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IN The Lord of the Rings, J. R. R. Tolkien's female characters, though few in number, are very important in the defining of power, a central thematic concern of the text. In fact, in The Lord of the Rings, power, when presented in the traditional male-oriented way, is undercut as often as it is asserted. Even typically "heroic" characters like Aragorn and Faramir use traditional masculine power in a manner tempered with an awareness of its limitations and a respect for another, deeper kind of power. Aragorn shows this recognition of an alternative kind of power in his reverence for the Elves, who though brave fighters, are not known for their physical prowess. The stereotypical and purely masculine kind of power, as represented by Boromir for instance, is shown to be weaker morally and spiritually than its non-traditional counterparts, thus allowing Boromir to - fall, while less typically heroic characters, including all the major female characters, stand. In the context of these depictions of power, both asserted and subverted, the female characters interact with the males in a much more complex world than might at first be assumed when reading The Lord of the Rings. The general lack of a female presence in battle scenes (with the important exception of Eowyn's contest with the Nazgul) or even among the members of the Fellowship does not imply that female power and presence are unimportant. On the contrary, Tolkien's female characters epitomize his critique of traditional, masculine and worldly power, offering an alternative that can be summed up as the choice of love over pride, reflective of the Christ-like inversion of power rooted in Scripture, and ultimately more powerful than any domination by use of force.
Jane Chance, in her insightful study, The Lord of the Rings: the Mythology of Power, explores the development of the theme of power throughout The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, corning to the very accurate conclusion that "the ability to understand the necessity for locating a 'paradise' within" turns out to be "the greatest power of all" (138). She explores how Tolkien, whom she links with philosopher Michel Foucault and C. S. Lewis in this regard, "questioned the validity of the human sciences to represent the rationality of the...