Faculteit Letteren en WijsbegeerteMasterproef Taal- en LetterkundeMaster Taal- en letterkunde Engels
Feminism in Tolkien’s The Lord of the Ringsand Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire.
Dirk Vranken
Promotor: Vivian Liska
Assessor: Dr. Katrien Vloeberghs.
Antiplagiarism statement
Ondergetekende, Dirk Vranken, student Taal- & Letterkunde,
Master Taal-en letterkunde Engels, verklaart dat deze scriptie
volledig oorspronkelijk is en uitsluitend door hemzelf
geschreven is. Bij alle informatie en ideeën ontleend aan
andere bronnen, heeft ondergetekende expliciet en in detail
verwezen naar de vindplaatsen.
Dilsen, 24 mei 2013
Handtekening
Acknowledgements
This dissertation could only be finished with the help of
Professor Vivian Liska. Her advice and corrections proved to be
invaluable for successfully finishing this dissertation. Her
lectures on feminism in the course Modern Literary Theories were
also of great use. I want to thank her for all her efforts. I
also want to thank every professor and teacher I ever had for
sharing their knowledge. It made me into the person who wrote
this dissertation today.
Special thanks goes out to Esther De Dauw, who helped me get
through this paper and had the endless patience to review each
chapter with me.
Contents
Introduction: The world belongs to them......................1
Part I: Overview of fantasy and feminism.....................3
Fantasy.....................................................3
Feminism....................................................5
History of fantasy..........................................9
Greek literature..........................................9Medieval literature......................................10Renaissance literature...................................13Nineteenth century literature............................13Twentieth century literature.............................14
Part II: Feminism in The Lord of the Rings and A Song of Ice and Fire....15
Tolkien, a feminist?.....................................15
Martin, a feminist?......................................20
Female characters in The Lord of the Rings.................22
Eowyn, the androgynous warrior...........................23Arwen, last of the Elves.................................27Galadriel and the power of the ring......................29Evil in The Lord of the Rings............................30
Feminism in A Song of Ice and Fire.........................33
Daenerys, mother of dragons..............................33Brienne, Eowyn’s equal...................................35Stark, the strength of a family..........................37Cersei, mother and manipulator...........................42
Conclusion..................................................44
Introduction: The world belongs to them
In season 3 of A Game of Thrones, a television show based on
George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire, a scene caught my
attention. Joffrey is walking with Margaery through the royal
crypt, while he is recounting the brutal deaths of his
predecessors. Two women are looking at them: Margaery’s
grandmother Olenna and Joffrey’s mother Cersei. Olenna sees
that Cersei is jealous: “We mothers do what we can to keep our
sons from the grave, they do seem to yearn for it. We shower
them with good sense and yet it slides right off like rain off
a wing”. Cersei replies: “And yet the world belongs to them,”
Cersei points out. “A ridiculous arrangement in my mind,”
Olenna replies.
For a normal viewer, this scene would not provide a topic for a
dissertation. For a literary student, the conversation provided
thoughts on how women were treated in the novels. It was
therefore a short step to look at how women were depicted in
fantasy in general. Fantasy literature has, since its
inception, enjoyed a wide and diverse audience, even though it
has often been dismissed as a niche genre with a distinct male
audience. Contrary to this notion, this dissertation will
discuss how fantasy and feminism intersect through analysing
works by J.R.R. Tolkien and George R.R. Martin. It is
interesting to see whether there are changes in the depiction
of women at two different moments in time. The Lord of the Rings
(1954) is considered to be the work that characterizes fantasy.
1
His depiction of the secondary world Middle Earth and the
details of his characters are impressive. Next to this, he
manages to combine most of the characteristics fantastic novels
are made of. But did Tolkien take into account the role of
women during that era? And how did female characters change at
a later moment in time?
First, fantasy as well as female literature will be defined,
followed by a brief overview of the history of fantasy, in
order to discuss certain fantastic elements in both novels.
Throughout this history, a description of how feminism has been
portrayed at that time will be discussed. The second part of
this dissertation will discuss whether or not the writers can
be seen as feminist. Kate Millet feels that readers should
posit their own viewpoint and challenge the author’s authority,
which went against the received hierarchy of text and reader.
Like Millet, Sandra Gilbert and Susan Gubar’s The Madwoman in the
Attic (1979) discusses how the character, the madwoman, is the
author’s double, a reflection of her own rage. This constant
feminist rage, which transforms all text written by women into
feminist texts, appears to be one of the most recurrent themes
of Anglo-American feminist criticism.
It would seem more complex for men to display such rage, as
female characters often double as "the author's double, an
image of her own anxiety and rage. Indeed, much of the poetry
and fiction written by women conjures up [these characters] so
that female authors can come to terms with their own uniquely
female feelings of fragmentation, their own keen sense of
2
discrepancies between what they are and what they are supposed
to be: " Therefore, in order to identity this rage in male
writing, we will have to look closely at their female
characters in order to see how they cope with this
fragmentation and the gender roles they are forced into”
(Gilbert and Gubar 78). In each of the feminist texts, somehow
the author’s rage against male oppression is represented. It is
therefore interesting to look whether these male authors
present the same rage against male oppression through their
female characters.
This will give a first impression of feminism at that time,
which will then be further discussed by how both male authors
depict female characters. As there is no clear list of
characteristics a text should posses in order to be called
feminist, I focussed on the female characters to determine
whether a novel could be called feminist. Feminism is concerned
with equal rights to all women, no matter what they do.
Housewives are feminists too. Therefore, a text can be
considered feminine if all its characters, whether male or
female, are equally well-rounded and thought-out. It can be
considered feminist if there are female characters in high or
powerful positions. It can be considered feminist if there are
female characters in care-giving positions without those
positions being dismissed or deemed unimportant. It can also be
considered a feminist text by including female characters who
wish to challenge the dominant social roles. For this
dissertation, I focused on the following characteristics: above
all, they needed to be strong, memorable characters. Secondly,
3
they needed to possess a certain amount of goodness and concern
for the family. Finally, female characters needed to be aware
of the social order, and willing to change their status through
their own power. These are the characteristics that will be
used to discuss the female characters.
4
Part I: Overview of fantasy and feminismFantasy
For Brian Attebery, the best way to define fantasy, is “to
line up a shelf of books and say, “There. That is what I mean
by fantasy” (Attebery 1). This would be a mix between
C.S.Lewis’ The Chronicles of Narnia (1949), J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord
of the Rings (1954), and George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire
(1996). In general, these novels feature certain events, place
or creatures that can’t exist in our rational life. There is a
violation of what is generally accepted as possibility. W.R.
Irwin expands on this description:
Whatever the material, extravagant or seemingly
commonplace, a narrative is a fantasy if it presents the
persuasive establishment and development of an
impossibility, an arbitrary construct of the mind with
all under the control of logic and rhetoric” (Irwin, qtd.
in Attebery 1).
Fantasy focuses on an exterior reality which it contradicts. A
world is consistently established with inherent rules and then
proceeds to violate these rules. It is commonly used to
criticise the society, or, important to this dissertation,
gender roles. There are various ways a story can depict its
fantastic nature: for instance, through non-rational
phenomena1. This includes fantastic beings such as mermaids or
1 Non-rational phenomena are also used in genres such as “Magical Realism”
or “Surrealism”, but to a different effect. In fantasy, the non-rational
5
dragons, as well as magic objects, namely magic rings, or
fantastic events, like a walking tree attacking men. The Lord of
the Rings is clearly fantasy for most of the usual reasons. A
wonderful setting full of fantasy creatures and magic are
fantastic elements, as they do not exist. The One Ring of Power
was a magical creation by Sauron in order to dominate all the
races of Middle Earth. It was made to dominate the other Ring
users. In order to destroy this ring, Frodo had to toss it down
Mount Doom, as it was the scene of its creation. Next to these
elements, there are also Trolls, Orcs, Wraiths, Hobbits,
Dwarfs, Elves, Ents, and Wizards.
In A Song of Ice and Fire (1996), the last three dragons are raised by
Daenerys. She walks through the flames in order to become the
mother of these dragons. These large reptilian creatures can
fly and breathe fire, but also seem to have a higher form of
intelligence. Other strange animals include three-eyed crows.
Although there is less diversity in races, the biggest threat
to mankind are the undead creatures that lure on the other side
of the Wall. Important to fantasy is that it needs consistency.
Both the reader and the author need to maintain the illusion,
which Tolkien calls secondary belief. Because of his profession as
an Oxford professor, he knew the theatrical world. This concept
of secondary belief clearly resembles the concept of suspension
of disbelief. The genre invokes some sort of “wonder” by making
the impossible seem familiar and the known strange.
phenomena are framed as completely rational within the established universe
while in other genres non-rational phenomena are used to discomfit the
reader or establish a sense of ludicrousness.
6
For Franz Rottensteiner, Horace Wallpole (1717-97) was the
founding father of gothic fiction, which was the forerunner of
fantasy. The Castle of Otranto (1764) is considered to be one of the
most influential novels in English literary history. Horace
himself described the novel as “an attempt to combine the
contemporary novel, now considered respectable, with the
marvels and wonders of medieval romance” (Rottensteiner 18).
The Castle of Otranto takes place in a little Gothic castle and is
filled with revenge. The main character, prince Manfred, wants
to leave his wife to marry his son’s fiancée Isabelle. The son
is crushed by the supernatural fall of a big helmet. Isabelle
therefore runs to the vaults where she meets a young man, from
humble origin. He turns out to be the rightful heir of the
throne. After certain supernatural incident, including Manfred
accidentally murdering his daughter, he becomes a monk.
Although the setting seems to suggest that it could take place
in a medieval period, certain events, such as the strange
deaths, make it a fantastic story. Sir Walter Scott agreed by
calling the novel “the first modern attempt to found a tale of
amusing fiction upon the basis of the ancient romances of
chivalry” (Rottensteiner 18).
Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire also shares this characteristic. The
novels are portrayed as medieval fantasy romance, in which the
harsh realities of society and social injustice is omnipresent.
Most fantasy stories would skim over unpleasant facts like rape
or the selling of women. The fact that A Song of Ice and Fire does
7
not, helps to add depth to its characters by exploring not only
their positive experiences, but their fears and horrors as
well. The society Martin creates seems to reflect the reality
of our past and how women were treated. It allowed women to
exceed the position in society by using their determination to
manipulate the image that men have of women because of widely
held social belief of women’s inferiority. This however could
result in punishment by other characters, ending in gruesome
torture or even death.
Feminism
In order to give a proper definition of the notion of feminism,
it is important to look at the mother of it all, namely Mary
Wollstonecraft (1759-1797). Her life was characterized by an
Enlightenment-inspired passion for women of her era, which
resulted in the creation of her most famous work, A Vindication of
the Rights of Woman (1792), a classic of feminist thought. In this
work for instance, she argued that girls and boys should be co-
educated. Furthermore, she argued that women and men should
share parenthood. Hélène Cixous, a well known feminist, refuses
the concept purely as “feminists are woman who want power, ‘a
place in the system, respect, social legitimation” (Cixous,
qtd. in Moi 101). This does not mean that she rejects the
women’s movement, on the contrary she strongly favours it. In
addition, her works certainly stress this political commitment
against the patriarchal oppression. However, many feminists
regretted her rejection of the word feminist, as it politically
damaged the women’s movement as well. Historically, some women
8
have refused to use the word “feminist” because feminism has
consistently been informed by white, middle-class women and has
primarily dealt with issued faced by white, middle-class women.
Historically, it has often ignored the needs of working class,
non-white and non-heterosexual women. Therefore, many of these
women, marginalized by a movement that claimed to bring freedom
to all women, refused to identify as feminist.
Next to Cixous, theorists such as Luce Irigaray and Julia
Kristeva also worked on écriture feminine in the 1970s, which
was picked up on by Bracha Ettinger in the early 1990s. Whereas
Cixous rejects the term feminist, Kristeva refuses to define
woman. She feels that, by giving meaning to the word woman, you
automatically differentiate from the word man. To believe that
one is a woman, would give rise to the notion of a superior
man. Therefore, she states that a woman is simply something
“which cannot be represented, that which is not spoken, that
which remains outside naming and ideologies” (Kristeva, qtd. in
Moi 162). As she struggles with the notion of a sexual identity
such as woman, she challenges the concept of identity in general.
To give a definition would therefore be almost impossible, as
feminism changes according to the wave it is going through.
Therefore, the notion of feminism cannot be made clear.
The French feminist theorist Irigaray discusses that women are
being used by men. Theorists like Jean Baker Miller and Mary
Daly agree with this notion, but not all in the same way.
Daly’s view is surprisingly close to Irigaray, as she
9
identifies masculinity with an envy of the female qualities,
which leads men to abuse the women’s energy. She regards men as
harmful creatures abusing women, whereas the female qualities
should be celebrated. Although Baker Miller agrees to this
celebration, she adopts a less radical approach. She celebrates
the female emotions, but attacks men as they lack essential
humanity. Wollstonecraft was associated with the Enlightenment
thought of revising institutions like family and education.
Reason needed to be at the centre of human identity and equal
rights. But these thoughts were not realistic. Abuse of women
was not uncommon, and legal actions were hardly taken.
Theorists such as Betty Friedan and Kate Millet draw on the
topic of gender-role stereotyping in the early 1970s. This
approach drew attention to the oppressive nature of how women
were represented, for example as a sex object, a wife and a
mother. These particular roles demonstrated how women were
relegated to the private sphere of both family life as well as
sexual relations. Likewise, they were left out of the public
and professional life. Numerous novels during the end of the
nineteenth century referred to women’s unhappy marriages and
their struggles to find work and education. However, most of
these novels could only end in a pessimistic way, for example
the heroine falls, or she remains caught in the web of her
time.
Heterosexuality is pervasive and ubiquitous; every one in our
western society is heterosexual until proven otherwise. This
10
implies that heterosexuality is institutionalized through
marriage: it’s a self-perpetuating, over-arching tradition that
lies at the foundations of our society as a whole. As such,
heterosexual marriage defines the structure of our society; in
particular it determines the prevalence of the family-unit;
mother, father, children. Heterosexuality, in part, creates the
gender divide and in doing so, generates gender inequality.
Heterosexuality determines the masculine and feminine traits
necessary to maintain the traditional gender-divide and
therefore, those masculine and feminine traits are normalized.
Women are considered primary care givers, empathic and suitable
for housework because this serves the family-unit. Men are
considered breadwinners and thus, they must be assertive and
emotionally distant. It's like a vicious circle;
heterosexuality stresses a difference in gender (supposedly
based on biological sex), which creates an institution of
marriage in which strict gender roles must be adhered to. In
turn, these strict gender roles perpetuate the notion that
heterosexuality is natural, and this in term perpetuates the
notion that gender roles are natural.
In short; the institution of heterosexual marriage serves to
suppress women. It turns them into breeding mares with no
outside agency. In the past, this meant that women were often
sold for political or financial means by fathers to future
husbands. These husbands had absolute control over their wives,
both in a financial sense as any money or property they had on
11
entering the marriage legally became the property of their
husband. Legally, husbands were also allowed to discipline
their wives, which was code for beating them. Marriage was
often seen as a contract or a matter of convenience that
benefited the wife’s father and husband. The romantic ideal is
a very modern notion.
“Thus married women were economically dependent on their
husbands with little ability to challenge their power –
which two male British sociologists of the [1970S]
characterized as the power of the purse supplemented with
the power of the fist’ (Rahman and Jackson 63).
In both The Lord of the Rings and A Song of Ice and Fire, marriage is
overtly present. Marriage is supposed to be a means of taming
women. It turns them into breeding mares with no outside
agency. In the past, this meant that women were often sold for
political or financial means by fathers to future husbands. I
agree with Enright, who quotes Fredrick and McBride by summing
up the transformation as a triumph of patriarchy: “an unruly
impulse to transcend prescribed gender roles has been
successfully thwarted” (Enright 105). Marriage in The Lord of the
Rings is however by no means an indication of women sacrificing
their powers for a man.
In A Literature of Their Own (1977) , Elaine Showalter discusses how
every literary subculture develops in a similar way:
12
First, there is a prolonged phase of imitation of the
prevailing modes of the dominant tradition, and
internalization of its standards of art and its views on
social roles. Second, there is a phase of protest against
these standards and values, and advocacy of minority rights
and values, including a demand for autonomy. Finally,
there is a phase of self-discovery, a turning inward freed from
some of the dependency of opposition, a search for
identity. An appropriate terminology for women writers is
to call these stages, Feminine, Feminist and Female (Showalter,
qtd. Moi 54).
Especially the second and third phase were important to
feminist literature. Throughout history, feminists have fought
for different causes related to the position of women in
society. During the nineteenth century, feminists were involved
in the abolition of slavery and the fight for equal rights.
This fight continued in the twentieth century, were feminists
fought for the civil rights movement and later also as female
protesters against the war in Vietnam. But although women
actively fought together with men, they could not yet fight for
their own rights. According to Toril Moi, this political change
needed to reach its goal both through the medium of literary
criticism and through political change. They only had two
choices: To reform those criteria from within while maintaining
its feminism, or to reject the criteria and receive less
attention. Although the second choice is problematic, the first
choice brought with it difficulties as well. As feminist
13
critics had to work from within the academic institution, they
depended on men for jobs and promotion. Although it appears
that this was a negative phenomenon throughout the 1970s and
early 1980s, some feminist critics, like Kate Millet, succeeded
in bringing together institutional and non-institutional
criticism. Millet’s role in feminist criticism is crucial, as
she is considered to be the mother of all later works in this
field. Her criticism targeted the ideology of American New
Critics, because she discussed that, to understand literature,
social and cultural contexts must be studied, a view shared by
later feminist critics.
As women only have the right to have a proper opinion since the
late twentieth century, they were also refused to have a
dominant literary image in the representation of fantasies.
Gilbert and Gubar discuss how, during the nineteenth century,
women were given the image of angelic beauty by patriarchal
men. The perfect woman was depicted as being passive and
selfless. But opposite of the angel lies the monster, the
personification of the woman the man fears. This monster is the
representation of the feminist from a male perspective , who
refuses to be a subservient individual. According to Gilbert
and Gubar, the author’s self-image could also be represented by
the madwoman in the attic, next to the sweet heroine or by the
angel and the monster. These figures were important to the
nineteenth-century female fiction. These binary oppositions,
the angel and the monster or the madwoman and the sweet
14
heroine, emphasize the use of the image of confinement and
escape.
Throughout history, identity in feminism has been very
important. Based on Simone de Beauvoir’s portrayal of women as
the ‘other’ of man, French feminists such as Hélène Cixous,
Julia Kristeva and Luce Irigaray examined the role the binary
opposites play in dealing with the women’s position with
regards to men. Throughout history, women have been reduced to
objects by men. As De Beauvoir states, women have been depicted
as men’s Other. Women were denied taking responsibility for her
own actions, or as Moi states: “Patriarchal ideology presents
woman as immanence, man as transcendence” (Moi 90). This was
represented in all aspects of social, political and cultural
life. Although women had little chance to change their role
throughout life, De Beauvoir refuses this notion, by stating
that “one is not born a woman; one becomes one” (Moi 92).
Social and political oppression existed throughout time, and it
has caused women a lack of freedom. But this does not mean that
women can not change, or that oppression is unavoidable. This
oppression is not absolute, so women are still able to become
free from their sexist blindfold, which was given by men.
History of fantasy
Greek literature
The brief history of fantasy that I provide in this
dissertation, is based on the research of Dennis M. Kratz and
Brian Stableford. The first notion of fantasy began in Greece,
15
with classical Greek literature. From the Homeric epic on, the
nature of Greek literature was focused on the epic tradition
initiated by bards. According to Stableford, it is Homer’s Iliad
and Odyssey, and especially the second part the Odyssey, which is
considered to be the first “self-conscious fantasy in the
Western literary tradition, for marvels are central to its
design” (Stableford, qtd. in Barron 4). Although it is not
certain when the Odyssey was written, or by who, it is presumed to
be written in the mid-eight century BC by the same person that
wrote the Iliad. Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey is concerned with the gods
and what the consequences are for their interference. The story
focuses on Odysseus, who is known for his cleverness and his
ability to deceive, rather than power. It is on his adventures
that he encounters fantastic creatures, such as Circe, the
witch that can turn people into animals, or the one-eyed
Cyclops. According to Baron, Homer introduced three prominent
elements of fantasy: the travels to fantastic lands, the theme
of transformation, and a critical eye for mistaking the
apparent for the real. The contribution of classical literature
to fantasy is complex, but also substantial. Greek literature
was heavily influenced by fantasy and had a strong effect on
Western literature.
Feminism in Greek literature was certainly present. The wise
Penelope, Odysseus’ wife, bears her husband’s absence during a
period of twenty years. During this time, she maintains his
authority and is not eager to step down when Odysseus returns
from his voyage. He calls the nurse to make up a bed, and goes
16
to sleep by himself. He describes him woman as having a heart
of iron. Nausicaa, another female character in Greek
literature, does not feel shy when Odysseus sees her half-
naked, as she is in control of what is visible to Odysseus from
behind a tree. Helen, the wife of King Menelaus, however is
depicted as the faithful housewife. She is forced to clean the
palace and perform all the domestic duties. Her flight to Troy
can be interpreted as the housewife fleeing enforced
domesticity and an controlling husband; the feminist rebelling
against the patriarchy. Women during that time were depicted in
numerous ways: as housewives, as harem women, but also as god
and priests. From the Greek tradition to the Middle Ages, there
is a significant change in the attitude towards women . There
is a clear misogynistic tradition in literature from the Middle
Ages onward; which could be explained by the emergence and
dominance of Christian beliefs which, through its creation
myth, develops the Madonna/whore dichotomy.
Medieval literature
Kratz discusses that, during the Middle Ages, fantasy was
considered to be part of the mainstream of Western literature.
Most of the narratives from the Western literature created a
fictional world wherein impossible events took place. The old
English Beowulf (ca. 725) and the German Nibelungenlied (ca. 1200)
were oral traditions originating in different periods of time,
but written down by a single person. Perhaps one of the most
infamous women of medieval literature is Grendel’s mother. Her
only desire is to wreak vengeance. In fact, she is even more
17
dangerous than her son Grendel. As a monster, she is framed to
be inferior to other, mortal men. Thryth, another unusual
woman, uses her sword to rid her halls of intruders. She is
contrasted by the respectful women in the saga. When she later
takes a husband, the narrator states that she finally starts
behaving like a woman should.
Two other developments also took place during the Middle Ages:
the beast epic and the divine love in the genre of romance. The
beast epic was popular in Western Europe throughout the Middle
Ages. The major medieval beast epic, the Ysengrimus, is a long
epic story from the twelfth century. It discusses the fall of
Ysengrimus the wolf, after a run-in with Reynard the fox. It is
also an example how fantasy could be used to covertly criticize
the current society. The story is a satire on monks but also
selfish humans.
Next to Reynard, another form of the beast epic became popular,
namely the werewolf theme. The transformation from human into
animal was extremely interesting for medieval writers, as there
was a lot of theological discussion on whether lycanthropy was
real or not. It was the general thought during that era that no
act committed by a werewolf was sinful, as they did not have
any rational consent. The transformation from human into animal
is also present in Tolkien’s The Hobbit. Beorn, a man of immense
size and strength, has the ability to assume the appearance of
a black bear. He spends his days in a wooden house amongst
horses, dogs, and others animals. He belongs to an entire race
18
of men who have the ability to change shapes. He swore his
revenge on the Orcs, as they murdered the entire race of
shapeshifters. When Gandalf, Bilbo and thirteen dwarves pass
by, he decides to help them and get his revenge. At the end, he
kills the Orc leader, thereby ending the war. His acts were
never seen as sinful.
During the Middle Ages, the most significant contribution to
the fantasy genre took place in the genre of the romance.
According to Neil Barron, the most important change emerged
“from a momentous shift in theology that emphasized the
humanness of Christ and the divine love expressed in his
willingness to assume human form” (Barron 17). Both researchers
and writers focussed on human love as a manifestation of divine
love. At the same time, humans were also on a quest for
salvation. Stories about King Arthur and his court soon
increased in popularity as more writers contributed to a
growing Arthurian tradition2.
The first appearance of King Arthur originated in a Welsh poem,
and was soon picked up on by Geoffrey of Monmouth’s Historia
Regum Britanniae (1130). Arthur is part of an old oral tradition,
which Geoffrey finally wrote down. In doing so, he re-invented
the figure of Arthur into the figure widely known today.
Geoffrey’s work possessed many of the elements which later
defined Arthurian legend. Arthur is described as a noble king,
who protected his citizens against attacks from the Romans and
2 Arthurian myth emerged early in history and is a continuation of ancient Welsh myth.
19
the barbarians. His downfall is orchestrated through the
treachery of his nephew Mordred. One of the earliest, and
therefore perhaps the most influential Arthurian romances were
by Chrétien de Troyes. According to Barron, the five romances,
for example Lancelot (ca. 1180), are linked with mythic origins
as well as with the “[p]latonic nature of his narratives, which
exist simultaneously on two levels: the mutable world of
experience and the unchanging world of transcendent truth”
(Barron 19). It is the knight’s quest to spread out the ideals
of the court he is fighting for, which is actually an analogy
for his spiritual quest. Next to a fictional king, Chrétien de
Troyes uses other fantastic elements, such as a lion in Yvain: Le
Chevalier au Lion (ca. 1180). A knight is in love with a girl, but
when she refuses his advances he turns mad and needs to be
rescued by a lion, whose quest is to fight the serpent.
Whatever the story, the medieval romances took place in an
imaginary world. The Arthurian legends had their inspiration in
Celtic myths, in which they believed in an Other World that
humans could enter and where they could enjoy fairy women.
In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (late 14th century), the main
character is tempted by Lord Bertilak’s wife. She woos Sir
Gawain shamelessly every night. On the one hand, King Arthur’s
wicked half-sister Morgan instigates these advances. Both women
are pure evil, and are clear examples of how not to behave. On
the other hand, The Virgin Mary plays a role as his patron
saint. Her presence is a reminder to the reader what a proper
woman should be. A woman should be a Christian and not a
20
temptress. It is the knight’s quest to spread out the ideals of
the court he is fighting for, which is actually an analogy for
his spiritual quest. Full of Christian imagery, Arthurian myth
is full of oppositions. The two most prominent characters are
Guinevere and Morgana le Fay. Through these characters, the
Madonna/whore opposition is clearly depicted. Women are either
whores who rebel against the patriarchy and male power. As
such, they are evil and should be punished. On the other hand,
you have Guinevere, who has no characterization whatsoever.
She's pure, docile and beautiful; in others words: she fulfils
all the basic tenements of Christian womanhood and is thus
framed as the "good woman." When she begins her affair with
Lancelot; she falls from grace and it is her fall that causes
Arthur's kingdom to collapse. It gives Mordred the leverage he
needs to start a war. Guinevere is a re-write of the Garden of
Eden myth, where the fall of the good woman dooms all of
mankind. Therefore, women3 have to be policed severely because
their fall, their evil is pervasive and has huge consequences.
Renaissance literature
During the Renaissance, Arthurian romances remained popular,
especially in Spain and in Italy, where elements of fantasy and
the supernatural were important. In Renaissance England
3 The male characters in Arthurian myth don't have any real development
either because they are archetypes. But the male characters do have action
based plots, some evolution to becoming better people in their search for
the grail and, they have personalities. Unlike, Guinevere who is just the
vapid trophy wife and Morgana who's an evil temptress.
21
however, the fantastic and supernatural was especially
represented in drama and fiction. The introduction of the
supernatural ghosts in theatre, as well as sorcery gave fantasy
a new boost. Fantasy was therefore maintained on the stage
because of sensationalism.
Fantasy did receive attention through the emergence of Gothic
romance. The emergence of Gothic romance is considered to be
part of the horror novel, rather than to fantasy. Gothicism was
written and read mostly by women as it was an outlet for them
to express their feelings of entrapment, depression and doom.
But the Gothic also represented “an attempt to return the
irrational to nature” (Barron 32). Until recently, fantasy in
the nineteenth century was considered to form the mainstream.
Realism however was a younger tributary of literary expression.
An important theme of this tradition was the rejection and
transcendence of limits. Fantasy literature refused to be
constrained, which explains why it took different forms, like
epic, romance, beast fable, fairy tale, and Gothic novel. From
the tales of Odysseus to Chrétien de Troyes, fantasy uses the
power of the imagination to transform an ordinary creation to a
fantastic being in an alternative reality.
Nineteenth century literature
In the nineteenth century, the element of the Secondary world
takes precedence. Accroding to Brian Stableford, Jonathan
Irving was one of the first American writers interested in
fantastic stories. Although Nathaniel Hawthorne, Edgar Allen
22
Poe, and Herman Melville also wrote works of fantasy, the major
works of these authors were not considered to be fantasy, but
“romances”. For both Hawthorne and Margaret Fuller, feminism
meant something different than it does nowadays. Like her
predecessor Mary Wollstonecraft, they believed that women
should have more rights in society. Women deserved a more
important role in life, next to their domestic functions and
should be respected as rational individuals. Nevertheless, they
also supported that women needed to stay at home with the
family. Social expectations during that century taught women to
be subservient. When taking this into consideration, Hawthorne
can be considered a nineteenth-century feminist.
Edgar Allen Poe’s stories, like Irving, are full of dreams and
hallucinations, which add fantastic events to the story. Poe
stands out because “[his monsters] are expressions of the only
really credible demons in existence: the monsters lurking in
men’s minds” (Rottensteiner 38). His demons and horrors are
more real than other monsters in Gothic fantasy, which makes
him an important author for fantasy. In most of the stories
however, the characters must move from their own world into
this Secondary World, and will have to move back and forth
between the two.
Twentieth century literature
Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings changed the fantasy genre
completely. In his essay On Fairy-Stories (1947), he discussed that
there are three functions in fantasy: Recovery, Escape and
23
Consolidation. The ability to take up a fantastic viewpoint, to
help us put everything in the right perspective, is what
Tolkien calls “recovery”. It is a clearer way in viewing the
world, because our view is less narrow. It is the role of
fantasy to let the readers, and especially the young readers,
move outside their bounds and see what is real and unreal.
Escape is seen in more or less the same light. Fantasy can be
used to escape the narrow world. It is a liberation, like the
escape of a prisoner from oppression. According to Tolkien, it
is not only a limited escape, as it also has to lead to some
result or answer. The third function of fantasy, Consolidation,
contributes to this escape. The goal which fantasy should have,
is called “eucatastrophe.” The goal that is reached, affirms
the feeling of joy and righteousness. To Tolkien, it means that
“fantasy should not be despairing (as speculative fiction and
horror fiction sometimes are); in this view, the work of
fantasy is essentially committed to the cause of moral
rearmament” (Stableford qtd. in Berron 65). Tolkien’s three
features of fantasy offer an instrument which can be used on
more fronts than Tolkien originally set out. This could help
make the genre of fantasy a little clearer.
24
Part II: Feminism in The Lord of the Rings and A Song of Ice and Fire
The second part of this dissertation consists of two parts. The
first part will deal with Tolkien and Martin. After a brief
introduction to both authors, the dissertation will then focus
on feminism. One of the statements this dissertation set out to
deal with, is whether Martin and Tolkien could be seen as
feminist and if they would represent rage against male
oppression through their female characters. The second part of
the dissertation will further discuss this notion,
specifically with regards to the female characters. As
mentioned in the introduction, I focussed on the female
characters in order to determine whether a novel could be
called feminist. Above all, they needed to strong, memorable
characters . Secondly, they needed to possess a certain amount
of goodness and concern for the family. Finally, female
characters needed to be aware of the social order, and willing
to change their status through their own power.
Tolkien, a feminist?
The writers I shortly discussed depict the progression from
folktale to fantasy. Each was influenced by their predecessor
or myths to create a “better and complex” fantasy novel. The
Lord of the Rings combines all the characteristics of fantasy from
the Greek culture until now. Like most fantasy writers, Tolkien
liked a happy ending. To Tolkien, the “eucatastrophe”, or the
25
happy turn of events, is the most important part of the fairy
tale, like the death of the antagonist.
Tolkien was born in South Africa, but quickly returned to
England in 1896. When he was three, his father died and his
mother needed to look after him and his younger brother. Young
Tolkien loved drawing landscapes and he enjoyed learning about
languages. When Tolkien was twelve, his mother died of acute
diabetes. At the age of sixteen, he met Edith Mary Bratt, but
was prohibited to meet her again until he was twenty one. The
two married not so long afterwards. Tolkien served in World War
I as a signals officer. In 1920, he became a professor at the
University of Leeds. In 1925, he returned to Oxford University
as a professor. During this time, he wrote The Hobbit and the
trilogy The Lord of the Rings (1954). In 1937, he published The Hobbit,
a fantastic children’s novel which was fairly successful.
Tolkien was also part of a literary discussion group known as
the Inklings, a literary discussion group situated at the
University of Oxford. Many of them were academics who
encouraged writing fantasy and valued narrative in fiction.
Among them were authors such as C.S. Lewis, R.A. Havard, and
Lord David Cecil. It is often said that this exclusive male
club therefore suggested that the members did not take feminism
into account. His next and most famous trilogy took him
fourteen years, The Lord of the Rings (1954). Although he wrote it for
his own amusement, the novel would later be considered as the
essence of fantasy. At the age of 77, he died in 1973.
26
The Lord of the Rings starts in a little town, in which hobbits are
living a peaceful life. When Gandalf, the wizard, arrives,
looking for the hobbit Bilbo, who is in possession of a
powerful ring. Like in the Arthurian myth, the normal every-day
life is disturbed by the introduction of a magical element, a
ring. When Bilbo hands the ring to Frodo, the real story
unfolds. Four hobbits carry the most powerful ring in the
world, and are on the way accompanied by five other people. The
group of Nine Free People consists of Aragorn, the rightful
heir to the throne of Middle Earth Aragorn, Gimli the dwarf,
Legolas the elf, Boromir the human, and Gandalf the wizard.
These nine represent the Free People, who fight against Sauron,
the Dark Lord. Frodo’s ring needs to be destroyed in order to
save Middle-Earth. When he succeeds and Sauron is destroyed,
the natural order should be restored. The era of men is at
hand, but the era of elves, ents, hobbits and wizards seems to
have come to an end.
According to Attebery, most fantasy novels share five
characteristics: “setting, structural framework, role and
character of the protagonist, types of secondary characters,
and ways of tying events to values and ideas (Attebery 12)”.
Both The Lord of The Rings and A Song of Ice and Fire share these five
characteristics.
Nearly all fantasy takes place in another world, in which the
fantastic becomes the normal. It is not the story which makes
The Lord of the Rings a classic amongst fantasy, but the way in
which the “other world” is fully realized, with its own elven
27
language, people, traditions, and histories. Before Tolkien, no
writer had ever created a world from scratch the way he did.
Similar to Tolkien, Martin created a world with opposing
forces, cultures, languages, etc. Martin seemed to create a
society in which he criticizes the brutality of its characters.
The Western civilization faces numerous challenges to their
patriarchal-feudalistic culture. Both from the free folk north
of the Wall, to the Barbarians of the Eastern civilization, the
world Martin has created fully challenges the Western way of
life. For most readers, it would seem that Martin depicts the
Eastern cultures as savage and barbarian. The Western culture
seems more sophisticated, and the fighting that takes place is
more like a game of chess. But Martin shows a Western arrogance
in his writing. His western characters certainly feel that they
are more civilized, but the experiences of Danaerys seem to
negate this. She’s given to her “Eastern” husband like a price,
much like Cersei was given to her “Western” husband. Western
society as well, is in fact completely based on physical wars.
The strength of your army decides the strength of your claim to
the crown. The strength men display in tournaments is valued
and celebrated while people like Little Finger whose strength
lies in intelligence and civilization is often ridiculed by the
other hyper-masculine characters. West and East are different
because East does not cover its violence with a veneer of
civilization. The wars occurring in the west also show a
complete collapse from civilization. In fact, the whole series
seem to be galloping towards an explosion of violence. As the
story progresses, the chess pieces are blown away by brutal
28
war. Later on, I will discuss how the female characters deal
with this constant violence, as well as the physical and
mental strength.
The hero in fantasy embodies the reader’s desire of being a
hero. The hero takes part on an extraordinary journey. Although
he meets fantastic beings, the hero himself at first seems
ordinary. Frodo is supposedly ordinary, in hobbit terms he is
nobility. Aragorn is the last heir to a mighty empire. Legolas
is the prince of Mirkwood. Gimli is the son of Gloin, who was
part of the mission to recover Erebor, and thus must prove
himself to be worthy of his father’s legacy. If we take
Attebery’s characters into account, Sam would be the real hero
of the trilogy. Sam is the everyday man whose non-ambition
saves the day. Samwise Gamsee is an everyday man whose non-
ambition saves the day. The reader meets Sam as he is working
in Frodo’s garden. As a gardener, he takes care of nature and
wants to preserve it. Galadriel realizes Sam’s power, and
provides him with seeds of the trees that grow in Lothlorien.
When the war is over, he plants these seeds in the Shire, to
respect nature and to further nurture and heal it.
As the second member to have joined the Fellowship of the
Rings, Sam looks out for Frodo throughout the entire journey.
When the Fellowship was separated at the Falls of Rauros, Sam
went after Frodo to accompany him until the end. Whereas Frodo
became weaker as the journey progressed, Sam became stronger.
He carried most of the luggage, cooked, and gave his own food
29
to Frodo. He nurtured and took care of Frodo, actions that were
mostly assigned to female characters.
Not only did he take care of his friend, he also protected him
from creatures such as Gollum and Shelob. When a group of Orcs
took Frodo, Sam carried the ring for a brief time. Like
Galadriel, he was briefly tempted to use its power, but he
refused. Sam then saves Frodo from the Orcs and willingly gives
back the ring to him. He cares for Frodo in sickness and in
health. The relationship between them resembles a knight and
his princess. He vows to protect Frodo from all the dangers,
while risking his own life. Like Brienne, Sansa and Catelyn,
there is a strong bond between the two.
When Sam returned home from the war of the ring, he went on to
marry Rosie Cotton and they had thirteen children. Like Arwen
signifies Aragorn’s hope when he was struggling, Rosie was
Sam’s hope when he was struggling with the Ring. Sam loved
Rosie from when he was young, and she is the only woman Sam
trusts to become his wife. As Sam marries Rose, he marries the
woman that can heal him from the horrors of carrying the Ring.
Rosie is therefore the character who, through marriage, is able
to nurture Sam. He is finally home, where he belongs. At the
end, he makes the domestic choice of staying home, instead of
leaving to the Grey Heavens with Frodo. He becomes Mayor of the
Shire and will be known as Samwise Gardner. When Frodo leaves
Middle Earth, he gives the Red Book of Westmarch for Sam to
continue. Like Eowyn, he becomes known as the preserver of the
30
history of the War of the Ring. As the last of the Ring-
bearers, he was able to be reunited with Frodo in the Undying
Lands.
Samwise Gemsee therefore can be seen as a character with
feminist qualities: as a gardener, a healer, and a preserver of
written tradition, he possessed plural qualities which
Galadriel, Arwen and Eowyn also posses. But although Sam’s
agency is seen as an act of heroism, Eowyn’s and Arwen’s
progression will be seen as submissiveness.
The gender-based violence is not only reflective of the world
Martin creates, but also our real world. Martin wanted to write
fantasy books that reflected life in the Dark Ages. The gender-
based violence is therefore appropriate, but nevertheless
disturbing. At best, it confirms that Westeros is misogynistic
and that female characters are presented in a realistic way.
The last characteristic, the ways of tying events to values and
ideas, discusses how different parts in the story work together
to form a whole. The actions of the protagonists, the helpers
and the antagonists reflect a coherent order. They are not a
group of individuals, but a group with moral standards. There
is a strong cohesion between good and strong, so that the
hero’s quest is not only a coming of age, but also a quest that
determines the fate of the kingdom.
In Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, the main character Frodo, the
smallest of hobbits, has to overcome the tides of war, while
31
being joined by a Fellowship. If we consider that The Return of the
King was written in 1955, Tolkien must be applauded for
depicting the under appreciation of women so accurately.
Although there is no female presence among the presence of the
Fellowship, it does not imply that there is no female power. On
the contrary, the female characters depict Tolkien’s critique
on the traditional and masculine power. Unlike most wars,
Tolkien depicts the idea that wars should be fought to protect
rather than destroy. Tolkien has a lack of female characters,
which is problematic. However, the few female characters he
does have seem to rebel against patriarchal force, but not
against domesticity in general.
According to Michael Skeparnides, The Lord of the Rings praises
women as maidens who are influenced by the male gaze. He uses
the character of Eówyn to discuss this notion. As Eówyn tries
to rebel against the male society, she lays aside her feminism
to disguise as a male soldier. According to Skeparnides,
Tolkien is obviously emphasizing the gender role in her story,
and in particularly during the confrontation with the Nazgul
lord. However, in this example Tolkien clearly contradicts the
male gaze, as he strongly believes in the role of women.
Although not explicitly feminist, Tolkien expresses a
perspective on gender which certainly expresses the pain a
woman like Eówyn feels in a male-dominated world. As a woman,
Eówyn was banned from activities that have been considered a
male occupation, although she clearly had the skills to perform
them. Her confrontation with the Nazgul shows to everybody the
potential women in general posses. Although she proves to all
32
that she is a worthy warrior, she rejects this male power and
creates her own power which is based in her womanhood. She
creates a female power instead of appropriating male power.
When she recovers from her injuries, she meets Faramir and they
fall in love. Both wounded by a culture that has devalued them:
Faramir because he is considered to be a lesser warrior than
his brother Boromir and Eówyn because she is a woman. Two
marginalized people find understanding with each other as they
are both rejected by powerful symbols of the established order.
Eowyn is rejected by Aragorn, who is the ultimate male hero and
Faramir is rejected by his father, Denethor who symbolizes the
patriarchy. Although both possess strength in battle, it does
not provide peace. Both need to heal the other in order to
receive wholeness. Faramir needs to heal Eówyn, whose heart has
been broken by her unanswered love for Aragorn. By confessing
his love to her, her heart changed.
Faramir needs to heal Eówyn, whose heart has been broken by her
unanswered love for Aragorn. By confessing his love to her, her
heart changed. Eowyn’s coming of age is clearly depicted in
this trilogy. When she was young, she wanted to become a
powerful queen who would be respected for her warrior skills.
But when she finally has the chance to fight for her people,
her father refuses. She defies her father figure and achieves
greatness by killing the witch-king of Angmar. When she
recovers from her injuries, she meets Faramir and they fall in
love, during which she achieves domestic bliss.
33
Like Linda Greenwood, I agree that in Tolkien’s work, love
transforms defeat into victory. Characters, both male and
female, who posses these characteristics are the most powerful.
Those who willingly lay down their own power, and even their
lives, are depicted as the most inspiring and strongest
characters. Arwen, by sacrificing her immortality, Galadriel,
by blessing and healing the Fellowship, and Eówyn, by
sacrificing her armour for healing, are all representations of
this strong power. Through the eyes of Gandalf, Tolkien’s
vision on feminism is clearly depicted:
“My friend … you had horses, and deeds of arms, and the
free fields: but she, born in the body of a maid, had a
spirit and courage at least the match of yours. Yet she
was doomed to wait upon an old man, whom she loved as a
father, and watch him falling into a mean dishonoured
dotage: and her part seemed to her more ignoble than that
of the staff that he leaned on” (The Lord of the Rings
906).
Martin, a feminist?
George R.R. Martin was born September 20, 1948 in New Jersey.
He has two sisters, Darleen and Janet. He began writing very
young, selling his stories for pennies. Later he became a comic
book fan and collector. He went to study journalism at
Northwestern University, Illinois. During this time, he wrote
his first science fiction story, The Hero. He started writing
part-time throughout the 1970s, while working as a teacher. In
34
1975 he married Gale Burnick. After their divorce in 1979, he
became he full-time writer. As a fan of fantasy, horror and
science fiction, he signed on as a story editor for Twilight Zone
1986, after which he successfully worked in television until
1993. At present, he is living in Santa Fe, New Mexico. He is a
member of Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America.
Although much of his work is fantasy or horror, he started his
writing career with the genre of science fiction. In 1991,
Martin started writing on his epic fantasy A Song of Ice and Fire. The
first novel, A Game of Thrones, was published in 1996. In 2012, he
wrote the fifth book, A Dance with Dragons, which is still not the
final novel from the series. He is currently writing on the
sixth novel, The Winds of Winter. Martin’s work is described as
having fascinating characters, great dialogues and complex
story lines. He is also known for killing off important
characters if it is necessary for the story’s depth.
Unlike Tolkien, Martin creates a novel in which numerous female
characters have a part in the plot: Cersei Lanister, Daenerys
Targaryen, Arya Stark, Brienne of Tarth, Catelyn Stark,
Melisandre of Asshai, Sansa Stark, Margaery Tyrell, Arianne
Martell, and others are fully rendered human beings. Despite
the numerous female characters, Martin still receives criticism
because of his depiction of women and his frequent use of sex
as a plot device. Sexual scenes with 14-year-old children or
even more specific the sex dance in A Dance with Dragons are clear
examples of this. Women are subjected to physical and mental
raping on a regular base, and are used as pawns for
35
childbearing and marriage. Marriage appears to be a weapon used
as a tool by both male and female characters. Women are being
used by fathers to climb up the social ladder, or to strengthen
their power. A shocking example is Craster, a wilding beyond
the Wall. This man marries his own daughters in order to birth
more daughters, who he then marries again. These women are
isolated in a barren land and have no means of escape. However,
women can also use this power to their advantage. Both Jeyne
Westerling and Margaery Tyrell use marriage as a power, rather
than a constraint.
Feminists in support of the novels argue that this exploitation
of women reveals how women are subjugated. Martin presents this
exploitation in a way to make the reader empathise with the
female characters. The hardships that women are forced to
undergo, shape their characters and makes them stronger and
more powerful. Some characters become stronger by being
compassionate, conniving, by turning in to warriors or
princesses. But does this mean they have access to power?
It is interesting to see that Martin treats his female
characters the same way he treats his male characters. Whereas
Tolkien lets his female characters live in harmony, but
separated, Martin chooses to confront his women with one
another. Cersei for example does not like young women, as she
feels they are a threat. She torments Sansa because she is
young and beautiful, but she also sees parts of herself in
Sansa. Their relationship is complicated, and their
conversations are more confusing than helpful to Sansa. Catelyn
36
and Brienne have a strong relationship, based on male
traditions. Brienne offers her sword to Catelyn, to protect her
at all costs. There is a strong bond between these two women.
This bond further grows when Sansa is involved. The readers
clearly see a bond of three ages: Catelyn the mother, Sansa the
daughter, and Brienne the protector. Although the general idea
of Westeros appears to be that women are worthless, the female
characters still form relationships and connections that can
both empower them and make them stronger in order to survive
the corrupt world they live in. Martin allows his women to
establish female bonds of friendship and/or sisterhood to
counter the prevalence of male friendships and brotherhoods;
symbolized through the importance of knighthood.
Each female character possesses her own range of weapons, in
order to overcome her struggles and to look for her own
identity. Some strong women manipulate men in order to get what
they want and it seems that they are no longer second class
citizens, but citizens in the upper levels of society. In a
world that is extremely sexualised and patriarchal, women will
use what will work to get to a certain point. It was long
thought that their body and emotions were their weak points,
but Martin uses these weaknesses in order to become powerful.
Women use their body and their emotions in order to get what
they really want. Some want to be queen, others want their
religion to become supreme, and even others want their sons to
be powerful. Via their archetypical roles, these women become
powerful.
37
Female characters in The Lord of the Rings
The main research question of this thesis paper was whether
Tolkien and Martin could be considered feminists. Whereas the
previous section of this thesis paper dealt with the identity
of the author, this section will deal with how both Martin and
Tolkien depict feminism through their female characters. I will
look at certain characteristics which most of the female
characters possess. Whether Martin and Tolkien will represent
rage against male oppression through their female characters,
will also be discussed.
In Nancy Enright’s Tolkien’s females and the defining of power (2007),
Jessica Yates argues that all major characters can be placed
into archetypal roles: “ we have Aragorn the Hero, Arwen the
Princess, Éowyn the Amazon, Galadriel the Enchantress, and
Gandalf the Wizard” (Enright 95). There are other readers who
suggest that our three feminine heroes can be described as
Arwen the Fairy Bride, Galadriel the Good Witch, and Eówyn the
Shield Maiden. A Princess or a fairy bride, an amazon or a
shield maiden, I will discuss that these characters are more
than just archetypes.
Eowyn, the androgynous warrior
According to Jessica Yates, Éowyn has all the criteria needed
to be seen as a classic woman warrior: “sense of identity and
purpose, military training, armor, good weapons and a horse,
38
magic powers, and a due regard for chastity and modesty”
(Hatcher 46). To me, Éowyn is a self-realized woman. The
archetype amazon does not suite her, as she is not simply a
warrior, but most of all a healer. We first meet Éowyn through
Aragorn’s eyes:
The woman turned and went slowly into the house. As she
passed the door she turned and looked back. Grave and
thoughtful was her glance, as she looked on the king with
cool pity in her eyes. Very fair was her face, and her
long hair was like a river of gold. Slender and tall she
was in her white robe girt with silver; but strong she
seemed and stern as steel, a daughter of kings. Thus
Aragorn for the first time in the full light of day beheld
Jowyn, Lady of Rohan, and thought her fair, fair and cold,
like a morning of pale spring that is not yet come to
womanhood. (The Lord of the Rings 510)
She is depicted as a strong women, stern as steel. Through her
strength, she tries to fight in order to change the society and
her status in the social order. In one of the first chapters,
Éowyn rides along the Riders of Rohan towards battle. When she
tries to talk to Aragorn, he tells her to defend her homeland
while the men go to battle. However, he tells her that these
actions are less important because they are not equally
rewarding. Éowyn responds by saying that “[Aragorn’s] words are
but to say: you are a woman, and your part is in the house”
(The Lord of the Rings 784). This indicates that Éowyn is
39
fighting against the traditional woman’s role in Middle-Earth,
but also against the role of women throughout the 20th Century.
Not satisfied with the power she has by defending Edoras, she
wants to ride and fight with both her father and brother. She
states that she is “of the house of Eorl and not a serving-
woman. I can ride and wield blade, and I do not fear either
pain or death” (The Lord of the Rings 784). She has been
trained like the men of Rohan and should therefore be
qualified to ride towards battle.
She seems to represent the androgyny Virginia Woolf discussed.
Masculinity was always regarded as the norm, whereas femininity
was seen as a disease from which women need curing. Feminists
such as Virginia Woolf and later Catherine Clement therefore
looked to end this gender difference, by discussing the model
of androgyny, with men and women taking on a combination of
masculine and feminine attributes. Recently, however, this
androgyny model is being questioned. Although women were
striving to have masculine attributes, masculine, phallocratic
schemes existed unchallenged. After the early feminist
movement, the feminine qualities are looked at in a positive
way by both male and female authors. These qualities include
sensitivity, the ability to cooperate and to nurture. The re-
evaluation of femininity occurred at the same time that
masculinity was linked with aggression. In a way, masculinity
was seen as a distortion, while femininity became the
behavioural norm.
40
When Aragorn agrees with both her father and brother, she falls
to her knees and begs. The phallic woman feels castrated by her
father, her brother and Aragorn. Her begging does not represent
a woman in love, but rather a warrior who desperately wants to
battle. Because she is a woman, she is being refused. Aragorn
is pained to leave Éowyn behind because of social pressure.
When Aragorn asks her about her greatest fear, she replies “a
cage […].” Like the female characters in Gothic novels, Eowyn
is afraid to be imprisoned. “To stay behind bars, until use and
old age accept them, and all chance of doing great deeds is
gone beyond recall and desire” (The Lord of the Rings 784).
Her desire is not to be caged like an animal. This cage
represents the social order of women in the society.
Eówyn dreams of changing her social status, of doing great
deeds, of tales later generations will tell of her. When she
discovers that this cannot be done as Eówyn, she disguises as a
soldier to enter the battle field. According to Hatcher, this
suggests that, in order for Éowyn to be truly successful,
Tolkien needed to “transform her into a man” (Hatcher 48).
Éowyn does not fit into an assumed gender role. To me, it seems
that she does not need to turn into a man to become a warrior
and to be successful, but she rather disguises as a man to
infiltrate the war and remain a woman. When Merry meets Éowyn,
he says “she wore a helm and was clad to the waist like a
warrior and girded with a sword” (The Lord of the Rings 804).
She is not described as a man, but as a warrior. Her disguise
as a man is an example of cross-dressing to defy the
41
established gender role. She embodies the androgynous ideal put
forward by Virginia Woolf. She does however stand out by
connecting to Merry, as she is the only soldier willing to take
the little hobbit with her: “I will bear you before me, under
my cloak” The Lord of the Rings 804). This posture gives the
reader a pregnancy image, a caring feeling. She will give new
symbolic life on the battlefield. Under her cloak, both Éowyn
and Merry will rise as a warrior.
After her father, King Théoden, is defeated by the Lord of the
Nazgûl, Merry and Éowyn throw of their disguise. When Merry
looks around, he sees Eówyn fighting the Nazgul. He hears a
person screaming to the Ringwraith to leave at once, with a
voice that seemed strange. The Nazgûl replied by saying that
“No loving man may hinder [him]” (The Lord of the Rings 841).
The emphasis on man is already clear, but becomes even more
clear when hearing Éowyn’s reply: “But no living man am I! You
look upon a woman. Éowyn I am” (The Lord of the Rings 841). The
answer shocked the Nazgûl, who did not understand what it
meant. This suggests that culture in general overlooked women
in general. Crucial to the fight is that the Nazgûl is
destroyed by a woman. Éowyn’s struggle and her victory on the
battlefield shows her worth as a woman to battle the stereotype
that women do not have a place on the battlefield. She does not
simply fight against the Nazgûl, but against patriarchy itself.
Although she does not manage to kill it, she can reconcile with
it through love. It is clear that Éowyn did not need to change
into a man to accomplish her mission, it was her being a woman
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that changed the tide of war. Tolkien showed that the smallest
and neglected creatures are needed to win a war.
Unlike Boromir or Gimli, Merry and Éowyn are not simply
fighting for the thrill. They are rather striving for peace,
preservation and cultural memory. Éowyn herself assumes the
role of preserving cultural memory. She takes on the role of
writing Middle Earth’s future, and can therefore be seen as
versions of the author himself, who does not want his story to
be forgotten. In fighting both to participate in and to recount
the story, Éowyn embodies the persistent struggle of women in
the West to assert their voices and presence, to avoid erasure,
and to figure in history as they do in life. Whereas Eówyn’s
desire originally was to become a warrior, her desire changed
to wanting to heal and to help things grow. She says: “ I will
be a healer and will love all things that grow and are not
barren… No longer do I desire to be a queen” (The Lord of the
Rings 966). As she does not want to be a queen anymore, she no
longer feels the desire to possess the strength that lies in
the external world; in a position of power to desiring strength
that comes from within. This change is brought about by her
confrontation with the Nazgul, because that is the moment where
she exchanges male power for female power; where she fully owns
being herself. The power that was originally owned by the
Elves, was now possessed by men, and more particularly by Eówyn
and Faramir.
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After she was wounded by a culture that devalued her, Eowyn
fell in love with Faramir and eventually got married. Through
marriage, Faramir healed Eowyn’s broken status. As they come
down from the high walls, people finally see “the light that
shone about them” (The Lord of the Rings 966). For the first
time, we see Eówyn enjoy life. Faramir respects her, and is by
no means trying to dominate Eowyn: “I do not offer you my pity.
For you are a lady high and valiant and have yourself won
renown that shall not be forgotten” (The Lord of the Rings
964). Their marriage is linked with the healing of Middle
Earth. As they wait for news, they sense that the ring is being
destroyed:
And so they stood on the walls of the City of Gondor, and
a great wind rose and blew, and their hair, raven and
golden, streamed out mingling in the air. And the Shadow
departed, and the Sun was unveiled, and the light leaped
forth, and the waters of Anduin shone like silver, and all
the houses of the City men sang for the joy that welled up
in their hearts from what source they could not tell. (The
Lord of the Rings 965).
Her evolution towards a healer is a logical step, as she wants
both to help maintain peace, as well as to save as many people
as possible to pass on the story. Her love for Faramir, the
Steward of Gondor, is important to this evolution. In the House
of Healing, both heal from their wounds and spend time together
while waiting for news of the Great War. Slowly Faramir is
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seducing Éowyn by offering her his love. Whereas Aragorn pitied
Éowyn, Faramir respects her skills on the battlefield, next to
her being a lady. He does not attempt to oppress her, but sees
her as an equal. Immediately after this profession of love,
“the heart of Éowyn changed, or else at last she understood it”
(The Lord of the Rings 965). After the shadow on her heart is
gone, she declares that she will become “a healer, and love all
things that grow and are not barren” (The Lord of the Rings
965). Éowyn realizes that she is able to fight against evil in
a different way, by protecting and preserving her piece of the
earth. As Hatcher states, “she has engaged in battle and will
now grow life from the barrenness left by war” (Hatcher 52).
Tolkien could have depicted her as a twentieth century woman,
as a wife and mother. However, he decided to actively change
Éowyn into a healer, a restorer. She leaves her glory days of
battle to preserve Middle-Earth. Her ability to express many
emotions like grief, pride, love and fear distinguishes her
from many other characters. Tolkien provided Éowyn with a full
range of emotions, whereas characters like Gimli or Aragorn do
not have that much expressions. I therefore agree with Hatcher,
who presumes that Tolkien has chosen to put Éowyn at the
forefront of this preservation. Unlike one-dimensional
characters like Gimli and Boromir, Éowyn is an expansive
character who is allowed to change. She is equipped with the
most important characteristics: peace, preservation and
cultural memory.
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Arwen, last of the Elves
Tolkien utilizes Arwen with the same powers. According to
Enright, Arwen can be seen as an archetypical princess, in love
with her prince Aragorn. When the hobbits first meet Arwen, she
has already met Aragorn. As the readers read into the story,
they find out that she is in love with him. Conversely, Aragorn
is enchanted by her beauty. This beauty recurs when Frodo looks
at her and feels that her beauty is so high that he is abashed
to look at her:
... and there sat a lady fair to look upon, and so like
was she in form of womanhood to Elrond that Frodo guessed
that she was one of his close kindred Young she was and
yet not so. The braids of her dark hair were touched by no
frost; her white arms and clear face were flawless and
smooth, and the light of stars was in her bright eyes,
grey as a cloudless night; yet queenly she looked, and
thought and knowledge were in her glance, as of one who
has known many things that the years bring. (The Lord of
the Rings 227)
Next to her beauty, her inner power is present throughout The
Lord of the Rings. Like her father, she remains at Rivendell to
inspire events from afar. When Aragorn is suffering, her
thoughts are with him and she supports him from a distance.
This act even becomes physical when Aragorn receives the banner
she has woven for him, with the words “The days now are short.
Either our hope cometh, or all hopes end. Therefore I send thee
46
what I have made for thee. Fare well, Elfstone” (The Lord of
the Rings 797).
Next to her support from afar, her true strength is shown in
the moment when she renunciates the Elven immortality for true
love. She decides to give up immortality to stay with Aragorn.
By becoming a mortal, she will remain behind when the elves
leave, and must work through this personal loss alone. The last
example of her inner power, is visible when she heals Frodo
from the results of his bearing of the Ring. At the end of the
story, Arwen offers her jewel and her passage to the West to
Frodo. She sees Frodo’s suffering and decides to give her
passage to heal him. Her loss becomes another way of salvation
for someone else. Her loss also represents the loss of “the
old”, the world of Elves and Dwarves, as well as Orcs and
Nazgul. Their age has ended, and the human era has begun.
Her choice to take mortality out of love, is very Christ-like.
Like Christ, who lays aside the privileges of divinity, Arwen
lays down her immortality. By choosing Aragorn, she chooses her
own domestic situation. She strengthened her agency through a
personal sacrifice; giving up her immortality. In a way, this
is a rebellion against the established order. Enright sees this
act of power as the “eucatastrophe”, the good catastrophe
powerful enough to save Middle Earth. Instead of sailing for
the Undying Lands, as expected of her, she asserts her own
personal love and goals as above societal expectations. At the
same time, she also becomes queen and mother to the new
generation kings and queens of men. Above all else, Arwen’s
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choice is a romantic choice. Instead of an immortal life, she
wants to spend her days with the soon-to-be king of her dreams.
By marrying her prince, she becomes the queen of Middle Earth.
Eowyn lays aside her dreams of becoming a queen in order to
become a healer. Arwen on the other becomes a queen without
even explicitly mentioning this agency. Eowyn can therefore be
described as a radical feminist, Arwen as a feminist housewife.
This ties in with the argument that reproduction is an
important part of Tolkien’s philosophy in his novels. Through
Arwen’s agency, and her procreative power, she sustains the
future of Gondor.
The marriage of Arwen and Aragorn also signifies the healing of
Middle Earth as it symbols the start of a new, peaceful
generation. It also meant a new heir to the throne and the
survival of the line of Earendil. Earendil was a Half-elf, who
had the option of becoming an Elf or a Human. Whereas he chose
to become an Elf, his two children had different ideas. Elrond,
Arwen’s father, chose to be an Elf, whereas his brother Elros
chose to be Human. It is his blood that is mentioned here. By
marrying Arwen, Aragorn’s blood is mixed with Elven blood,
therefore strengthening their lines in terms of generic
material. As demonstrated by Denethor’s madness, the lack of
renawel causes decay.
Galadriel and the power of the ring
The last female character in The Lord of the Rings that I will
discuss, Galadriel, is arguably the most powerful female elf. As
48
the Lady of Lothorien and Arwen’s grandmother, she possesses
great power. Although she owns one of the three Elven rings,
she uses her power for healing. This further supports Tolkien’s
notion that healing and peace are more important than war and
fighting. The kind of power Galadriel possesses however, is an
alternative to traditional male-oriented power4. Throughout the
novel, there are several instances that reveal her true
strength. When the Fellowship arrives at Lothlorien, Haldir the
Elf tells Frodo and Sam that “[they] can feel the power of the
Lady of the Galadrim” (The Lord of the Rings 342). It is the
Lady whose power can be felt, not Lord Celeborn. It is also
Galadriel who realizes that, although Gandalf is part of the
Fellowship, he is not with them when they arrive. The second
example takes place at the same location. When Celeborn is
having harsh words with Gimli (The Lord of the Rings 348-9),
Galadriel corrects her husband by stating that he should
forgive, understand and be tolerate. She possesses the power to
unify, which is important throughout the trilogy. One of the
recurring themes in The Lord of the Rings is the need for the
peoples of Middle Earth to be united under one banner. Only
then will they be able to defeat Sauron.
She is also capable of mentally testing the members of the
Fellowship. She offers them a choice between the danger that
lies ahead, or something they really desire. Enright also
states that Galadriel is important, “not only as a queen among
Elves, but as a mover and planner of the great things in
4 This passive, nurturing power is supposed to be an attribute of a woman.However, Tolkien depicts Lord Elrond as a great healer to, thereforeequipping him with female attributes.
49
Middle-Earth, affecting all its peoples” (Enright 99). This is
made clear when Galadriel summons the White Council. She has
the power to gather the most important wizards.
Galadriel knows the dangers of her powers, should they be used
wrongly. When Frodo offers her the ring, she is aware of the
temptation towards power and domination. Although she is aware
of the power, she still admits her desire for it:
I do not deny that my heart has greatly desired to ask
what you offer. For many long years I had pondered what I
might do, should the Great Ring come into my hands, and
behold! It was brought within my grasp… And now at last it
comes. You will give me the Ring freely! In place of the
Dark Lord you will set up a Queen. And I shall not be
dark, but beautiful and terrible as the Morning and the
Night! Fair as the Sea and the Sun and the Snow upon the
Mountain! Dreadful as the Storm and the Lightning!
Stronger than the foundations of the earth. All shall love
me and despair! (The Lord of the Rings 365)
Had she given in to this temptation, she would have become
dominated by the power of the ring. The Ring, because of its
round shape, is the most obvious symbol of femininity. The
circle is associated with the woman because of its ability to
be penetrated. But although it therefore seems to suggest that
it can be dominated, the ring is uncontrollable. Every man
wants to wear and penetrate it, but nobody can control it. Only
a couple of characters are able to refuse it, like Galadriel
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and Sam. These characters, as I have suggested earlier, both
posses very feminine powers and are therefore capable of
refusing the call of the Ring.
This power, normally most tempting to males, tries to fully
empower Galadriel. However, Galadriel rejects the ring and its
temptation. She then “led her hand fall, and the light faded,
and suddenly she laughed again, and lo! She was shrunken, a
slender Elf-woman, clad in simple white, whose voice was soft
and sad. ‘I pass the test.’ She said. ‘I will diminish, and go
into the West, and remain Galadriel’” (The Lord of the Rings
366). Like her granddaughter Arwen, Galadriel is prepared to
refuse power out of love, and it is this renunciation that
proves her spiritual and moral strength. It is fitting that
both Arwen and Galadriel, being female, understand Frodo’s
suffering. In the man-dominated world, they empathize with his
suffering and burden by offering him help and consolation. This
is only capable through the wisdom and power they posses.
Evil in The Lord of the Rings
There is however one female character who does not use her
power for healing and caring: Shelob. Shelob, the giant spider,
attacks Frodo and Sam on their journey to destroy the evil
ring.
'And quick! ' Sam panted. 'There's something worse than
Gollum about. I can feel something looking at us.' They
had not gone more than a few yards when from behind them
51
came a sound, startling and horrible in the heavy padded
silence: a gurgling, bubbling noise, and a long venomous
hiss. They wheeled round, but nothing could be seen. Still
as stones they stood, staring, waiting for they did not
know what. (The Lord of the Rings 719)
If we are to describe her as an archetype, she would be
considered to be a devouring mother, sadistic and entrapping.
She is the only female character in the story that destroys and
takes rather than honouring life. But although it could suggest
that Tolkien uses Shelob to depict the dangerous mother, he
chooses to end her life by first blinding her with the light
Sam received from Galadriel, then by throwing herself on Sam’s
sword.
Both the tower and the staff of Saruman can be seen as phallic
symbols. The other tower, Saruon’s tower is also a tall phallic
symbol of masculine strength. Interesting to note is that on
top of the tower, the eye of Sauron looks over the land. The
strange form of the eye resembles a vulva, is searching for the
Fellowship. It seems to suggest that the eye, the symbol of
feminism, dominates the tower, the male symbol.
Overall, the feminine power is represented by the choice of
love and healing, like a Christ-like power. The characters who
represent this protection, are mostly women. A number of
critics, like Candice Fredrick and Sam McBride, have accused
Tolkien of creating a fantastic setting consisting of merely
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powerful men. To a certain extent, I agree that most women in
the novel tend to be depicted as housewives. The hobbit women,
like Rosie Cotton, are a clear example of this. Goldberry,
although she clearly possesses great powers, is still depicted
as a washer-woman.
But I also agree with Bargate, who argues that femininity is
the behavioural norm, while men are regarded as a disease. To
her, it is men who suffer from gender roles. The distinction
between gender and biological sex is central. Like Bargate,
Frances Swiney stresses that individuals are separated by their
biological sex. Her starting point is nature, indicating that
the “fallacy that woman is the inferior being” (Felski 159).
But unlike the other critics I have discussed so far, Swiney
discusses that women are superior to men. She supports this
notion by referring to discoveries in the field of biology and
embryology, in which proof is found that man is actually
inferior to woman, with man being a “waste product of nature”
(Felski 160). Other biological as well as medical discoveries
seem to further suggest that women are superior, for example
women’s greater hardiness, her greater resistance to insanity
and many more. Science therefore changes from destructor to
saviour for feminism. The elves, although they are immortal,
are no longer able to produce children. The same fate is in
store for the Ents, as the women have disappeared. Finally,
the female dwarves are so like males that almost nobody can see
the difference. Michael D.C. Drout discusses that although
Middle Earth is beautiful, it is dying for lack of
53
reproduction. Although these women seem to have little
importance to the story, only real humans seem to represent
Tolkien’s ideals. I therefore believe that the most powerful
characters are women.
Éowyn starts her journey in search for glory. Her search for
glory represents her own evolution, as she transforms into a
loving friend, a loyal companion and a healer. Lady Galadriel
is depicted as an all-seeing Mother Nature, who gives gifts to
the fellowship after foreseeing their future. At the start of
the novel, Arwen possesses a great deal of power because of her
Elven race. But as the story progresses, she decides to
sacrifice this power in order to fulfil the role that was set
out for her, the Queen of Middle Earth. She forfeits her place
on the ship to the Grey Havens to stay with Aragorn. In a way,
all three take the same steps as Sam does. But whereas Sam’s
progression is seen as an act of heroism (as I discussed
before), Éowyn’s and Arwen’s transformation are seen as an act
of submissiveness.
Although Arwen, Galadriel and Eówyn are true heroines, they
seem to excel in feminine functions, such as the ability to
counsel and to heal. All of these functions are in the service
of life. I agree with Hatcher who states that Tolkien’s highest
ideal was a commitment to peace. As Tolkien wrote The Lord of the
Rings from 1937 to 1948, it is not hard to imagine that Tolkien
is discussing the role of women during the Second World War.
Next to taking over “male” jobs, they were also nursing the
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wounded . While other characters like Sam may also embody this
ideal, Éowyn, Galadriel and Arwen represent the protective
power Tolkien set out to create the most. All three of them
choose to reject power in order to protect in their own way.
Arwen, Eówyn and Galadriel are all crucial to the meaning of
The Lord of the Rings. The story is so much more than a story of
battle and adventure, even more than a spiritual fight between
Good and Evil. Next to all this, it is a story about power. By
making the right choices, the female characters posses the
power of love and healing, the most important power throughout
the novels. Aragorn, Gandalf, Faramir, and many more, also
posses this kind of power, but it is striking that Tolkien
chooses the female characters to explicitly exhibit this power.
Feminism in A Song of Ice and Fire
A Song of Ice and Fire is one of the only fantasy novels in which a
wide variety of complex female characters are depicted as being
equal to men. I want to look at several characters in
particular: Daenerys Targaryen, Brienne of Tarth, Cersei
Lannister and the Stark family. They do not resemble many of
the one-dimensional characters other fantasy novels use, nor do
they look like any of the archetypes such as the warrior, the
evil queen or the tomboy. These labels vaguely describe some of
the characters, but it would be inaccurate to narrow the
characters down in such a way, because for every weakness the
female characters possess, they also posses equally important
power. Although Cersei is a pawn in the hands of her father,
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she does rule the kingdom through her son Joffrey. She usurps
her husband’s procreative power and power-enhancing status as
father by not allowing him to father her children; but choosing
another man to do so, the only man she considers her equal.
Brienne lacks the beauty of a woman, but has the power of a
man. Catelyn Stark is clever and rules the kingdom as a proxy
for her son. She does lack the power to save her children. Arya
Stark is a powerful child, but she has to pretend to be a boy
in order to survive. Daenerys Targaryen is a powerful mother
and the heir to the Targaryen throne, but she receives this
power after being raped and treated terribly. Each female
character has a weakness that makes her vulnerable to rape.
Sansa is a female prisoner, Arya and Brienne are open to
violence as they travel the lands, and Daenerys is a political
pawn, used for trading power. In a way, it would be more anti-
feminist if Martin would brush over this facts, as A Song of Ice
and Fire is dark and bleak. His commitment to fully exploring
these positions is feminist as it accurately portrays female
existence.
Daenerys, mother of dragons
Daenerys Targaryen is the last descendant of the noble kin of
Targaryen. While her family was slaughtered in King’s Landing,
she and her brother fled. She starts out at a small girl of 14,
controlled by her brother. Through marriage, her brother hopes
to strengthen his position in society:
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It was also said that he’d never had a friend he wouldn’t
cheerfully sell for the right price. Dany listened to the
talk in the streets, and she heard these things, but she
knew better than to question her brother when he wove his
webs of dream. His anger was a terrible thing when roused.
Viserys called it “waking the dragon.” Her brother hung
the gown beside the door. “Illyrio will send the slaves to
bathe you. Be sure you wash off the stink of the stables.
Khal Drogo has a thousand horses, tonight he looks for a
different sort of mount.” He studied her critically. “You
still slouch. Straighten yourself” He pushed back her
shoulders with his hands. “Let them see that you have a
woman’s shape now.” (A game of throne 26)
She is sold to the Dothraki Drogo, so her brother can become
the king once more. Drogo becomes enamoured of her when she is
willing to have sex with him in public (in accordance with his
customs) and when she is pregnant with his son. Daenerys uses
her marriage with Drogo to climb up the social ladder. She
overcomes her barbaric treatment and takes a role normally
reserved for men in the Dothraki society. She sets herself
apart by trying to save5 whatever person she can. Daenerys is
depicted as a male saviour. In a way, she could easily fit in
The Lord of the Rings. As a depiction of a Christ-figure, she shares
some characteristics with both Arwen and Galadriel.
5 Daenerys is also depicted as a white saviour in several of the books.
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She has power and influence and uses these weapons to save
enslaved people. In the third book she liberates the slaves in
Astapor by killing the masters. She used her power and dragons
to destroy the entire city and to save thousands of people. Yet
Daenerys is also a lost girl finding a place to belong. She is
searching for a culture in which she can feel at home. She has
a strong sense of right and wrong, and is not just storming
into foreign cities to make them her own. She is searching for
her own identity and develops her own character. Although she
is considered to be the male saviour, it will not be an easy
path.
She is constantly gazed upon as a beautiful woman wielding
power. She is a wife, an un-mother and a widow and is therefore
not limited to one female archetype. She is an un-mother
because she has lost her child. Un-mother is a term to describe
a person who has lost her child(ren) to famine and war. It is a
personality that is born through the grief of a mother’s
suffering. The Un-mother seeks to fill the void within herself
by taking the souls of others. She destroys cities and slave
owners to set thousands of people free. She is the perfect
example to break through the traditional female role. Daenerys
has won the followship of the Dothraki and has become the
mother of dragons. At any time however, Martin emphasizes that
she is still a woman:
When she went to the stables, she wore faded sandsilk pants
and woven grass sandals. Her small breasts moved freely
beneath a painted Dothraki vest, and a curved dagger hung
58
from her medallion belt. Jhiqui had braided her hair
Dothraki fashion, and fastened a silver bell to the end of
the braid. (A Clash of Kings 637)
It seems that Martin uses Daenerys to emphasize the role of
women in contemporary society. The female characters
demonstrate their power through their gender. For Martin, it is
important that the readers see that Daenerys is a woman and
strong. That she still has a weak point, is not due to her
being a woman, as men also have weaknesses.
Brienne, Eowyn’s equal
Brienne of Tarth seems to resemble Tolkien’s Eówyn. As a
gender-bending knight, she has to fight in order to find her
place in society. She is described as ugly on numerous
occasions. In comparison with other female characters, she is
not described as beautiful, but she is however stronger
physically and mentally. As she is consistently denied a place
in the gender divide (and thus being refused a place in
society), she has developed a different and unique perspective
on the world; thus allowing her to see things others do not.
Born a noblewoman, Brienne of Tarth prefers a man’s garb and
would rather become a knight than a princess:
“Your Grace,” Brienne answered, “I ask the honor of a
place among your Rainbow Guard. I would be one of your
seven, and pledge my life to yours, to go where you go,
ride at your side, and keep you safe from all hurt and
harm.”
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“Done,” he said. “Rise, and remove your helm.” (A Clash
of Kings 311-312)
Because of her unattractiveness, she does not have the female
power other characters possess:
She did as he bid her. And when the greathelm was lifted,
Catelyn understood Ser Colen’s words. Beauty, they called
her... mocking. The hair beneath the visor was a
squirrel’s nest of dirty straw, and her face... Brienne’s
eyes were large and very blue, a young girl’s eyes,
trusting and guileless, but the rest... her features were
broad and coarse, her teeth prominent and crooked, her
mouth too wide, her lips so plump they seemed swollen. A
thousand freckles speckled her cheeks and brow, and her
nose had been broken more than once. Pity filled Catelyn’s
heart. Is there any creature on earth as unfortunate as an
ugly woman? (A Clash of Kings 311-12)
She is however loyal, a characteristic typical of women.
Brienne is one of the characters Arya seems to imagine when she
thinks of a true knight. Brienne is a true knight, in search
for a fair maid, Sansa, to return to her family. She seems to
be the only character who values honour and promise above all
else. She respects life and wants to protect the weak. She is
perhaps the character that most resembles the characters in The
Lord of the Rings. She is however an unattractive woman, mocked
by everyone she encounters. She is therefore not a real knight,
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as she does not posses the external qualities, but she has the
heart and courage of one. In a world where looks are very
important, she does not really seem to have a place. She is not
beautiful enough to be accepted by men, but she is still a
female. Her physical strength and power are a joke to men, but
her lack of attractiveness as well. Both her male as her female
traits are reasons why she does not fit in the Westerosi
society. She meets Jaime Lannister, in many ways her complete
opposite. He is handsome and ruthless on the outside, but
corrupt and unattractive on the inside. Brienne lets Jaime
realize the importance of honour and loyalty, but conversely he
crushes her dream of being a true storybook knight. Although
she is constantly mocked by other warriors, Jaime and Ser Hyle
recognize her abilities and respect her for her determination.
She constantly has to fight for her position. She must believe
in the importance of honour and protecting others, because
these ideals drove her to be a knight, to form her own
identity. But despite being a warrior and being unattractive,
she is still very romantic. She falls for a princely man who is
impossible to love. Like Sansa, she believes in the stories of
chivalry and is there for desperate to find emotional
understanding. She doesn’t see herself as either a son or a
daughter to her father, and therefore has no real home or
family to belong to. She must search for her identity through
her beliefs in knighthood. If she follows the rules, she will
find her place in society. But in a society like Westeros,
there is no space for a true knight, because no one can be
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trusted. If Brienne cannot be a true knight, she will however
become a different kind of hero. She swears fealty to a woman
because she respects that woman’s strength. She goes on a quest
to save the beautiful maiden not to marry her, but to return
her to her mother. It is the story of a woman saving another
woman for the sake of another woman. Brienne uses her strength
and skill to help other women in ways that men would never even
think to attempt, because she recognizes these women as
powerful individuals worth risking her life for.
Stark, the strength of a family
The Stark family consists of the female characters Catelyn,
Arya and Sansa. Catelyn Stark is one of the characters that has
the most chapters in A Song of Ice and Fire. As a wife of Eddard
Stark, she has increased her status in the North. She was
arranged to marry Eddard’s brother, but was forced to marry
Eddard:
That brought a bitter twist to Ned’s mouth. “Brandon. Yes.
Brandon would know what to do. He always did. It was all
meant for Brandon. You, Winterfell, everything. He was
born to be a King’s Hand and a father to queens. I never
asked for this cup to pass to me.”
“Perhaps not,” Catelyn said, “but Brandon is dead, and the
cup has passed, and you must drink from it, like it or
not.”
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Ned turned away from her, back to the night. He stood
staring out in the darkness, watching the moon and the
stars perhaps, or perhaps the sentries on the wall.
Catelyn softened then, to see his pain. Eddard Stark had
married her in Brandon’s place, as custom decreed. (A game
of thrones 45)
Although the above scene does not depict it, they do however
love each other and treat each other as equals. Through her
eyes, the reader witnesses several major developments: the
murder of Bran and Rickon by Theon Greyjoy, the release of
Jaime Lannister, and even Robb Stark’s story. She adds empathy
to the story, because she is the mother who is worried about
her children. These events fill her with anger, which makes her
even more determined to end the war. Catelyn has a distinct
story of her own, as she goes to parley with Renly and sees his
death:
A Lannister victory was ill tidings, but Catelyn could not
share her brother’s obvious dismay. She still had
nightmares about the shadow she had seen slide across
Renly’s tent and the way the blood had come flowing out
through the steel of his gorget. “Stannis was no more a
friend than Lord Tywin’ (A storm of swords 35)
She also brings back Brienne and frees Jaime. Next to this
feminine characteristic of caring, she is also a strategist and
pragmatic. Like Arwen in The Lord of the Rings, she is one of the few
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characters who oversees the war and its consequences. When
Catelyn is eventually killed, she will reappear as “Lady
Stoneheart … Some call her other things. The Silent Sister.
Mother Merciless. The Hangwoman.” (A feast for crows 510) She
becomes a brutal woman in search for vengeance. She is one of
the only characters with continuity.
Arya Stark is Sansa’s little sister. Unlike her sister, Arya
takes sword lessons and is always in trouble. When her father
is killed, she escapes by disguising herself as a boy. By the
age of ten, she has already killed several men and is driven by
revenge. Arya is a brave, determined and quick-witted child in
a world filled with evil powers. Despite her naïve ways, she
manages to survive in a world in which more experienced players
have been killed. She is naivety about how she treated Prince
Joffrey without thinking about the consequences. (A game of
thrones 107-8) Readers love her because she treats Joffrey how
everyone wants him to be treated. But she cannot escape the
oppressive nature of Westerosi expectations. The women of
Westeros must either bend to expectations, or be broken. When
Arya’s father talks to her about marriage, she immediately
realizes that marrying a great lord and having his children is
not for her and how then her continued rebellion, her continued
resistence to feminine traits or behaviours is also a rebellion
against the patriarchy. If she is not meek and feminine, she
will not be seen as a suitable bride for anyone and might be
able to escape marriage.
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Although Arya is a fierce future-assassin, she is still a nine-
year-old girl swinging her thin sword. She survives because
everyone underestimates her, a characteristic she shares with
Brienne. This is even explicitly mentioned when Brienne thinks
back on her sword training. Her trainer tells her that men will
underestimate her because she is a woman. They will want to
beat her quickly because they want to embarrass her for daring
to take up the sword. Arya also has the advantage by using her
small size. She manages to flee King’s Landing, but it does not
offer her a solution for her problems. She cannot keep running
away and continue surviving in a world as brutal as Westeros.
Arya is therefore a vengeful little girl who is lost in the
harsh world that surrounds her. Her father is beheaded in front
of her eyes and she receives news that her family members are
being killed. She becomes traumatized by torture, pain and
death wherever she goes. Because of these losses, she feels
that life has very little meaning, and she is willing to
sacrifice hers if necessary.
She changes from the rebellious girl into the vengeful girl.
She jumps from name to name and disguise to disguise. She seems
to have finally found her identity when she joins the Faceless
Men and becomes “No One” in order to become an assassin.:
The blind girl rolled onto her side, sat up, sprang to her
feet, stretched. Her bed was a rag-stuffed mattress on a
shelf of cold stone, and she was always stiff and tight
when she awakened. She padded to her basin on small, bare,
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callused feet, silent as a shadow, splashed cool water on
her face, patted herself dry. Ser Gregor, she thought. Dunsen,
Raff the Sweetling. Ser Ilyn, Ser Meryn, Queen Cersei. Her morning
prayer. Or was it? No, she thought, not mine. I am no one. That is
the night wolf’s prayer. Someday she will find them, hunt them, smell their
fear, taste their blood. Someday. ( A dance with dragons 511)
The hatred needed to search for her own identity becomes the
reason why she looses that identity. By turning into “No One”,
she hopes to achieve her goals. This is fascinating because men
are seen as the universal. Male experiences are universal
experiences. This negates women’s experiences and identities;
therefore in the patriarchy, women are no one. As a girl, Arya
would not have had access to the things she wanted, like being
a knight or having the power to defeat her enemies. The male
experience and identity (made divine by the holiness of
knighthood) is closed to her. Through her girlhood, she becomes
No One, from which, ironically, she draws strength and power.
Her old identity is only kept alive through her connection with
the wolf she owned from when she was young and both Sansa and
Jon Snow.
Sansa Stark must be one of the characters in A Song of Ice and Fire
that is most frustrating to readers. Because she is a pre-teen
girl, she appears to be spoilt and naive. She puts her trust in
the wrong characters and is lost in her dreams of being saved
by a knight. She falls victim to the infantalization of women.
She believes in what her parents have taught her, she believes
in marrying a prince when she is old enough and she believes
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that she will have his children. She has spent her life in a
castle of the North, dreaming of tournaments and knights
fighting for her hand in the South. People in the North wanted
her to be that way, because they think the ideal young woman
should be a princess waiting in her tower. But this almost
leads to her downfall.
Manipulation, for many women, is a source of strength and
power. Because of her early naivety, people underestimate her
when she begins to understand how the game is played. She is
seen as the hyper-feminist, infantilized woman and she draws
strength from this image men have of her. It does however lead
to her downfall, which shows that forcing women to adhere to
strict gender roles is detrimental to their understanding of
the world and the development of their mental capacities. She
never gives in, not even when she is forced to marry Tyrion:
My claim, she thought, sickened. Dontos the Fool was not
so foolish after all; he had seen the truth of it. Sansa
backed away from the queen. “I won’t.” I’m to marry
Willas, I’m to be the lady of Highgarden, please...
“I understand your reluctance. Cry if you must. In your
place, I would likely rip my hair out. He’s a loathsome
little imp, no doubt of it, but marry him you shall.” (A
storm of swords 271)
Due to this marriage, she is being even more imprisoned in
King’s Landing. It is also a message to Catelyn, that she has
lost control of her own daughter, which is now a puppet in the
hands of the Lannister family. If they are able to kill Rob
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Snow, they would then have claim to Winterfell in Sansa’s name.
But Sansa never gives in. Her father, although he kneeled, was
destroyed. Although she smiles and nods, she never kneels. She
will remain strong and determined because she knows her day
will come. Arya would not last long in this world, because Arya
is rash, provocative and has a big mouth; all qualities usually
assigned to men and thus, usually seen as positive. Instead of
rash and provocative, it would be seen as assertive. The
feminine façade of meek and vapid, allows women in situations
like Sansa’s to observe quietly and to act after taking the
time to think. Throughout the entire story, she maintains her
kindness, a feminine trait. Despite all the horrors she goes
through, she still manages to remain gentle and caring. During
the Battle of the Blackwater, she is the one who cares and
calms the inhabitants of King’s Landing, despite that few of
them have done anything to help her. Sansa Stark demonstrates
that traditional femininity is not inferior. She has her own
kind of strength and power. She is not fierce like Brienne or
rebellious like Arya, but she is strong and she survives.
Both Sana and Arya struggle to retain their identities. Sansa
must pretend to love Joffrey and Arya must become nameless to
stay alive. Neither path is better, because they both have
little options. Sansa does not choose to be kind and please
everyone around her, and Arya does not choose to prefer
fighting. Both suffer for their personalities. The Stark girls
are both nothing more than pawns, trading goods with little
concern to their identities. Although Arya wants to be more
68
than that, Westeros leaves little space for her to become a
real actor.
However, the most important part in the series on marriage, is
called “The Red Wedding”. It is an example of how important a
marriage pact is in terms of patriarchal power. The Red wedding
is a name for the event in which Robb Stark, Catelyn Stark and
most of his men were slaughtered. The massacre was orchestrated
by Lord Frey. Robb Stark was supposed to marry his daughter,
thus increasing Lord Frey’s social status in exchange for an
alliance with Robb against King’s Landing. However, Robb Stark
broke the marriage pact by marrying Jeyne Westerling. With the
support of Tywin Lannister, Lord Frey secretly starts plotting
against Robb. He invites to his fortress him under the pretense
of another marriage pact between Edmure Tully and Walder Frey’s
daughter Roslin Frey, which would forgive Robb’s broken vow.
During the feast, Robb’s men are made too drunk to fight, and
Lord Frey is able to attack them without a loss to his own men.
Most of the northmen are slaughtered at the spot:
For a moment it seemed as though the king had not heard.
Stannis showed no pleasure at the news, no anger, no
disbelief, not even relief. He stared at his Painted Table
with teeth clenched hard. “You are certain?” he asked.
“I am not seeing the body, no, Your Kingliness,” said
Salladhor Saan. “Yet in the city, the lions prance and
dance. The Red Wedding, the smallfolk are calling it. They
swear Lord Frey had the boy’s head hacked off, sewed the
69
head of his direwolf in its place, and nailed a crown
about his ears. His lady mother was slain as well, and
thrown naked in the river.”
At a wedding, thought Davos. As he sat at his slayer’s
board, a guest beneath his roof. These Freys are cursed.
(A storm of swords 498)
After the battle, the Freys cut off Robb’s head and that of
his direwolf. Catleyn has her throat slit and is thrown naked
into the river. Because Robb broke the marriage pact, he caused
his whole family to be slaughtered. It brought an end to the
northern rebellion. A marriage, or a refusal to marriage,
killed more than 3,000 men. It is a clear example of how
marriage was important in Martin’s series of novels.
Cersei, mother and manipulator
Cersei Lannister is seen as the evil person in A Game of Ice and
Fire. She raises monstrous children, and can therefore be seen as
Shelob, the evil spider in The Lord of the Rings. As a spider, she
has multitudes of eggs and therefore be considered a monstrous
mother. Cersei can also be seen as a monstrous mother. On the
one hand, her children are the product of incest, which is a
massive taboo. On the other hand, Joffrey, her son, is a
monster. She is depicted as an archetypical evil queen, because
she is ruthless and cruel. She seems to possess no redeeming
qualities. Cersei’s depiction can be interpreted in various
ways. She can be seen as a woman climbing the social ladder
through marriage. She can however also be seen as a girl used
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to serve her father’s purpose of remaining the strongest
family. Even as child, she tormented Tyrion and is portrayed as
cruel. A young Cersei at that point can be described as
fearless.
She is not the only Lannister with ambition and a need for
power. She seems to have the rebelliousness of Arya Stark. But,
like Sansa, her dreams are destroyed by her life as a woman.
While Jaime and the father rake in the glory, Cersei is used as
a pawn. Although she obtains her dreams of power through
queenship, she does have to marry Robert in order to do so. She
is sold to a man that hits her and does not want her, simply
for her father’s political gain. Marriage in this example is
not the cause of her lack of her power, but Robert is. He did
not love her, and refuses to give her any say in the marriage.
Because of his sexist views, she is denied any direct power.
She needs to manipulate her son in order to have indirect
power, and is therefore blind to her son Joffrey’s evil
character. And although she wants to make the best of the
situation, she is bitter and wounded. She trusts no one and is
incredibly paranoid.
The more power she gains, the more enemies she sees and the
more paranoid she becomes. She cannot stop fighting, even when
her son is on the throne and she is Queen Regent, because she
is afraid that if she stops playing the game of manipulation,
she will lose. She must use her intelligence and her female
characteristics, like her smile and body, to follow the path of
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power. Because she is a woman, she does not have the physical
strength to put someone aside. She is despised for seducing,
controlling and threatening people. At the end of A Dance With
Dragons, she is however punished for her crimes. She is stripped
naked and has to walk through the streets as a punishment. As
she walks through the streets deprived of her clothes, her
female body is clearly visible to all. Her womanhood is
clearly framed as a source of shame.
The only thing she does care for, are her children. Although
there are several chapters in which the reader sees her train
of thoughts, she is never depicted as likeable. Whereas Tyrian
is depicted in a way that readers sympathize with him, Cersei
is never perceived as sympathetic. This does not mean that she
is not interesting. From a feminist perspective, she is very
fascinating. Her entire personality reflects the misogynistic
nature of the Western society. She is an ambitious woman who is
faced with failure and is therefore made cruel and bitter. This
is a clear example of internalized misogyny and of the
patriarchal woman.
For feminist readers, George R.R. Martin’s book series A Song of
Ice and Fire depicts a fantastic but brutal world in which war and
raping is omnipresent. Women appear to be treated as second-
class citizens through arranged marriage, rape and public
humiliation. If these readers were to look further, they would
see that this public humiliation, like Cersei’s Walk of Shame,
does not exemplify the inferiority of women. Although it seems
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that the walk of shame is an act to re-establish the male
dominance over the female, this would not explain why Tyrion
should take his own walk of shame.
Tyrion Lannister, a dwarf, is a complex character. His height
is a clear disadvantage, as he lacks the physical strength of
normal men. Because of his height , he is never really seen as
a Lannister. He deals with his powerlessness by dominating
others who possess even less power, such as women. His attitude
towards women is complex: he both envies and hates them. This
started from birth, when his mother died while giving him life.
As a child without a mother, he looked for love and hoped to
find it in his sister Cersei. He sees her as a surrogate
mother, and desires for her love. Unfortunately, this love is
never answered, as Cersei is cruel to him for most of his life.
He therefore developed a strange relation towards women from
the start.
He searched for this love and seemed to have found it in the
arms of prostitutes. He pays for their love, but it does not
matter to him. He finds love, but also power. By paying for
sex, he receives the power to control women. Until he meets
Sae, a prostitute like no other. He realizes that she has her
own character and he is afraid of her. Although he pays her and
should therefore be in control, she uses him in order to
progress in society. Because of her changing status, she now
has the power to betray him. Tyrion does believe that women are
equal to him, as soon as he meets Sae. She has the mental
strength to at least match his. He also realizes that Cersei,
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Catelyn, Shae, and Sansa all have powers he does not posses.
They all have a beautiful physical appearance, but also have
the mental strength to be called powerful. They can use their
intelligence or even naivety to survive and to progress in
society. He is however misogynistic because he constantly
wants to dominate them. First he wants to control Sae. He is
then forced to marry Sansa. Although he will not sleep with her
at first, if she does not want to, he soon is frustrated that
she will not sleep with him. The person he wants to get his
revenge on the most, is Cersei. He wants to rape and kill her,
because she attempted to kill him multiple times and betrayed
him. Tyrion wants nothing more than to re-establish his
authority over her.
Conclusion
Until recently, fantasy was a male-dominated genre. Women like
Sylvia Townsend Warner, Joan Aiken, Mary Stewart, Vera Chapman,
and Tanith Lee dominate the field and must be considered a
great development. Another benefit is the amount of media
attention the fantasy genre has received. The fantasy film has
never been more popular. Some of the many examples are: The
cinema adaptation of Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit,
the J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter-series, and the fantasy show
based on George R.R. Martin’s Game of Thrones. These were the
result of the popularity of fantasy, but have also further
promoted the genre. But according to Maxim Jakubowski, this is
also the reason why the genre lost its status as a literary
74
genre, and also its individual identity. According the Marshall
B Tymn, the popularity of fantasy is based on the age: Our age
is a frenetic age. Nowadays, people need to escape the daily
life and search for the wonders to “regain a fresh perspective
on this world” (Tymn, 38).
Although the general convention seems to be that masculinity
will progress, Swiney holds on to her statement that
modernization is equal to feminization of the race. As
industrialization made men and women equal with regards to
physical strength, the emphasis in the future will be on more
mental qualities, qualities which are mostly female. Whereas
most critics state that women will turn into men, Swiney states
that men will become more feminine, as they drop their sex
obsessions. Femininity is at the origin of all life, even male
life. An organic life starts with a single mother cell which
develops in the mother’s womb. This mother’s womb can also be
seen in Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings. This dissertation argued how
Tolkien emphasizes procreative power as the source of long-
levity, cultural survival and happiness.
Therefore, Tolkien argues for the equality of women. Tolkien is
feminist in the way that he frames traditional feminine
qualities in a positive light and in the way his female
characters rebel against patriarchal figures successfully.
Tolkien’s focus on procreation is a product of his time, while
Martin’s more diverse representation of women is very
contemporary. There is still a focus on motherhood and
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procreation, but there is a focus on the complexity of women
beyond their procreative power. Martin is feminist in the way
that he gives his female characters fully developed
personalities and backstories and treats them the same way that
he treats his male characters. Both Tolkien and Martin were
dedicated to depicting realistic and truthful accounts of
women’s experiences. Those experiences are also framed in such
a way that it does not seem odd for female characters to rebel
against them, to seek their own path in the world.
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---. A Song of Ice and Fire: A Clash of Kings. Harper Collins, 2011
---. A Song of Ice and Fire: A Storm of Swords: Blood and Gold. Harper
Collins, 2011
---. A Song of Ice and Fire: A Storm of Swords: Steel and Snow. Harper
Collins, 2011
---. A Song of Ice and Fire: A Feast of Crows. Harper Collins, 2011
---. A Song of Ice and Fire: A Dance with Dragons. Harper Collins,
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