Following up on Chloe's comment during class about women in writing being pretty revolutionary, I have some comments to add from my literary essay that regardad this sort of. I talked about the comparison between Elves and Spiders (specifically Shelob) and how they are actually a lot more simialr than we think on the surface. If you think about it, both Galadriel and Shelob are female, yet there are entirely different in how they are viewed. Although Shelob is almost scorned for her role, it is still interesting to think about how adding her in alongside Galariel, Eowyn, and Arwen. It adds scope and depth to female voices in a circumstance form which they are often barred or forgotten. No matter your perspective of how Tolkien handled female voices, the fact is that they are present and they are vital
{Nienna}
2 comments:
I'm not sure I understand what you mean here. Is the only thing linking Galadriel to Shelob the fact that both are female? I agree they are viewed differently and Shelob is scorned for being who she is, but I don't see any real connection between the two. Of course, Shelob is driven back by the light of Galadriel's phial which she gave to Sam. This makes the two something of a contrasting pair, but I don't really see any other significant connection between them. I'm sure there is a connection I'm not making that you are; I just don't see it in this particular post and would enjoy some clarification to see what interesting thoughts you have.
-Varda*
The observation that I am trying to make is really more about the spectrum of personality that females have and that is often overlooked when people think of representations of them in Tolkien's work. However, my essay explored that in The Lord of the Rings, despite coming from entirely opposite races and being regarded as foes due to the constant motif of the dichotomy of good and evil through the use of light and darkness, spiders and elves are actually quite similar in behavior, yet are surrounded by very different connotations. Both live in trees, have nearby caves, possess some sort of magic, and most importantly, both spin thread and weave webs. What sets them apart is really that Galadriel is seen as a life-
giving energy while Shelob represents a death-dealing variation of the same.
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