I think you're right, that the "problem" with Arwen and Galadriel is that they're not much fleshed out on the page, and don't have the usual hooks for fannish interest. Even though monarchs and magic-users are staple characters, the biggest fanfic subjects aren't really ruling or how magic works, but rather action and sex. While Galadriel masterminded a war, she didn't lead the troops. I suppose it's hard to make a general staff meeting look or feel exciting the way a battlefield does. Arwen produced one of the few Elven artifacts that incorporates magic (and if I were braver, I'd want to write about weaving magic into a banner and how Arwen knew it would tip the balance for Aragorn, thus fulfilling her decades of ambition to make him king), but she didn't carry it herself. She shaped the Fourth Age, herself and Aragorn and her descendants.
It takes a lot of development to make either of them a rounded character, and sadly, neither shows any sense of humor, although that doesn't mean they couldn't have it! So, it's hard work to put them into a context and then make them dominate it. Arwen, at least, has an epic love affair crossing racial boundaries -- there's some conflict for a writer to work with.
Eowyn has more substance, thank goodness, and I've seen at least one story that points out she shouldn't be the only shield-maid in Rohan. Surely other daughters of the warrior class (or of Rohan) learned sword-play and horsemanship, and defended their holdings while the men were at war. Half the problem there, and in Tolkien overall, is simply envisioning the female half of the population that has to be there between the lines.
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branchandroot
Re: Lord of the Rings: Female Characters
Date: 2013-06-12 05:49 am (UTC)It takes a lot of development to make either of them a rounded character, and sadly, neither shows any sense of humor, although that doesn't mean they couldn't have it! So, it's hard work to put them into a context and then make them dominate it. Arwen, at least, has an epic love affair crossing racial boundaries -- there's some conflict for a writer to work with.
Eowyn has more substance, thank goodness, and I've seen at least one story that points out she shouldn't be the only shield-maid in Rohan. Surely other daughters of the warrior class (or of Rohan) learned sword-play and horsemanship, and defended their holdings while the men were at war. Half the problem there, and in Tolkien overall, is simply envisioning the female half of the population that has to be there between the lines.