Tolkien Did Feminism Correctly: Part One
'Beren and Luthien' as template for feminism
Tolkien may not be the first author that comes to mind when one thinks of feminism. Conservative Catholic, traditionally married, et cetera. In fact, one may believe he isn’t feminist at all, considering his trilogy- and many other of his works- overrepresent men. All valid criticisms, I guess, but these criticisms, in my opinion, pale in comparison to how Tolkien depicted women, and how we can learn from them.
‘Beren and Luthien’
One of the most powerful women in all of Tolkien’s works is Luthien/Tinuviel, who is one of the main characters in ‘The Tale of Beren and Luthien’, or ‘The Tale of Tinuviel’. Luthien is half Elf, half Maiar: Maiar were angelic beings second only to the gods (Valar) in Tolkien’s legendarium. The best examples of what Maiar are is found in The Lord of the Rings- Sauron, Gandalf, Saruman, and Radagast are all Maiar, and capable of great power. I’d say, from a mythological perspective, if the Valar are akin to Nordic gods (the Aesir) in Germanic mythology, than the Maiar are akin to Beowulf and King Arthur (and his knights) in Germanic and Arthurian myth.
Of all women in Tolkien’s works, Luthien is the most rebellious, anarchist, deceptive, and loving. She falls in love with Beren (who in some versions is an Elf, in later versions a Man), and her father, another proud Elf, is disgusted at the idea of his daughter marrying him. He sneers at Beren and tells him to rob Morgoth (Tolkien’s Satan) of a certain powerful jewel. This is an impossible task.
Throughout the tale, Beren and Luthien encounter many obstacles, including confrontations with Tolkien’s best-known villains: Morgoth, who is basically evil incarnate, and his nefarious lackey Sauron, whom we know to be the main antagonist in The Lord of the Rings.
Alan Lee, Beren and Luthien. Luthien disguised as a winged vampire, putting all Morgoth’s creatures to sleep.
In every story pertaining to Beren and Luthien, from the earliest drafts to the poems to the most recent ones, it is Luthien who plays the biggest role. She enters Angband, confronts Morgoth, and successfully manipulates him.
‘I am Tinuviel, daughter of Tinwelint the outlaw, and he hath driven me from his halls, for he is an overbearing Elf and I give not my love at his command.’
Tinuviel/Luthien has the mental power to manipulate and deceive Evil itself, and dances a magical dance that lulls Morgoth to sleep. It is worth nothing that Luthien has a track-record of defying male authority: her father locks her up for wishing to pursue Beren, and she uses her magical powers to put her guards to sleep and to escape. In earlier versions of the tale, Luthien lies to Tevildo Prince of Cats, a (male) demonic feline who some argue to be the precursor of Sauron (Christopher Tolkien says otherwise).
Luthien’s adversaries are all male, and she deceives and defeats them all. She successfully pleads to Mandos, the god of death, to resurrect Beren and herself. None of her adversaries are women, and there is no man who defeats her. One may make an interesting connection between the chief Ringwraith of The Lord of the Rings and Luthien herself: no man may kill me.
It is worth analysing the interaction between Sauron and Luthien, as there is no deception involved. It’s a struggle for power at its finest with Luthien as the winner.
‘There everlastingly thy naked self shall endure the torment of (Morgoth’s) scorn, pierced by his eyes, unless thou yield to me the mastery of thy tower.
Then Sauron yielded himself, and Luthien took the mastery of the isle and all that was there…then Luthien stood upon the bridge, and declared her power’.
Theoretically, Sauron, being wholly Maiar, would be stronger than Luthien, who is only half, and yet Luthien, together with an (angelic?) dog, Huan, defeats him. Luthien’s words are sneering and dominant: she shames Sauron, conjuring an image of a helpless Sauron being tortured by Morgoth, and threatens him into giving her control over his domain. Sauron is frightened enough to ‘yield’ to her- an interesting choice of word- and she ‘declares her power’.
What Is So Interesting About Luthien?
In the character of Luthien, Tolkien has created an image of womanhood powerful enough to rival female characters such as Eve, Mary, Tess of the D’Urbervilles, Jane Eyre, and Catherine Earnshaw. One may even argue that Luthien is an inversion of Eve: a woman who tempts evil men, but the consequences are good instead of bad. Luthien is no sissy: she is not above deception, manipulation, and lying. One may even claim that she has sexual powers: she defeats Morgoth by dancing before him, and she threatens to turn Sauron into a ‘naked self’. No other woman in Tolkien’s works have been put in this light.
What is so interesting about Luthien is that Tolkien doesn’t equate female power with traditionally masculine behaviour, or even with misandry. Luthien fights against a patriarchal villainy- Tolkien’s villains are overwhelmingly male- without turning into a man-hater. This makes Tolkien’s feminism more meaningful than the feminism of today.
Modern feminism (not all, let’s avoid generalising) has a tendency to demonise men, especially with its off-shoot, radical feminism. This is understandable. Look at the misogynistic men out there- Andrew Tate, Donald Trump, Elon Musk- look at the staggering numbers of young men who watch videos by Andrew Tate and other toxic manosphere influencers. Our decade is characterised by a war between the sexes. Feminism is an important way of social and political thinking that can protect women against virulent misogynists like Trump and Tate.
What I do not like about the idealogical ‘excesses’ of radical feminism is the way it feeds into the sex wars. The 'traditional’ family structure is a tool to suppress women, marriage is a trap, heterosexuality is a form of sexual coercion. The preposterous anti-man theories propagated by radical feminism have injured the feminist cause (one only has to stand up for women’s rights to get labeled a ‘woke feminist’ by some right-wing chap), and have spread malcontent between men and women. It is also unrealistic. There are women who want to have relationships with men. There are women who desire marriage and family- without being abused. I’m one of them.
Contemporary literature is rife with radical feminist heroines. One only has to poke one’s nose in the fantasy section and come across female assassins, female warriors, female hunters, women who are hesitant to get into a committed relationship with men, et cetera et cetera. And although I have no problem in reading about female warriors (contrary to what the far-right claims, women have been fighters throughout history), I would like some diversity. I’d like to read about women who want to have marriage and a family, who find their strength in other things besides sword-fighting and swearing. And that brings us to the relationship between the sexes as portrayed by Tolkien.
‘Beren and Luthien’ as feminist ideal
Tolkien’s story of ‘Beren and Luthien’ is a feminist ideal because it demonstrates that women can fight against patriarchal villains (Morgoth, Sauron, and overbearing fathers) without forsaking femininity or marriage. Beren is wholly supportive of Luthien, who is at times much stronger than he is (being part-Maiar), and does not resent her power. And above all, Luthien loves Beren, a man, whilst fighting against the ‘patriarchy’ of Middle Earth.
The feminist theory that one can extract from this is that women can love men whilst fighting against powerful, misogynistic men. Men can also learn from this tale: supporting a powerful woman doesn’t make you less of a man- it makes you the ideal partner.
And that, in my opinion, makes ‘Tolkien’s feminism’ much better than today’s theories. Together is better than alone. Men and women can be strong, powerful couples. Men and women should work together to fight the Morgoths and Saurons of our age.
That’s all for today. My next post on Tolkien and feminism will be about his interesting depiction of warrior women. See you then!
Alan Lee, Beren and Luthien.