... damsels in distress and live happily (I wonder who) ever after. Look at the portrayal of Eowyn, in the J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. She was just supposed to be the shield-maiden, stay behind to tend to the women and children. She tries to stand up and says, "But, I can fight!- Of course, Theoden says, "I need you to stay behind and to look after ... this refusal to assent, to begin the process of exorcizing the male mind that has been implanted in us."1 On the thematic level, then, the reader rejects stereotypes and examines woman as a theme in literary works. The feminist reader s...

• Word Count: 1975
• Approx Pages: 8
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate