![]() Then as he had kept watch Sam had noticed that at times a light seemed to be shining faintly within but now the light was even clearer and stronger. And I believe they would have done this 70 years ago as well. I don't think people read the relationship as sexual nowadays either, they just pick up on the romantic subtext. To call the question debasing is even more concerning, as it gives the impression that such a relationship would be vulgar or “lesser” than their friendship. Nothing in their interactions seems sexual to me, but could it be romantic? That’s worth considering (even if I believe the answer to be no). I think it’s unfair to categorize “Is Samwise in love with Frodo” as a question of sexual nature, because GSM relationships are not only about sex. I agree that this is tragic, however - close male friendships are deeply needed and important.Ģ) You’re confusing romanticization and sexualization. In short, readers are interpreting this relationship based on what they are familiar with, and this interpretation is the subsequent product of larger societal shifts, not an active agenda to rip apart Tolkien’s intended meanings. To many of today’s readers, an intimate but platonic male relationship is likely much more of an abstract concept than it was to the public in Tolkien’s time. During the “Lavender Scare” (a period in which Americans became much more aware of and concerned with homosexual relationships), close male friendships were fundamentally changed and, maybe largely, lost. I’d like to add two things to the conversation though, outside of my other response about the co-construction of meaning in literature:ġ) The readers who you are concerned with are not the people who initially devalued and decimated these relationships. Having read some of the other responses on this thread, I appreciate a lot of the points being raised. I understand it is frustrating to feel restricted by other people labelling stuff as gay but a good life lesson is to kind of do what has meaning for you and screw anyone else if they think it's a bit weird. Platonic male/female friendships are also a thing which you don't see all that much in media and sure as hell get questioned for being romantic too. It's all just subtext.Ĭlose friendships in general come under scrutiny. The canon is pretty clear that they're just friends. I don't see this as debasing the material, usually we have fun discussing different interpretations/opinions about characters. In this regard, considering Frodo is a lifelong bachelor, Sam being "torn in two" and ultimately leaving his family to join Frodo, there is a way to read that romantically that can make sense, even if it obviously wasn't the author's intent. ![]() Some people of course want to see it as a relationship because that has more meaning for them personally. So it LOOKS more like their idea of a relationship than a friendship. Shared hardship such as war helps these to develop but for many people the only friendship they have that is comparably deep is with their romantic partner. There are other Tolkien-themed subreddits out there! Say hello to our friends in the following places:ĭeep, long-lasting friendships like Frodo and Sam are pretty rare. We're looking at starting a wiki for these common ones. Try searching before posting a new thread: odds are we've already covered some of the "classic" questions ("Who is Tom Bombadil?", "What happened to the Blue Wizards?", "Why couldn't the Eagles just take the Ring?" etc). Please make use of r/TolkienBooks and r/TolkienArt for these. Posts/comments centring entirely on promotion will be removed. You can share your content, but in a discussion-based format. Links are allowed, so long as they contribute to the discussion. No posts that are simply links or title-only. (Some more obscure topics we will allow.) There are other spaces on Reddit to discuss the movies, games, fanfiction, AI-generated content, etc. This sub is intended primarily for serious posts, although humour in discussion is still welcome.ĭon’t discuss topics that stray too far away from having the centre of attention on Tolkien and his works. Stick to the topic instead of commenting on others. No insults, and no aggressive or passive-aggressive comments. For the full descriptions of the rules, follow this link.Īlways keep in mind that we are all human beings, so treat others how you would like to be treated.
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