he influence of Taoism and Feminism on The Lord of the Rings

Abstract

Many feminist critics emphasize the profound influence of their theory on literature focusing on the perspective of gender. This thesis sets out to demonstrate that eastern philosophy like Chinese Taoism helped contributed to shaping fantasy fiction through the ages. To illustrate this point, this research analyzes female and male characters in John Ronald Reuel Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings from a Taoist view. This research gives the main reasons that led to the feminist criticism and extracts the features of Taoism from Tolkien's work. The literary goals underscore the advantages of philosophy in fantasy, including enabling people to apply eastern philosophies like Chinese Taoism in the English department