As mulheres de Tolkien : as divindades femininas de O Silmarillion e suas representações

Abstract

The Silmarillion is a great literary work and a classic of epic fantasy, however the female representation in the book is firmly seeded in the traditionalism. The passing of time, along with the cultural evolution of society, invites new readers to attribute new meanings to the significant “gender”. Basing on the bibliographic review and compared literature in the area of Cultural Studies methodology, this paper’s objective is to comprehend which representations are constructed for the female deities present in J. R. R. Tolkien’s work The Silmarillion in relation to their ‘partners’. My hypothesis is that they are diminished with the intent of favoring them. Therefore, the theoretical background for the article resides in the works of Hall, about representations; A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf; the fundamentals of “Kant’s propositions” presented by Fábio Konder Comparato. This analysis allowed me to identify the following representations: women as possessions; women as inferior to men; women attached to a traditional representation; women as opposites to men. Concluding with the confirmation of my hypothesis. Understanding that The Silmarillion, as the product of its context of creation,reaffirms the seed of the patriarchalism that flourishes in detriment of gender equality and justice.