Teres

not all the "good" female characters are like that (see the Goodwife Renkin, for instance)

Can you name any other examples of a named female character who isn't "beautiful"? (Never mind that "Goodwife" is not a name. She never gets an actual name).

I have certainly noticed that, though I think the other pole is a bit more complicated than "childish nonsense"

I was mostly referring to the appearance of juvenile wish fulfilment but also stuff like the use of inappropriately cutesy language like "higgeldy-piggeldy" and Gorgrael constantly falling on his ass like a cartoon character.

(grins) Oh, me too! I just love to spite (that is probably the right word) the author in such a case, and interpret it as I want to. And yes, the complete lack of awareness makes it all the better!

Paolini's real life obsession with being muscular, wearing a beard and "tough" leather jackets just makes his characters' obsession with rippling male abs and hairy chests all the funnier. He's doing such a great job of making it look like he's wildly overcompensating for his real life forbidden homoerotic desires that it's hard not to just take that as face value for exactly what it looks like.
I mean if nothing else you can probably tell I'm a sex-repulsed asexual because I don't sexualise any of my characters regardless of gender, and most of my POV characters aren't particularly interested in sex. They certainly don't ogle anyone past the point of maybe thinking "wow, he/she is really good-looking".