![]() There were several times when Sam held Frodo, especially in Mordor. That's what he did, and he was proud of it. I remember Sam in Rivendell tucking away various items Frodo had left behind, to proudly produce them later. It was Sam's job to always be one step ahead of Frodo. Likewise knowing his master's mind better than he knows it himself. ![]() Unobtrusiveness is the mark of a good 'Man.' If they were buddies how could Frodo know so little of Sam after two decades? "I've learned a lot about Sam on this trip." *pop* There goes the popular "buddy" image of Frodo and Sam. And why Sam constantly surprised Frodo, and caused him to reassess Sam by the time they got to Bree (despite the fact they'd know eachother for twenty years). That's why Frodo never surprised Sam, no matter how unpredictable his decisions. It's not arrogance, but a mark of skilled servant, that he managed not to trouble his master with his personal matters. Yet their Master, even after years, might scarcely know the names of their servants' immediate family. A good manservant could be trusted to know things about his master that even a friend or - gasp! worse yet - a family member might spill, andnever breath a word. Often a Manservant was closer than a friend. Bilbo he would catch his death if he didn't fix it, and I just couldn't forgive myself if anything happened." "Now I hope you don't mind but the trellis does need repairing, why my gaffer kept telling Mr. "Well sir, while I making breakfast I got your bathwater hot here, see, can heat the water for both at the same time. and I'll take this one with the broken handle in to Hobbiton to be fixed. Frodo, I don't when the last time these pots got a good scrubbing, but don't you worry about that. I'm the best cook in these parts, or at least so I'm told." Frodo, see, let me take of that for you, I'll get those taters whipped up double-quick. He'd notice something that needed to be done, and just take care of it: I suspect he was only originally the Gardener, and the rest of his job was "mission creep" as they say in the military. While Sam might only have one of these titles, his reaction to Pippin's joke in the Shire ".have you got the bathwater hot?" shows he did more than tend the garden. Underhill.) The very inequality of their roles makes the concept of an intimate 'gay' relationship absurd, even if there were gay hobbits about.Ī Manservant was a combination personal secretary, butler, cook, gardener, man Friday. I don't think the idea is filthy my friend, but I am relieved to finally find someone who is familiar with the Master/Manservant relationship. Of course nowadays all people are supposedly equal, so this sort of culture-of-deference stuff's a bit distasteful, but without an understanding of that way of thinking it's impossible to understand certain social relationships in literature. Sam would never address Frodo as anything other than 'Mr Frodo' or 'Sir' to do so would be to take liberties, although his position as a personal servant does allow him to use 'Mr. This is not to say that the bond isn't deeper than that between friends or more selfless than that between lovers, but it lacks the familiarity of either. This sort of relationship can never even be called friendship with any degree of accuracy because although it's founded on mutual respect and trust there's no sense of equality. This is complicated by the fact that the relationship shared by Sam and Frodo is a survival from feudalism rarely found these days even in Britain (yep, those comedy rustics, country squires and faithful butlers so beloved by Hollywood have all gone the way of the dodo): that between a kindly and understanding master and a loyal and trusted servant (a senior servant, mark you it lacks the condescendingly avuncular overtones of a relationship between the master and, for example, the stable lad in charge of his favourite horse). Having said that, English is a language impoverished by having only one word (love) to describe a large number of differing feelings, most of which are completely asexual. The only excuse for these contemptible little philistines is their unbelievable small-mindedness, which goes hand-in-hand with a desire to belittle or pervert found only in the outstandingly stupid. When he himself might his quietus make/With a bare bodkinĪnd who go through the Oxford dictionary underlining rude words. These people are also the ones who snigger childishly when Hamlet's says: It is they who are responsible for these crass suggestions, which, sadly, can be supported from the text if one looks at it in a certain way (from the perspective of blissful ignorance). There are too many filthy-minded children of all ages who have been taught to read despite all the evidence that this is a pointless exercise.
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