There’s one woman character who hasn’t been mentioned so far; she plays a short but important role in LotR: Ioreth! She has the role of the old, wise healer – now there’s a female archetype if I’ve ever seen one!!
She has a vital role not only in saving the lives of Éowyn, Faramir, Merry and many others in the Houses of Healing by remembering the lore about the healing hands of the king, but she also validates Aragorn as king by giving him the reputation as fulfiller of the ancient prophecy. I am sure his taking over the rule of Minas Tirith was made much easier by the rumours that were spread as a result of his healing ability!
Tolkien gives her a depth of character far beyond that archetype, though. She speaks bitterly of war and the killing done – another classical part women play in wartime. And she is given quite a bit of direct speech – more than Arwen ever has in the book itself. In her dialogue with Aragorn and Gandalf, we find some of the rare humor in LotR. And Tolkien gives her a minor, supposedly typical female character flaw – her tongue rattles on! All in all, a very human, likeable woman who adds her feminine strength to the tapestry of the story. (Don’t you enjoy getting another brief glimpse of her when the king officially enters the city and she is lecturing to her kinswoman?!)
I like Tolkien’s Ioreth!!
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'Mercy!' cried Gandalf. 'If the giving of information is to be the cure of your inquisitiveness, I shall spend all the rest of my days in answering you. What more do you want to know?' 'The whole history of Middle-earth.. .'
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