ahh. Women in M-E again...

ha! i bet this topic has be chewed on for ages, but... well, perhaps it's new.

has anyone noticed how women gradually slip into the story? i just reread the hobbit, and good grace, he thrice mentions women: when they leave Lake-Town, when tey talk about widows of fallen human soldiers, and the Tookish nieces...
in LotR, there are already a few women around... and in the Silmarillion, there are some, too. (not many, but nevertheless. they got character and don't just do what's been said to them). in the Unfinished Tales we get to know that the people of Haleth (besides being lead by a women) also have Amazon like warriors, ant that Tolkien seemed to plan a major change in the story of the Silmarillion in order to emphasize the character of Galadriel (who was to become almost equal to Fëanor...)

can it be that's Tolkien's picture of women changed [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img]?
i'm just asking...


edit: i admit, i've never read the History of Middle Earth, but i guess most of the things done by female characters were included in later revisions. or am i wrong?

[ March 04, 2002: Message edited by: Thranic ]