Trigger warning: implied rape
So in The Lay of Leithian there are actually a few mentions of how Morgoth wanted Lúthien in his lair and these just feel... rapist. See for yourself:
When it says “that foul should be what once was clean” that reminds me of the misogynistic argument that a woman is no longer ‘clean’ after she loses her virginity and has had sexual intercourse, even if the intercourse was rape.
This is really the first time possible rape has ever been implied in the Tolkien legendarium as far as I know (later there’s also Celebrían’s kidnapping by the orcs and how it can also be read as her having been raped by the orcs, but that’s a topic for another post). Seeing Morgoth and Sauron, the villains in this story, being depicted as an implied possible rapist and implied rape apologist ties rape with evil, a notion that today is evident but back when the lay was written (during the 1920’s) this wasn’t widespread. So it’s quite impressive that Tolkien hints at/implies at the evil of rape, and how he empowers Lúthien as a strong and brave female character in a time in which women didn’t have many of the rights they have today.








