Tolkien's Transformative Women: Art in Triptych

Tolkien's Transformative Women Art in Triptych
Publication Information
Author	Annie Brust
Publisher	Vernon Press
Released	18 January 2024
Format	Hardback
Pages	282
ISBN	978-1-64889-623-1

Tolkien's Transformative Women: Art in Triptych is a scholarly book by Annie Brust covering in depth the female characters in J.R.R. Tolkien's work.

Synopsis

J.R. R. Tolkien has been revered as the father of twentieth-century fantasy; however, many initially criticized him for his handling of the textual matter as male-centric magical lands that did not feature prominent female roles or significant female characters. This book will highlight the vast community of powerful female figures that Tolkien created in his fantasy writing, stemming from the distinct and dominant female forces he created in his academic translation and poetry.
These fierce women serve as a culmination of the powerful forces of women and female character that originated in Medieval, Norse, and Celtic traditions. They help to create the framework from which Tolkien shaped his female community, not merely as singular figures, as previously featured, but as a dynamic network of figures who shape Tolkien's creative art. For the first time, this discussion looks at the entire community of women, featuring previously excluded figures from his academic works and highlighting translation bias in modern manuscripts of the extant medieval works that influenced these women. It also seeks to create a comprehensive guide and detailed appendices exploring the female characters and influences throughout his writing portfolio.

This book seeks to uncover the hidden voices of the past to find their rightful home in the strong female voices of the present, rewriting history to regain a sense of the past.

Contents

• Acknowledgements
• Introduction
  • The Medieval Triptych and Tolkien's Art
  • Creating the Triptych framework—Performative voices in Tolkien's literature
  • Establishing Tolkien's Medieval Framework through the Critics' Eye – The Tolkien Debate
  • Linking History to Female Autonomy and Translation Bias in Tolkien's Opus
  • Foundations of Female Power – The Scholarly Discussion of Translation Bias
  • Women as a Central Focus of Tolkien's art
  • Tolkien's Evolutionary Women

• Foreword, by John D. Rateliff

• Chapter 1: Tolkien's Manuscripts: Mapping Chronology and Textual Analysis
  • The Manuscript Evidence: Problems with Establishing Chronology
  • Establishing Tolkien's Chronology— His translations, experiments, and creative license
  • Textual Analysis and Experimentation: Varda

• Chapter 2: Tolkien's Muses: The Ladies of Literature
  • Literary Women from Early Medieval and Norse Tradition
• The Women of Beowulf and Judith Beowulf
  • Wealtheow
  • Hildeburh
  • Modthryth
  • Grendel's Mother
  • The Judith poem
  • Judith

• Chapter 3: Tolkien's Warrior Women
  • The women of keen physical power and strength of conviction
  • Notes of Translation—parsing the pages of manuscript in Beowulf and the Volsüng Saga
  • Part 1: The Women Warriors of Beastly Exterior. Triptych 1 "She-Beasts and Swordswomen"
    • Grendel's mother
    • The Ogress
    • Ungoliant and Shelob
• Part 2: The Women of Internal Fortitude. Triptych 2 "Moxie Ladies"
  • • Modthryth
    • Gudrún
    • Lúthien

• Chapter 4: The Women Who Rule
  • The Goddesses, the Ringbearers, The Prophetesses
  • Part 1: Magical Malfeasance and the Women of Spells. Triptych 1 "The Wiles of Witchery"
    • Grímhild
    • The Corrigan
    • The Fairy Queen
  • Part 2: Queen orators of wisdom, vision, and diplomacy. Triptych 2 "Tacticians of Treatise"
    • Wealtheow
    • The Queen
    • Éowyn

• Chapter 5: Tolkien's Ethereal Women
  • The women who heal through vocal performance and dreamscape
  • Part 1: Ambassadors of peace and vision through oral performance. Triptych 1 "Self-Song of the Visionary"
    • Hildeburh—Beowulf
    • Hildeburh—Finn and Hengest
    • The Entwives
  • Part 2: The Women Who Heal through Ethereal Vision and Memory. Triptych 2 "Aura borealis"
    • Perle/Pearl
    • Goldberry
    • Galadriel

• Conclusion

• Appendix I
  • Index of female figures in Tolkien's personal life
  • Tolkien's personal life

• Appendix II
  • Index of characters in Tolkien's academic works and poetry as extensions of works
  • Female characters in Translations
  • Tolkien Academic experiments – poems created from aspects of larger poems
  • Sellic Spell
  • The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrún
  • Finn and Hengest
  • The Lay of Aotrou and Itroun
  • Kullervo

• Appendix III
  • Index of characters from Tolkien’s fantasy writing that make up his legendarium
  • Tolkien's Tales and Lore
  • The Legendarium
  • Children of Húrin
  • Lúthien and Beren
  • Fall of Gondolin
  • The Silmarillion
  • The Book of Lost Tales I
  • The Book of Lost Tales II
  • Unfinished Tales

• References
• Index

External links

• Official product page