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.
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