No. 'The Lord of the Rings' was not a Cold War novel. It was written long before the Cold War era, with Tolkien starting to write it in the 1930s. Its themes are mainly centered around good vs. evil, heroism, and the power of friendship, which are more in line with classic fantasy and moral concepts rather than being related to the political and ideological struggles of the Cold War.
No. Tolkien began writing LOTR in the 1930s and was influenced by his study of mythology, his experiences in World War I, and his own moral and religious beliefs. The Cold War started much later, and there is no evidence that Tolkien was thinking about Cold War politics when creating Middle - earth.
Well, in the Lotr story, there are female Dwarfs. Their existence is somewhat in the background. The Dwarfs were a race that was more often presented through their male counterparts in the story. But we know that they had a role in the continuation of the Dwarf race. They were likely involved in teaching the young Dwarfs, maintaining the traditions within the hidden mountain kingdoms, and also in some of the more domestic aspects like food preparation and the making of clothing and other items necessary for life in the Dwarven communities.
The story of Water for Elephants centers around a protagonist who finds himself in the world of the circus and gets entangled in various dramas, including love and conflicts. It's a tale of survival and self-discovery in an unusual setting.