Misogynist or Genius

Is Lars von Trier a misogynist or genius? Dancer in the Dark took sweet Selma and raked the unfortunate reality of human greed over her till her hanging death. Grace pointedly offers herself up in this martyrly fashion throughout Dogville. Whatever her selfless offerings, Grace makes off with her life by turning the philosophical tables, so to speak. Both women's innocents are taken advantage of by a tainted world. However, Selma's innocents is more organic whereas Grace's is then product of a backlash towards her understanding. The women spend their energies in maintaining this unwavering innocents by way of a blind belief in good.
We can see the same organic innocents of Dancer in the Dark in Breaking the Waves. The leading female character Bess, obstensibly dizzy but whole-hearted, finds herself dirtied and adulterated by transferring her devout faith in God to her husband Jan.
By removing gender from the equation of these three films, we can see that the main characters are compassionate, pure and selfless. Each story shows how "the world" preys on virtues until there the resources are drained. So why are the characters so decidedly feminine women? I can only reason that he sees the traits as female. The undying love of a mother? The majority of your elementary school teachers? The faceless social worker? I began to wonder why then would he use a child, boy or girl, but immediately realized that this would not facilitate the aim. Most children can help but to be unaffected. They haven't yet gotten the chance to defend their virtues. They are usually, to some degree, protected by a parent or g*d help us all, a society that cares (sadly this is not always the case). The women in these films are all grown and alone in one way or another. They have chosen to live with a giving spirit. His portrayal of this is as lovely as it is gripping. If Lars von Trier's use of women is not merely a symbol of grown innocents then his empathy runs deep.
Willing or resistant, we are all breaking the waves.