The son, the woman & the Hobbit: A gender-based reading of secondary characters in J.R.R Tolkien's The Lord of The Rings

This study offers a gender-based reading of Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings through three of its secondary characters: Sam, Éowyn and Faramir. Although such gender-based readings are common, some of these tend to be anachronistic and biased ways of looking to the novel. As a response to these claims, this study tries to prove otherwise through a reading of secondary characters. While Frodo and Sam are occasionally read through a homoerotic lens, in response homosociality as a concept is utilized to understand Frodo-Sam relationship. A historical perspective that connects Frodo-Sam to the Officer-Batman during the World War I helps understanding the very special bonds between them. Equality feminism and masculinity studies are used to discuss the similar social positions Éowyn and Faramir finds themselves and struggles with. Tolkien is also commonly accused of sexism, yet probably not being ignorant to the philosophies of equality feminism, although putting a relatively few women in his novel, he gave all of them important roles. Éowyn fights against the social norms presented to her, and through sheer will and courage she overcomes them, completing her transformation and finds her place in the new world. The same pose for equality can also be seen with Faramir and his struggle with hypermasculine impositions of his family. Éowyn and Faramir's union presents the reader with an ideal, modern couple which may live in an age of peace and harmony, which can be Tolkien's answer to an ever increasingly industrial, individualistic, and horror-filled world.