to Celeborn, but actively pushes back against some of his more racist and chauvinist rhetoric towards especially Gimli, and her joy at Gimli's request for a hair clearly takes her husband by surprise.
--It's true, Tolkien in Letter 42 does criticize the idea of "courtly love." But it's interesting to consider that he may have been speaking from personal experience, actually. Because while he didn't love Edith in a courtly fashion (marriage, family, and bringing her back to the true faith were always the endgame)...his hyperfixation on her and his idealization of her are Exaltation of the Beloved Lady 101. So however much he might complain about medieval concepts of love to Christopher, he was not totally immune to them. And how else can one describe Gimli's feelings for Galadriel, or Merry's for Eowyn?
--"It is, however, uncertain that St. Joan ever personally led troops or fought in battle..." I'm sorry WHAT.
--Eowyn is a special case. In many others, Tolkien actually does not seem to have had a problem with the idea of women taking up arms. Haleth, "a renowned Amazon with a picked bodyguard of women" who led her people in a siege for seven days; Measse the "proto-Vala", "an Amazon of the bloody arms"; Idril Celebrindal, who in the first version of The Fall of Gondolin donned mail and sword and fought both to protect baby Earendil and to hold open the road to the secret way out of the doomed city; and of course, Galadriel herself, Nerwen the Man-Maiden "of Amazon disposition."
--You set RoP Galadriel's characterization as a warrior in opposition to your ideal of Galadriel as a servant and a merciful and compassionate person. That could not be further from the truth. As early as the pilot of Season 1, we see those two sides of her character working not in opposition, but together. She is a warrior, but she is a warrior precisely BECAUSE she cares for others and the greater good. And she is allowed many times to show her gentleness, mercy and compassion outside of the battlefield.
It doesn't really matter how 'late' his connection of Galadriel to the Virgin Mary was; it represents his most mature thoughts. And is 1953 late, when he agreed with Fr. Murray's assessment? Galadriel in her earlier development having a connection to St. Mary Magdalene is simply another application of the analogy, since Galadriel isn't intended to be a direct allegory for anyone, nor does Varda's similarity to the Virgin Mary disprove it either - it only corroborates Tolkien's deeply Marian piety.
I think you misunderstand the biblical concept of a wife's submissiveness to her husband. Contrary to the lies of feminism, it doesn't entail enslavement to him, or total agreement in all instances with him, or an inability to do anything on her own without him. It means that she followed his lead, as she did. Celebrimbor disliking Celeborn speaks more about Celebrimbor's character, whom both Gil-galad and Elrond distrusted due to his association with Sauron, than any slight against Celeborn; to assert that this implies Tolkien's negative portrayal of Celeborn or any conflict between him and his wife is absurd. Celeborn was not "racist" or "chauvinist," nor would Tolkien have applied those terms to him; his problem with the dwarves was that their mining awakened the Balrog and caused goblins to fill Moria and constantly attack Lorien. Galadriel advised him to be merciful, as a good wife should, and he recognized her wisdom.
I never said Tolkien was against courtly romance, only its excesses, as he said.
One study of St. Joan by historian Jennie Cohen: "Though remembered as a fearless warrior and considered a heroine of the Hundred Years’ War between France and England, Joan never actually fought in battle or killed an opponent. Instead, she would accompany her men as a sort of inspirational mascot, brandishing her banner in place of a weapon. She was also responsible for outlining military strategies, directing troops and proposing diplomatic solutions to the English (all of which they rejected). Despite her distance from the front lines, Joan was wounded at least twice, taking an arrow to the shoulder during her famed Orléans campaign and a crossbow bolt to the thigh during her failed bid to liberate Paris."
As I quoted in my article, Tolkien said that Eowyn, "like many brave women was capable of great military gallantry at a crisis." I never said he was against women ever fighting in any circumstance but that it is ordinarily inappropriate and unfeminine for women to fight. Tolkien only said Galadriel performed athletic feats in her youth, not that she ever fought in battle. Rings of Power is entirely disconnected from Tolkien's world and so has no relevance to these discussions. I mentioned it and the films because they portray women in Tolkien's world as though they must be masculine to be valuable, which is not how Tolkien portrayed them. Being "a servant and merciful and compassionate" is part of femininity, if "servant" is not taken as "slave" per your usage, but as I said, this doesn't mean a kind of Islamic enslavement of women. Galadriel was eminently feminine, unlike Eowyn who fought against her femininity until Faramir helped her rediscover it. You are imposing your modernistic views onto Tolkien against what he actually wrote and believed. You may dislike Tolkien's values but they are what they are.
It was Glorfindel who predicted how the Witch King would die. “Far off yet is his doom, and not by the hand of man will he fall.” He said this to Earnur at the battle of Fornost. (App A, (iv.))
Second, I can’t agree that Eowyn killed the Witch King. The Witch King claimed “No living man may hinder me. Merry’s knife, made by a smith in Arnor, “…broke the spell that knit his unseen sinews to his will.”
Eowyn and Merry killed the Witch King together. Merry broke the spell and Eowyn finished the job.
I cannot agree with your denunciations of feminism. Yes there have been and are excesses, but women are dramatically better off than they were when Tolkien wrote the books.
Thank you for your correction, it was Glorfindel not the Witch-King who gave the prophecy. I'll correct my article accordingly.
Since Eowyn and Merry cooperated in killing him, then Eowyn did kill him. I think my article portrayed their work as cooperative, not wholly performed by Eowyn.
I would likewise disagree wholeheartedly with your view of feminism. It has done little if any good for women, who are now more miserable than they have ever been. Today, women live either as sex objects for men or attempt to imitate men, whether by dressing, acting and working like them, living in a pseudo-marital relationship with other women or even impersonating them as transgenders, while true femininity is criticized as weak, subservient, etc. Now, women are alienated from the home, families are dysfunctional and society is bereft of the unique contribution of femininity. Feminism, by attempting to idolize women, only destroyed them. Authentic biblical femininity, as exemplified by the Virgin Mary and the saints, is the only remedy.
You're kind to say so, sir. I hope to someday. I've considered publishing my Saint Tolkien posts as a collection of essays, though whether that would be efficacious or not I'm unsure.
Excellent! I have read Lord of the Rings many times and had wondered about Tolkien's views on women and femininity. Thank you for deepening our understanding of Tolkien the man.
Very interesting article. I would only nitpick at a small detail, I wouldn’t call Tolkien’s mother a single parent as she was married when she had them. I know it’s common usage, but it’s still insulting to a woman who did things in the right order and then tragedy befalls her. It would be better to say something like after becoming a widow she had to raise them alone.
Thanks, you're probably right.
A few problems with this:
--Tolkien identifying Galadriel with the Virgin Mary is an extremely late phenomenon; the "Galadriel Unstained" thesis that he proposes in that letter and those notes in Unfinished Tales came at the very end of his life. For most of his life, his idea of Galadriel was far closer to Mary MAGDALENE: “...but actually Galadriel was a penitent: in her youth she was a leader of the rebellion against the Valar, and at the end of the First Age she proudly refused forgiveness or permission to return. She was pardoned because of her resistance to the final and overwhelming temptation to take the Ring for herself.” A far better Marian type can be found in Varda, Queen of the Stars, one of the three mightiest of all the Valar and the one Morgoth hated and feared the most.
--To describe Galadriel as being "submissive" to Celeborn is ludicrous. It's clear from reading the full legendarium that the two deeply loved each other; but it's also true from Unfinished Tales and The Silmarillion that Galadriel was clearly the one who wore the pants in that relationship. After all, when Sauron and Celebrimbor staged their coup that drove Galadriel out of Eregion, she had to cross the mountains to Lorinand, but Celeborn stayed behind because Celebrimbor, and I am not making this up "held him in little account." And in the scene from Fellowship that you cite, Galadriel absolutely does not submit to Celeborn, but actively pushes back against some of his more racist and chauvinist rhetoric towards especially Gimli, and her joy at Gimli's request for a hair clearly takes her husband by surprise.
--It's true, Tolkien in Letter 42 does criticize the idea of "courtly love." But it's interesting to consider that he may have been speaking from personal experience, actually. Because while he didn't love Edith in a courtly fashion (marriage, family, and bringing her back to the true faith were always the endgame)...his hyperfixation on her and his idealization of her are Exaltation of the Beloved Lady 101. So however much he might complain about medieval concepts of love to Christopher, he was not totally immune to them. And how else can one describe Gimli's feelings for Galadriel, or Merry's for Eowyn?
--"It is, however, uncertain that St. Joan ever personally led troops or fought in battle..." I'm sorry WHAT.
--Eowyn is a special case. In many others, Tolkien actually does not seem to have had a problem with the idea of women taking up arms. Haleth, "a renowned Amazon with a picked bodyguard of women" who led her people in a siege for seven days; Measse the "proto-Vala", "an Amazon of the bloody arms"; Idril Celebrindal, who in the first version of The Fall of Gondolin donned mail and sword and fought both to protect baby Earendil and to hold open the road to the secret way out of the doomed city; and of course, Galadriel herself, Nerwen the Man-Maiden "of Amazon disposition."
--You set RoP Galadriel's characterization as a warrior in opposition to your ideal of Galadriel as a servant and a merciful and compassionate person. That could not be further from the truth. As early as the pilot of Season 1, we see those two sides of her character working not in opposition, but together. She is a warrior, but she is a warrior precisely BECAUSE she cares for others and the greater good. And she is allowed many times to show her gentleness, mercy and compassion outside of the battlefield.
https://talesthatreallymatter.substack.com/p/the-sunne-in-splendour
A few problems with your comment:
It doesn't really matter how 'late' his connection of Galadriel to the Virgin Mary was; it represents his most mature thoughts. And is 1953 late, when he agreed with Fr. Murray's assessment? Galadriel in her earlier development having a connection to St. Mary Magdalene is simply another application of the analogy, since Galadriel isn't intended to be a direct allegory for anyone, nor does Varda's similarity to the Virgin Mary disprove it either - it only corroborates Tolkien's deeply Marian piety.
I think you misunderstand the biblical concept of a wife's submissiveness to her husband. Contrary to the lies of feminism, it doesn't entail enslavement to him, or total agreement in all instances with him, or an inability to do anything on her own without him. It means that she followed his lead, as she did. Celebrimbor disliking Celeborn speaks more about Celebrimbor's character, whom both Gil-galad and Elrond distrusted due to his association with Sauron, than any slight against Celeborn; to assert that this implies Tolkien's negative portrayal of Celeborn or any conflict between him and his wife is absurd. Celeborn was not "racist" or "chauvinist," nor would Tolkien have applied those terms to him; his problem with the dwarves was that their mining awakened the Balrog and caused goblins to fill Moria and constantly attack Lorien. Galadriel advised him to be merciful, as a good wife should, and he recognized her wisdom.
I never said Tolkien was against courtly romance, only its excesses, as he said.
One study of St. Joan by historian Jennie Cohen: "Though remembered as a fearless warrior and considered a heroine of the Hundred Years’ War between France and England, Joan never actually fought in battle or killed an opponent. Instead, she would accompany her men as a sort of inspirational mascot, brandishing her banner in place of a weapon. She was also responsible for outlining military strategies, directing troops and proposing diplomatic solutions to the English (all of which they rejected). Despite her distance from the front lines, Joan was wounded at least twice, taking an arrow to the shoulder during her famed Orléans campaign and a crossbow bolt to the thigh during her failed bid to liberate Paris."
As I quoted in my article, Tolkien said that Eowyn, "like many brave women was capable of great military gallantry at a crisis." I never said he was against women ever fighting in any circumstance but that it is ordinarily inappropriate and unfeminine for women to fight. Tolkien only said Galadriel performed athletic feats in her youth, not that she ever fought in battle. Rings of Power is entirely disconnected from Tolkien's world and so has no relevance to these discussions. I mentioned it and the films because they portray women in Tolkien's world as though they must be masculine to be valuable, which is not how Tolkien portrayed them. Being "a servant and merciful and compassionate" is part of femininity, if "servant" is not taken as "slave" per your usage, but as I said, this doesn't mean a kind of Islamic enslavement of women. Galadriel was eminently feminine, unlike Eowyn who fought against her femininity until Faramir helped her rediscover it. You are imposing your modernistic views onto Tolkien against what he actually wrote and believed. You may dislike Tolkien's values but they are what they are.
A couple of comments:
It was Glorfindel who predicted how the Witch King would die. “Far off yet is his doom, and not by the hand of man will he fall.” He said this to Earnur at the battle of Fornost. (App A, (iv.))
Second, I can’t agree that Eowyn killed the Witch King. The Witch King claimed “No living man may hinder me. Merry’s knife, made by a smith in Arnor, “…broke the spell that knit his unseen sinews to his will.”
Eowyn and Merry killed the Witch King together. Merry broke the spell and Eowyn finished the job.
I cannot agree with your denunciations of feminism. Yes there have been and are excesses, but women are dramatically better off than they were when Tolkien wrote the books.
Thank you for your correction, it was Glorfindel not the Witch-King who gave the prophecy. I'll correct my article accordingly.
Since Eowyn and Merry cooperated in killing him, then Eowyn did kill him. I think my article portrayed their work as cooperative, not wholly performed by Eowyn.
I would likewise disagree wholeheartedly with your view of feminism. It has done little if any good for women, who are now more miserable than they have ever been. Today, women live either as sex objects for men or attempt to imitate men, whether by dressing, acting and working like them, living in a pseudo-marital relationship with other women or even impersonating them as transgenders, while true femininity is criticized as weak, subservient, etc. Now, women are alienated from the home, families are dysfunctional and society is bereft of the unique contribution of femininity. Feminism, by attempting to idolize women, only destroyed them. Authentic biblical femininity, as exemplified by the Virgin Mary and the saints, is the only remedy.
This is truly lovely.
Thank you for reading and subscribing - Happy Easter!
You should write a book.
You're kind to say so, sir. I hope to someday. I've considered publishing my Saint Tolkien posts as a collection of essays, though whether that would be efficacious or not I'm unsure.
Excellent! I have read Lord of the Rings many times and had wondered about Tolkien's views on women and femininity. Thank you for deepening our understanding of Tolkien the man.
Thank you, I'm glad you found it helpful!
This was an excellent article! Thank you so much for sharing!
Thank you Anna, I'm glad you enjoyed it!
I have not read so noteworthy an essay like this on Substack this week.
Thank you for the kind words, sir, I appreciate it. God bless!
The most brilliant essay on this topic ever written on this site! Hourra good sir!
I especially love how you analysed the parts about la Vierge and also the Eowyn analysis!
Thank you for the kind words, sir! God bless!
It's the Truth!😊😊😊
I really enjoyed this article.
Thank you, sir, I appreciate it! God bless!
A very satisfying and comprehensive study and I thank you!
Thank you - I'm glad you didn't find it too long!
An excellent article!
Thank you, sir! I also enjoyed your recent article on Tolkien. Great work!