Great post, Asliann. I think there's a lot of truth in the idea that Tolkien just wasn't particularly comfortable writing about women. To many men of his generation, women were something a little removed from their experience. We know that Tolkien enjoyed the company of his male friends, both in the pub and in his working environment. Oxford colleges are pretty misogynistic places, and back then there were very few female figures to be seen anywhere inside their walls. Obviously, when you don't often have contact with 'real' women, your idea of them tends to get slightly skewed, thus the idealisation, and most of Tolkien's female characters are idealised. I agree, though, that Eowyn is a good character, and pretty feisty too. She is an exception to the rule nonetheless.