The Return Of The King Gender Roles Essay

Although the film The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King does not pass Bechdel test, the female characters in the movie do promote female strength under closer examination. The Bechdel test is an effective tool to determine how a movie portrays women. However, it is not comprehensive enough to be relied on entirely. Movies such as The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King automatically fail the test because they contain a limited number of female roles. Because they fail the test on account of the number of female characters or if the females interact, the actions of the women are not taken into account. Eowyn and Arwen, the two main female characters in The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, do not interact with another because they are in different parts of Middle Earth throughout the entire trilogy. But the actions of each of these characters exhibits female power and independence, even though they exist in an environment surrounded by dominant male characters.
Despite Arwen’s main role as a romantic interest for a another character Aragorn, she shows inner strength when she challenges her father’s plans for her to fulfill her own wishes.
Because she is an elf and Aragorn is a man, Arwen’s father Elrond does not approve of their relationship. He wishes for Arwen to leave Rivendell to escape the war and live in peace among other elves. However, Arwen wishes to remain in Middle Earth so that she can be with Aragorn when the war is over. Arwen remains obstinate against her powerful father and refuses to leave. She continue to pursue her relationship with Aragorn despite her father’s attempts at discouraging her. By refusing to yield to her imposing father, Arwen defies the tradition of daughters following their father’s wishes and letting males determine their futures. She chooses to make her own decision about her future based on her own thoughts and feelings rather than based on a man’s ideas about what is best for
her. The other main female character in The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King named Eowyn shows her inner strength when she chooses to go to battle with the other men. Eowyn insists on fighting even though women and children are encouraged to flee and leave the fighting to men. When Aragorn inquires whether she fears battle, she claims that she only fears “a cage” and never having a “change of valor” in battle (Jackson). After joining the army, she proceeds to play a pivotal role in the Battle of the Pelennor Fields. In this battle, Eowyn faces the Witch King of Angmar, the most powerful of the Nazguls, and his monstrous fellbeast. She comes between the Witch King and her uncle the King of Rohan to save his life. By facing the Witch King, Eowyn comes to the rescue of his powerful uncle, a mighty king, showing that even as an underestimated female, she is capable of protecting a strong male. Not only does she protect Theoden, but she also succeeds in defeating the Witch King. The Witch King claims that “no man can kill me” when Eowyn attempts to attack him (Jackson). However, Eowyn declares that “I am no man” and proceeds to give him a fatal blow to the face (Jackson). Eowyn demonstrates her immense strength in battle by accomplishing what “no man” could, proving herself to be a valiant soldier even among strong men. There are many factors in a movie that determine whether the movie promotes women positively. The Bechdel test addresses some of these factors while ignoring others. Therefore, movies like The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King fail the test despite having strong female characters. To truly determine how a movie portrays women, movies must be viewed individually. There is no universal test that can distinguish whether a movie reflects well on women. For the Bechdel test, some movies pass it even though they may not portray women positively or some are fail even though they do contain messages about female power and independence. When exploring a complicated matter such as the portrayal of women in film, judgements about movies should be made based on each individual movie to ensure that the movie is examined comprehensively and in context.