The presence of sexuality in ''The Lord of the Rings'', a bestselling
fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...
novel by
J. R. R. Tolkien
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, ; 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philology, philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''.
From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was ...
, has been debated, as it is somewhat unobtrusive. However, love and marriage appear in the form of the warm relationship between the
hobbit
Hobbits are a fictional race of people in the novels of J. R. R. Tolkien. About half average human height, Tolkien presented hobbits as a variety of humanity, or close relatives thereof. Occasionally known as halflings in Tolkien's writings, ...
s
Sam Gamgee
Sam, SAM or variants may refer to:
Places
* Sam, Benin
* Sam, Boulkiemdé, Burkina Faso
* Sam, Bourzanga, Burkina Faso
* Sam, Kongoussi, Burkina Faso
* Sam, Iran
* Sam, Teton County, Idaho, United States, a populated place
People and fictional ...
and
Rosie Cotton; the unreturned feelings of
Éowyn
Éowyn is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, ; 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philology, philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and '' ...
for
Aragorn
Aragorn is a fictional character and a protagonist in J. R. R. Tolkien's ''The Lord of the Rings''. Aragorn was a Ranger of the North, first introduced with the name Strider and later revealed to be the heir of Isildur, an ancient King of Arno ...
, followed by her falling in love with
Faramir
Faramir is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's ''The Lord of the Rings''. He is introduced as the younger brother of Boromir of the Fellowship of the Ring (characters), Fellowship of the Ring and second son of Denethor, the Stewards o ...
, and marrying him; and Aragorn's love for
Arwen
Arwen Undómiel is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. She appears in the novel ''The Lord of the Rings''. Arwen is one of the half-elven who lived during the Third Age; her father was Elrond half-elven, lord ...
, described in an appendix rather than in the main text, as "
The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen
"The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen" is a story within the Appendices of J. R. R. Tolkien's ''The Lord of the Rings''. It narrates the love of the Man (Middle-earth), mortal Man Aragorn and the Immortality, immortal Elf (Middle-earth), Elf-maiden Arw ...
". Multiple scholars have noted the symbolism of the monstrous female spider
Shelob
Shelob is a fictional demon in the form of a giant spider from J. R. R. Tolkien's ''The Lord of the Rings''. Her lair lies in Cirith Ungol ("the pass of the spider") leading into Mordor. The creature Gollum deliberately leads the Hobbit protago ...
.
Interest has been concentrated, too, on the officer-
batman
Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on ...
-inspired same-sex relationship of
Frodo
Frodo Baggins is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's writings, and one of the protagonists in ''The Lord of the Rings''. Frodo is a hobbit of the Shire who inherits the One Ring from his cousin Bilbo Baggins, described familiarly a ...
and his gardener Sam as they travel together on the dangerous quest to destroy the
Ring
Ring may refer to:
* Ring (jewellery), a round band, usually made of metal, worn as ornamental jewelry
* To make a sound with a bell, and the sound made by a bell
:(hence) to initiate a telephone connection
Arts, entertainment and media Film and ...
. Scholars and commentators have interpreted the relationship in different ways, from close but not necessarily
homosexual
Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to peop ...
to plainly
homoerotic
Homoeroticism is sexual attraction between members of the same sex, either male–male or female–female. The concept differs from the concept of homosexuality: it refers specifically to the desire itself, which can be temporary, whereas "homose ...
, or as an idealised heroic friendship.
Context
Tolkien's background
![Edith Bratt, The Victoria Studio, 201 Broad Street, Birmingham, aged 17, 1906, Tolkien Trust](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fb/Edith_Bratt%2C_The_Victoria_Studio%2C_201_Broad_Street%2C_Birmingham%2C_aged_17%2C_1906%2C_Tolkien_Trust.jpg)
The author of the bestselling fantasy novel ''
The Lord of the Rings
''The Lord of the Rings'' is an epic high-fantasy novel by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, intended to be Earth at some time in the distant past, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's boo ...
'',
J. R. R. Tolkien
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, ; 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philology, philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''.
From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was ...
, was orphaned as a boy, his father dying in
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
and his mother in
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
a few years later. He was brought up by his guardian, a
Catholic priest
The priesthood is the office of the ministers of religion, who have been commissioned ("ordained") with the Holy orders of the Catholic Church. Technically, bishops are a priestly order as well; however, in layman's terms ''priest'' refers only ...
, Father
Francis Xavier Morgan
Francis Xavier Morgan, C. O. (born Francisco Javier Morgan Osborne,J. R. R. Tolkien Encyclopedia: Scholarship and Critical Assessment. ed. Michael D. C. Drout. Nueva York: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-4159-6942-0. 18 January 1857 – 11 June 1935) was ...
, and educated at male-only
grammar school
A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented secondary school ...
s and then
Exeter College, Oxford
Exeter College (in full: The Rector and Scholars of Exeter College in the University of Oxford) is one of the Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England and the fourth-oldest college of the un ...
, which at that time had only male students. He joined the
British Army
The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...
's
Lancashire Fusiliers
The Lancashire Fusiliers was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that saw distinguished service through many years and wars, including the Second Boer War, the First and Second World Wars, and had many different titles throughout its 28 ...
and saw the horror of
trench warfare
Trench warfare is a type of land warfare using occupied lines largely comprising military trenches, in which troops are well-protected from the enemy's small arms fire and are substantially sheltered from artillery. Trench warfare became a ...
, with life as an officer made more bearable by the support of a male
batman
Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on ...
or servant. After the war he became a professor of English Language at the
University of Leeds
, mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased
, established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds
, ...
, and then at the
University of Oxford
, mottoeng = The Lord is my light
, established =
, endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019)
, budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20)
, chancellor ...
, where he taught at
Pembroke College.
At Oxford, he created an all-male literary group with another Oxford professor of English,
C. S. Lewis
Clive Staples Lewis (29 November 1898 – 22 November 1963) was a British writer and Anglican lay theologian. He held academic positions in English literature at both Oxford University (Magdalen College, 1925–1954) and Cambridge Univers ...
, called
the Inklings
The Inklings were an informal literary discussion group associated with J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis at the University of Oxford for nearly two decades between the early 1930s and late 1949. The Inklings were literary enthusiasts who pra ...
.
Tolkien held conservative views about women, stating that men were active in their professions while women were inclined to domestic life.
[ #43 to ]Michael Tolkien
The Tolkien family is an English family of German descent whose best-known member is J. R. R. Tolkien, Oxford academic and author of the fantasy books ''The Hobbit'', ''The Lord of the Rings'' and ''The Silmarillion''.
Etymology
According to R ...
, 6-8 March 1941 While defending the role of
women in ''The Lord of the Rings'', the scholar of
children's literature
Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. Modern children's literature is classified in two different ways: genre or the intended age of the reader.
Children's ...
Melissa Hatcher wrote that "Tolkien himself, in reality, probably was the stodgy sexist Oxford professor that feminist scholars paint him out to be".
Tolkien met another orphan,
Edith Mary Bratt, when he was 16, and in the summer of 1909 they fell in love. Morgan prohibited them from meeting until Tolkien was 21; when Tolkien reached that age in 1913 he proposed to her, and they became engaged. They were married in 1916, linked by strong affection throughout their marriage. In 1917, on leave from the army, they went out together, visiting a wood near
Roos
Roos is a village and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is situated east from Kingston upon Hull city centre and north-west from Withernsea, and on the B1242 road.
History
The de Ros family originated from the villa ...
in Yorkshire.
There, Edith danced for him among the "
hemlocks", as later in his fiction
Lúthien danced for Beren, a story that formed the centrepiece of ''
The Silmarillion
''The Silmarillion'' () is a collection of myths and stories in varying styles by the English writer J. R. R. Tolkien. It was edited and published posthumously by his son Christopher Tolkien in 1977, assisted by the fantasy author Guy Gavriel ...
''. They had four children, to whom they were both devoted. Edith died in 1971, Tolkien two years later.
Lack of sexuality in ''The Lord of the Rings''
Commentators have remarked on the apparent lack of sexuality in ''The Lord of the Rings''; the feminist and
queer theory scholar Valerie Rohy notes the female novelist
A. S. Byatt
Dame Antonia Susan Duffy ( Drabble; born 24 August 1936), known professionally by her former marriage name as A. S. Byatt ( ), is an English critic, novelist, poet and short story writer. Her books have been widely translated, into more than t ...
's remark that "part of the reason I read Tolkien when I'm ill is that there is an almost total absence of sexuality in his world, which is restful"; the Tolkien scholar
Tom Shippey
Thomas Alan Shippey (born 9 September 1943) is a British medievalist, a retired scholar of Middle and Old English literature as well as of modern fantasy and science fiction. He is considered one of the world's leading academic experts on the ...
wrote that "there is not enough awareness of sexuality" in the work; and the novelist and critic
Adam Mars-Jones
Adam Mars-Jones (born 26 October 1954) is a British novelist and literary and film critic.
Early life and education
Mars-Jones was born in London, to Sir William Mars-Jones (1915–1999), a Welsh High Court judge and a President of the London ...
stated that "above all, sexuality
swhat is absent from the
ork'svision". Rohy comments that it is easy to see why they might say this; in the epic tradition, Tolkien "abandons courtship when battle looms, apparently sublimating sexuality to the greater quest". She accepts that there are three romances leading to weddings in the tale, those of Aragorn and Arwen, Éowyn and Faramir, and Sam and Rosie, but points out that their love stories are mainly external to the main narrative about the
Ring
Ring may refer to:
* Ring (jewellery), a round band, usually made of metal, worn as ornamental jewelry
* To make a sound with a bell, and the sound made by a bell
:(hence) to initiate a telephone connection
Arts, entertainment and media Film and ...
, and that their beginnings are basically not shown: they simply appear as marriages.
The scholar
Patrick Curry, defending Tolkien against the feminist scholar
Catherine R. Stimpson's charge that "Tolkien is irritatingly, blandly, traditionally masculine....He makes his women characters, no matter what their rank, the most hackneyed of stereotypes. They are either beautiful and distant, simply distant, or simply simple",
comments that "it is tempting to reply, guilty as charged", agreeing that Tolkien is "paternalistic", though he objects that
Galadriel
Galadriel (IPA: Help:IPA, aˈladri.ɛl is a Character (arts), character created by J. R. R. Tolkien in his Middle-earth writings. She appears in ''The Lord of the Rings'', ''The Silmarillion'', and ''Unfinished Tales''.
She ...
and Éowyn have more to them than Stimpson alleges.
[Bibliography]
/ref>
Love and marriage
Heterosexual love and marriage are depicted in ''The Lord of the Rings'', but unobtrusively, to the extent that some critics have stated that there are no women in the book. The main heterosexual relationships are those involving Sam Gamgee
Sam, SAM or variants may refer to:
Places
* Sam, Benin
* Sam, Boulkiemdé, Burkina Faso
* Sam, Bourzanga, Burkina Faso
* Sam, Kongoussi, Burkina Faso
* Sam, Iran
* Sam, Teton County, Idaho, United States, a populated place
People and fictional ...
, Éowyn
Éowyn is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, ; 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philology, philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and '' ...
of Rohan, and Aragorn
Aragorn is a fictional character and a protagonist in J. R. R. Tolkien's ''The Lord of the Rings''. Aragorn was a Ranger of the North, first introduced with the name Strider and later revealed to be the heir of Isildur, an ancient King of Arno ...
.
Rustic love
The hobbit
Hobbits are a fictional race of people in the novels of J. R. R. Tolkien. About half average human height, Tolkien presented hobbits as a variety of humanity, or close relatives thereof. Occasionally known as halflings in Tolkien's writings, ...
character Sam Gamgee leaves his girlfriend Rosie Cotton when he sets off from the Shire
The Shire is a region of J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional Middle-earth, described in ''The Lord of the Rings'' and other works. The Shire is an inland area settled exclusively by hobbits, the Shire-folk, largely sheltered from the goings-on in the ...
, and returns to her admiration for the Battle of Bywater.[, book 6, ch. 8, "]The Scouring of the Shire
"The Scouring of the Shire" is the penultimate chapter of J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy ''The Lord of the Rings''. The Fellowship hobbits, Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin, return home to the Shire to find that it is under the brutal co ...
" They have a "happy ending
A happy ending is an ending of the plot of a work of fiction in which almost everything turns out for the best for the main protagonists and their sidekicks, while the main villains/antagonists are dead/defeated.
In storylines where the protagon ...
" with marriage and 13 children, flourishing in a simple life with Sam as Mayor
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...
of the Shire, its fertility restored after Saruman
Saruman, also called Saruman the White, is a fictional character of J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy novel ''The Lord of the Rings''. He is leader of the Istari, wizards sent to Middle-earth in human form by the godlike Valar to challenge Sauron, t ...
's depredations by his judicious distribution of Galadriel's gift of magical earth from her Elvish garden.[, book 6, ch. 9, "The Grey Havens"] Tolkien stated that "the simple 'rustic' love of Sam and his Rosie (nowhere elaborated) is ''absolutely essential'' is italics
In linguistics, a copula (plural: copulas or copulae; list of glossing abbreviations, abbreviated ) is a word or phrase that links the subject (grammar), subject of a sentence (linguistics), sentence to a subject complement, such as the word '' ...
to the study of his (the chief hero's) character, and to the theme of the relation of ordinary life (breathing, eating, working, begetting) and quests, sacrifice, causes, and the 'longing for Elves', and sheer beauty."[, #131 to Milton Waldman, 1951]
The scholar of fantasy Amy Sturgis describes in ''Mythlore
''Mythlore'' is a biannual (originally quarterly) peer-reviewed academic journal founded by Glen GoodKnight and published by the Mythopoeic Society. Although it publishes articles that explore the genres of myth and fantasy in general, special att ...
'' how after Peter Jackson
Sir Peter Robert Jackson (born 31 October 1961) is a New Zealand film director, screenwriter and producer. He is best known as the director, writer and producer of the ''Lord of the Rings'' trilogy (2001–2003) and the ''Hobbit'' trilogy ( ...
's ''Lord of the Rings'' film trilogy, Rosie has been reimagined by female fans in response to Tolkien's "incomplete literary portrait". Rosie becomes in their fan fiction
Fan fiction or fanfiction (also abbreviated to fan fic, fanfic, fic or FF) is fictional writing written in an amateur capacity by fans, unauthorized by, but based on an existing work of fiction. The author uses copyrighted characters, settin ...
variously "the paragon of the hearth, the iconoclast of the bedroom, or the agent of the supernatural".
Shieldmaiden
Éowyn
Éowyn is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, ; 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philology, philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and '' ...
's romantic feelings appear first with her unreturned attachment to Aragorn
Aragorn is a fictional character and a protagonist in J. R. R. Tolkien's ''The Lord of the Rings''. Aragorn was a Ranger of the North, first introduced with the name Strider and later revealed to be the heir of Isildur, an ancient King of Arno ...
.[, book 3, ch. 6 "The King of the Golden Hall"][, book 5, ch. 2 "The Passing of the Grey Company"] Feeling rejected, she says she is a shieldmaiden
A shield-maiden ( non, skjaldmær ) was a female warrior from Scandinavian folklore and Norse mythology, mythology.
Shield-maidens are often mentioned in sagas such as ''Hervarar saga ok Heiðreks'' and in ''Gesta Danorum''. They also appear in ...
, and against orders, chooses to go and fight in the Battle of the Pelennor Fields
In J. R. R. Tolkien's novel ''The Lord of the Rings'', the Battle of the Pelennor Fields () was the defence of the city of Minas Tirith by the forces of Gondor and the cavalry of its ally Rohan, against the forces of the Dark Lord Sauron from M ...
. There, she and the Hobbit
Hobbits are a fictional race of people in the novels of J. R. R. Tolkien. About half average human height, Tolkien presented hobbits as a variety of humanity, or close relatives thereof. Occasionally known as halflings in Tolkien's writings, ...
Merry Brandybuck
Meriadoc Brandybuck, usually called Merry, is a Hobbit, a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium, featured throughout his most famous work, ''The Lord of the Rings''.
Merry is described as one of the closest friend ...
kill the Lord of the Nazgul.[, book 5, ch. 6 "The Battle of the Pelennor Fields"] Recuperating in the Houses of Healing in Minas Tirith
Gondor is a fictional kingdom in J. R. R. Tolkien's writings, described as the greatest realm of Man (Middle-earth), Men in the west of Middle-earth at the end of the Third Age. The third volume of ''The Lord of the Rings'', ''The Return of the ...
, she falls in love with Faramir
Faramir is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's ''The Lord of the Rings''. He is introduced as the younger brother of Boromir of the Fellowship of the Ring (characters), Fellowship of the Ring and second son of Denethor, the Stewards o ...
, who had also been wounded. She renounces her warlike ways to become a healer, and they are engaged.[, book 6, ch. 5 "The Steward and the King"] At the end of the book, they marry.[, book 6, ch. 6 "Many Partings"]
The scholar of feminism Penny Griffin writes that in the Peter Jackson film ''Return of the King
Return may refer to:
In business, economics, and finance
* Return on investment (ROI), the financial gain after an expense.
* Rate of return, the financial term for the profit or loss derived from an investment
* Tax return, a blank document or t ...
'', Éowyn's credentials as a suitably feminist "Strong Female Character" are spoiled when her story ends with her disavowing battle and marrying Faramir to live, "we assume, happily ever after". Shippey writes that the Hollywood studio sent a "script doctor" to New Zealand to bring Jackson's direction into line with their view, which was that since Aragorn needed a single love-interest, Arwen could be deleted, and "Aragorn should then marry Éowyn instead of politely dissuading her. ... The script doctor's advice was ignored."
Jackson does however make Aragorn far more romantic than do either Tolkien or Bakshi Bakshi may refer to:
Indian title
Bakshi is a historical title used in India, deriving from Persian word for "paymaster", and originating as the title of an official responsible for distributing wages in Muslim armies.
* Bakshi Ghulam Mohamma ...
, who had directed an earlier film of ''The Lord of the Rings''. Jackson devotes substantial viewing time to Aragorn's modern love triangle, and provides "clear on-screen chemistry" with Éowyn.
Man and Elf-maiden
Aragorn's love for Arwen is narrated in an appendix rather than in the main text, as "The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen
"The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen" is a story within the Appendices of J. R. R. Tolkien's ''The Lord of the Rings''. It narrates the love of the Man (Middle-earth), mortal Man Aragorn and the Immortality, immortal Elf (Middle-earth), Elf-maiden Arw ...
". In the tale, Aragorn sings the ''Lay of Lúthien'', an immortal Elf-maiden in the First Age
In J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, the history of Arda, also called the history of Middle-earth, began when the Ainur entered Arda, following the creation events in the Ainulindalë and long ages of labour throughout Eä, the fictional univer ...
who marries a man, Beren, thereby choosing a mortal life. As he does so, he sees Arwen, who looks to him like Lúthien. She reveals that although she seems no older than he, she is of great age. He falls in love with her. Arwen's father, Elrond
Elrond Half-elven is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. Both of his parents, Eärendil and Elwing, were half-elven, having both Men and Elves as ancestors. He is the bearer of the elven-ring Vilya, the Ring ...
, sees what has happened, and tells Aragorn that he may not marry until he is found worthy. They meet again in Lothlórien
In J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, Lothlórien or Lórien is the fairest realm of the Elves remaining in Middle-earth during the Third Age. It is ruled by Galadriel and Celeborn from their city of tree-houses at Caras Galadhon. The wood-elves ...
, nearly thirty years later. Galadriel dresses Aragorn like an elf-lord. Arwen sees him and makes her choice; they become engaged. Elrond tells Aragorn that they may marry only when he is King of both Gondor
Gondor is a fictional kingdom in J. R. R. Tolkien's writings, described as the greatest realm of Man (Middle-earth), Men in the west of Middle-earth at the end of the Third Age. The third volume of ''The Lord of the Rings'', ''The Return of the ...
and Arnor. Some years later, Aragorn helps to bring about victory in the War of the Ring
''The Lord of the Rings'' is an epic high-fantasy novel by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, intended to be Earth at some time in the distant past, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's boo ...
(the action of the main text of ''The Lord of the Rings''), and becomes King of Gondor and Arnor. At midsummer, he and Arwen are married in Minas Tirith. Elrond leaves Middle-earth for Elvenhome
Valinor (Quenya'': Land of the Valar'') or the Blessed Realms is a fictional location in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, the home of the immortal Vala (Middle-earth), Valar on the continent of Aman, far to the west of Middle-earth; he used the na ...
, never to return. Aragorn, heroic but mortal, lies down to die 120 years later; Arwen sorrowfully goes to a now-barren Lothlórien to die, alone of all her kin, never to rejoin them "beyond the end of the world".[, Appendix A: "]The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen
"The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen" is a story within the Appendices of J. R. R. Tolkien's ''The Lord of the Rings''. It narrates the love of the Man (Middle-earth), mortal Man Aragorn and the Immortality, immortal Elf (Middle-earth), Elf-maiden Arw ...
"
Tolkien described the tale as "the highest love-story" of the book. Its relegation to an appendix makes it inconspicuous, and deprives the main text of much of its love interest. Peter Jackson chose to incorporate the tale in his film trilogy to remedy this, giving Arwen more of a speaking part and creating additional scenes for her. The feminist scholar Melissa Hatcher, writing in ''Mythlore'', calls Tolkien's Arwen "a symbol of the unattainable, a perfect match for the unattainable Aragorn in Éowyn's eyes."
Disgusting female monster
Narrative
Shelob, a giant and evil spider, is presented as a disgusting female monster. Forewarned by Gollum
Gollum is a fictional Tolkien's monsters, character in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. He was introduced in the 1937 Fantasy (genre), fantasy novel ''The Hobbit'', and became important in its sequel, ''The Lord of the Rings''. Gol ...
, she attempts to trap Frodo and Sam as they cross the mountains into Mordor
In J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional world of Middle-earth, Mordor (pronounced ; from Sindarin ''Black Land'' and Quenya ''Land of Shadow'') is the realm and base of the evil Sauron. It lay to the east of Gondor and the great river Anduin, and to t ...
; they have no choice but to go past the tunnels to her lair, and to fight their way through. They manage to pass one obstacle, a tunnel blocked by giant cobwebs, but she ambushes and stings Frodo, who collapses. Sam fights on, taking the Ring and Frodo's sword, Sting
Sting may refer to:
* Stinger or sting, a structure of an animal to inject venom, or the injury produced by a stinger
* Irritating hairs or prickles of a stinging plant, or the plant itself
Fictional characters and entities
* Sting (Middle-eart ...
; Shelob attacks him, but he repels her with the light of the Phial of Galadriel
Shelob is a fictional demon in the form of a giant spider from J. R. R. Tolkien's ''The Lord of the Rings''. Her lair lies in Cirith Ungol ("the pass of the spider") leading into Mordor. The creature Gollum deliberately leads the Hobbit protag ...
. She tries to crush him to death; he allows her to sink down on to him, holding Sting point uppermost, and her downward "thrust" causes the sword to "prick" deep into her enormous belly. She is seriously wounded and retires into her lair, making bubbling noises and dripping blood.[, book 4, chapter 9: "Shelob's Lair."][, book 4, chapter 8: "The Stairs of Cirith Ungol"]
Perversion of female sexuality
The Tolkien scholar David Craig writes that Shelob is sometimes just called "she", drawing the reader's attention to her gender. Her "hate and depravity" are "strongly sexualised"; Tolkien wrote that "Far and wide her lesser broods, bastards of the miserable mates, her own offspring, that she slew, spread from glen to glen". Craig comments that "her crimes are abominable and include incest, illegitimacy and infanticide, all crimes pertaining to sex".
''Vagina dentata''
The Anglican priest and scholar of literature Alison Milbank writes that Shelob is undeniably sexual: "Tolkien offers a most convincing Freudian
Sigmund Freud ( , ; born Sigismund Schlomo Freud; 6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for evaluating and treating pathologies explained as originating in conflicts i ...
''vagina dentata
''Vagina dentata'' (Latin for ''toothed vagina'') describes a folk tale in which a woman's vagina is said to contain teeth, with the associated implication that sexual intercourse might result in injury, emasculation, or castration for the man i ...
'' (toothed vagina) in the ancient and disgustingly gustatory spider Shelob." Milbank states that Shelob symbolises "an ancient maternal power that swallows up masculine identity and autonomy", threatening a "castrating hold hich
Ij ( fa, ايج, also Romanized as Īj; also known as Hich and Īch) is a village in Golabar Rural District, in the Central District of Ijrud County, Zanjan Province, Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also ...
is precisely what the sexual fetishist fears, and seeks to control". The Tolkien scholar and medievalist Jane Chance Jane Chance (born 1945), also known as Jane Chance Nitzsche, is an American scholar specializing in medieval English literature, gender studies, and J. R. R. Tolkien. She spent most of her career at Rice University, where since her retirement she ha ...
mentions "Sam's penetration of her belly with his sword", noting that this may be an appropriate and symbolic way of ending her production of " bastards".
The scholar of children's literature Zoë Jaques writes that Shelob is the "embodiment of monstrous maternity"; Sam's battle with Shelob could be interpreted as a "masculine rite of passage" where a smaller, weaker male penetrates and escapes the vast female body and her malicious intent. The feminist scholar Brenda Partridge described the hobbits' protracted struggle with Shelob as rife with sexual symbolism. She writes that Tolkien derived Shelob from multiple myths: Sigurd
Sigurd ( non, Sigurðr ) or Siegfried (Middle High German: ''Sîvrit'') is a legendary hero of Germanic heroic legend, who killed a dragon and was later murdered. It is possible he was inspired by one or more figures from the Frankish Meroving ...
killing Fafnir the dragon; Theseus
Theseus (, ; grc-gre, Θησεύς ) was the mythical king and founder-hero of Athens. The myths surrounding Theseus his journeys, exploits, and friends have provided material for fiction throughout the ages.
Theseus is sometimes describe ...
killing the Minotaur
In Greek mythology, the Minotaur ( , ;. grc, ; in Latin as ''Minotaurus'' ) is a mythical creature portrayed during classical antiquity with the head and tail of a bull and the body of a man or, as described by Roman poet Ovid, a being "pa ...
; Ariadne
Ariadne (; grc-gre, Ἀριάδνη; la, Ariadne) was a Cretan princess in Greek mythology. She was mostly associated with mazes and labyrinths because of her involvement in the myths of the Minotaur and Theseus. She is best known for having ...
and the spider; and Milton's Sin in ''Paradise Lost
''Paradise Lost'' is an epic poem in blank verse by the 17th-century English poet John Milton (1608–1674). The first version, published in 1667, consists of ten books with over ten thousand lines of verse (poetry), verse. A second edition fo ...
''. The result is to depict the woman as a threat, with implicit overtones of sexuality.
Partridge's interpretation has been called Freudian
Sigmund Freud ( , ; born Sigismund Schlomo Freud; 6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for evaluating and treating pathologies explained as originating in conflicts i ...
fantasy by the Catholic author Joseph Pearce
Joseph Pearce (born February 12, 1961), is an English-born American writer, and Director of the Center for Faith and Culture at Aquinas College in Nashville, Tennessee, before which he held positions at Thomas More College of Liberal Arts in ...
.
Same-sex relationships
The same-sex relationships in the work have been discussed by critics, who have reached a variety of conclusions.
Officer-batman relationship
The clearest same-sex relationship in the novel, in the eyes of scholars, is that of the ringbearer
A page boy is a young male attendant at a wedding or a cotillion (a social dance). This type of wedding attendant is less common than it used to be, but it is still a way of including young relatives or the children of friends in a wedding. Pages ...
Frodo Baggins
Frodo Baggins is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's writings, and one of the protagonists in ''The Lord of the Rings''. Frodo is a hobbit of the Shire who inherits the One Ring from his cousin Bilbo Baggins, described familiarly as "u ...
and his servant, originally his gardener, Sam. Tolkien described their relationship as like that of an officer in the British Army
The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...
and his military servant or batman
Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on ...
. He had been impressed with the personal qualities of the batmen that he encountered on the Western Front in the First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. The text depicts the relationship as one of mutual friendship and loyalty. As Frodo is progressively weakened by the burden of carrying the Ring, Sam becomes increasingly resourceful, and increasingly tender in his care and concern for Frodo. At one point, Sam takes Frodo's hand, though he is embarrassed to do this.
Male intimacy
The scholar of English literature Christopher Vaccaro, in ''The J. R. R. Tolkien Encyclopedia
The ''J. R. R. Tolkien Encyclopedia: Scholarship and Critical Assessment'', edited by Michael D. C. Drout, was published by Routledge in 2006. A team of 127 Tolkien scholars on 720 pages cover topics of Tolkien's fiction, his academic works, his ...
'', writes that Frodo and Sam's relationship "fits neatly into the discourse of friendship expressed by homosexual men until the mid-twentieth century." He notes that the feminist scholar Brenda Partridge and the scholar of English Anna Smol discuss a continuum of "nongenital tactile intimacy between men" which in his view "makes permeable the culturally determined boundaries coding some friendships as heterosexual and others as homosexual". Smol looks at the substantial body of homoerotic fan fiction written, mainly by heterosexual women, in response to ''The Lord of the Rings''. She comments that "For a book that is supposed to be devoid of adult sexuality, ''The Lord of the Rings'' has always elicited strong reactions focusing on sex. The male intimacy that Tolkien describes, particularly the relationship between Frodo and Sam, often has an unsettling effect on readers whose reactions may range from dissatisfaction to erotic excitement", adding that neither reaction is often informed by knowledge of the friendly British First World War officer-batman relationship.
Critics such as Partridge, Esther Saxey and Marion Zimmer Bradley
Marion Eleanor Zimmer Bradley (June 3, 1930 – September 25, 1999) was an American author of fantasy, historical fantasy, science fiction, and science fantasy novels, and is best known for the Arthurian fiction novel ''The Mists of Avalon'' an ...
have stated that the relationship of Frodo and Sam is friendly and intimate, but not necessarily homosexual.
The scholar of culture Daniel Allington examines critical analysis of fan slash fiction
Slash fiction (also known as "m/m slash") is a genre of fan fiction that focuses on romantic or sexual relationships between fictional characters of the same sex.Bacon-Smith, Camille. "Spock Among the Women." New York Times Sunday Book Review, ...
about Frodo and Sam's relationship, writing that fans' discussions of such fiction must not be assumed to be simple reports of beliefs, when they are "complex rhetorical manoeuvres" within that culture.
Idealised heroic friendship
The fantasy and science fiction author Marion Zimmer Bradley
Marion Eleanor Zimmer Bradley (June 3, 1930 – September 25, 1999) was an American author of fantasy, historical fantasy, science fiction, and science fantasy novels, and is best known for the Arthurian fiction novel ''The Mists of Avalon'' an ...
wrote that Frodo and Sam have the most intense love described in the book, stating that towards the end they attain "classical 'idealized friendship'" of an emotional force like that of Achilles and Patroclus
The relationship between Achilles and Patroclus is a key element of the stories associated with the Trojan War. Its exact nature—whether homosexual, a non-sexual deep friendship, or something else entirely—has been a subject of dispute in both ...
in the ''Iliad
The ''Iliad'' (; grc, Ἰλιάς, Iliás, ; "a poem about Ilium") is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the ''Odysse ...
'', or David and Jonathan
David and Jonathan were, according to the Hebrew Bible's Books of Samuel, heroic figures of the Kingdom of Israel, who formed a covenant, taking a mutual oath.
Jonathan was the son of Saul, king of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, and David w ...
in the Old Testament
The Old Testament (often abbreviated OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew writings by the Israelites. The ...
, "passing the love of women". Bradley writes, too, that the monstrous Gollum is bound up with Frodo and Sam in a love-hate triangle, commenting that when relationships are very strong, "hatred and love are very much akin", especially in weak people. As Frodo weakens and he and Sam grow closer, Sam "reaches an almost religious devotion and tenderness toward easing Frodo's path". Bradley calls the steady growth in intensity and diminishing distance between Frodo and Sam "surely one of the most compelling analyses of heroic friendship".
Homoerotic
The scholar of English David LaFontaine, in '' The Gay and Lesbian Review'', writes that ''The Lord of the Rings'' achieved cult status and large sales, but was mainly excluded from literary study, partly because fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...
was despised as a genre, but partly also because of the "powerful undercurrent of same-sex love within the realm of Middle-earth". He notes that Peter Jackson chose to make use of the gay themes in the work for his 2001-2003 ''Lord of the Rings'' film trilogy: "homoerotic desire is up there on Jackson's very large screen for all to see". In his view, Sam has an "epiphany" while he watches Frodo sleeping and says "I love him. He's like that, and sometimes is inner lightshines through, somehow. But I love him, whether or no."[, book 4, chapter 4: "Of Herbs and Stewed Rabbit"][ This is followed, writes LaFontaine, by "scenes in which the two hobbits express their love in increasingly homoerotic terms: holding hands, sleeping huddled together, swearing eternal devotion."]
References
Primary
::''This list identifies each item's location in Tolkien's writings.''
Secondary
Sources
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{{Lotr
Themes of The Lord of the Rings
Sexuality in speculative fiction