Lúthien: Not a Damsel in Distress
Most of the Silmarillion is severely lacking in strong female characters. Normally dominated by men only with the occasional damsel in distress, it comes as a breath of fresh air whenever a woman appears that takes charge and can handle herself. When Lúthien is first introduced in the Silmarillion, I assumed that she would be like all the other devastatingly beautiful but-oh-so delicate women in Tolkien’s world, and for the most part she was nothing more than a pretty face and a good singing voice. “Then memory of all pain departed from him, and he fell into an enchantment; for Lúthien was the most beautiful of all the Children of Ilúvatar,” (165) “and suddenly she began to sing. Keen, heart-piercing was her song as the song of the lark that rises from the gates of night and pours its voice among the dying stars, seeing the sun behind the walls of the world,” (165). However be...