[Aratlithiel]

It's always been my opinion that Tolkien had a bit of a difficult time writing women. As has been mentioned, the only relatable female character in the trilogy is Eowyn (I mean, let's be honest, girls - how many of us could really aspire to be Arwen?).

That being said, I hold to the opinion that a female character in the Fellowship would have been disastrous and distracting. Would we really want to have the additional burden of all the testosterone charging around in the air to impress the only female? Maybe have Boromir and a Hobbit come to blows over the fair maiden? (and you just know she'd hsve to be fair). Would we want to wonder how this female character deals with her personal sanitation problems in the wild? And what if she turned out to be (shudder) a Frodo-healer? (Nothing personal against the Frodo-healers, of course, it's just that I prefer my Ringbearer with a little dignity.)

Just as even the smallest plot points in this magnificent story depend upon one another to form the epic that it is, so too do the characters as written and any deviation would have resulted in a very different (and probably less artistic and well-received) work of literature. I for one, thank God that Tolkien lived and wrote this masterpiece before the age of politcal correctness!