Alas yes, the teaching of literature and history and anything else you care to name has become *very* politicized here in the states.
And agreed, a man born in 1892 is bound to have held attitudes we today would consider sexist. What this means in literary terms is he would cast his female characters in more or less traditional roles.
In addition he was consciously imitating the style of the legends and literature of the Dark and Middle Ages which for the most part, cast women in the traditional roles of lover, wife and mother, though there was also the occasional Shield Maiden or Enchantress. Tolkien include one each of the two latter in LotR, (Eowyn and Galadriel).
LotR consists of a dangerous quest and a number of battles, activities in which women would not figure prominently in either ancient Europe or early 20th c. England. The Silmarillion on the other hand included far more domestic settings, and thus women featured more prominently again in their traditional roles but this does *not* preclude them being strong characters.
Luthen Tinuviel is no warrior-princess but she's no passive lady-love either! Instead of languishing in her treehouse prison until her love returns to save her she escapes, rescues *him* and they carry on together as full partners in the quest, he handles the swordplay, she takes care of the sorcery.
Idril Celebrindal is barely seen in the published Silmarilion but in the early draft seen in 'Lost Tales' she is not only a counsellor of her father the King but actually takes up a sword in defense of her city during the final battle and prowls its streets searching for wandering survivors and sending them down the way of escape she's had built.
It should perhaps be mentioned that the earliest stories featuring these spirited ladies were apparently written about the time of the First World War. In fact it's my understanding, from HoME, that much of the Silmarillion material predates the LotR.
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