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| In Love With Their Love by Antane | 14 Review(s) |
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| Elanor Silmariën | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 5/30/2006 |
| Hobbity love seems to me like the brotherly love the bible talks about. It says that John was the disciple Jesus loves. I think it's the same kind of love. This reminds me of one day in church one of our elders was talking about the verse that says greet each other with a holy kiss. That's how I see Sam and Frodo's relationship. This was a very thoughtful and touching essay, and I loved every word of it! Go Antane! *does little happy hobbit dance* God bless, Ellie | |
| elj | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 5/30/2006 |
| I'm single, female and attached though not married, so I suppose you could say I've known both "romantic love" and "friendship love". I never actually had any issue with the parts of LotR that show the hobbits' demonstrative love for each other - probably because I read the books when I was too young to imagine them as anything other than very close friends! Now, having read the books many more times and read a lot of fanfiction, both LotR and other fandoms AND both slash and not.....I do see why some people's immediate reaction is "homoeroticism!", but I think they're wrong. Not that that interpretation is in any way evil or bad, just that I think it is incorrect, both for these two characters and for Tolkien and for the book he wrote. Sam and Frodo do not love each other with a romantic love any more than Lancelot and Arthur did - and I use that comparison very deliberately. Tolkien was writing an epic in the old style and, in stories of that sort, men can and do love each other with a passion without any trace of homoeroticism. They are literally blood brothers - or perhaps soul brothers would be a better way to put it. Tolkien himself would have known of friendships of that sort during the First World War, which is of course why he could write Frodo and Sam's bond so movingly and convincingly. I cannot imagine any of my close male friends behaving to each other as Frodo and Sam do, but I do not think that is in any way a commentary on the immorality of our society. We are not living in an epic, nor, thank heaven, in a World War. I also think it is somewhat illconceived to try to compare Sam's love for Frodo with his love for Rosie. It is akin to asking someone to choose which they love more: their sibling or their spouse. I think most of us would find that an impossible decision to make - I certainly couldn't. To conclude (before I write a dissertation on the subject!): I think Sam and Frodo's relationship is a beautiful demonstration of the best and greatest emotion in the world - love. What form you see it as taking is a personal choice and I think to attempt to define it more rigidly is to lessen what it is. To quote another favourite offer of mine through the words of her charcter, "I love you. I put no limits on that love." Phew. Hope that is useful to you! elj Author Reply: Thank you for such a thought-filled reply! I love that quote you have at the end! Namarie, God bless, Antane :) | |
| Larner | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 5/29/2006 |
| Well, you know what I feel about the love between Frodo and Sam--again, that of loving brothers of the heart. | |
| Queen Galadriel | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 5/29/2006 |
| Antane, it's nearly midnight here, and what do I want to do but jump up and shout! *cheers* Oh yeah, oh yeah!!!!! I already told you what I think, but I'll put it here so that it can be seen if anyone wants to read the reviews, as I'm sure they will. Frodo's and Sam's love was the strongest pull for me, as well, to LOTR. I felt the fire of that love as Sam ran to rescue his master and brother from the tower, wept as he bore him up the Mountain, just for the sheer magnitude of it. To me, the most amazing, breathtaking thing about such deep love is that it can be so deep and yet so pure, that it sacrifices so willingly all that it has, and yet never stops giving even when the giver is ravaged as Frodo was by the Ring. In today's corrupt society of immoral "love" that shouldn't even be thought of, much less indulged, I often feel oppressed, as if the world couldn't be any worse without coming to an end altogether. But always the Hobbits are there to remind me of the Biblical passages that teach that true love is not corrupt, true love is the purest thing in creation. I believe the story of David and Jonathan, being true, must be the most beautiful illustration of friendship ever to have been recorded, but the tale of the small valiant ones who ventured into Mordo, and of the other two who fought almost to the death to give their cousin and friend a chance of victory takes second place. Now see, I've gone and written a little essay of my own. :) God bless, Galadriel Author Reply: Oh, ammelda, hantanyel so much, for such a marvelous reply! Sorry it took so long to say that! Namarie, God bless, Melinyel, Antane :) | |