Friendship in LOTR
Friendship is, perhaps, the greatest and most prominent theme in LOTR and justice to it cannot be done here. For, the first book of the LOTR is titled 'The Fellowship of the Ring', and fellowship is the association, companionship, and bond between two or more people. Even though the quest for the destruction of the ring did not formally begin in a fellowship until the council of Elrond, the quest took place in the context of fellowship even from the very beginning when Frodo left the shire, under the wise council of his dear friend Gandalf, with his friends Sam, Pippin, and Merry.
Here, I want to focus on the kind of friendship we find between Frodo and Sam. It is a special kind of friendship or love between two individuals. The ancient Greeks called it 'philia', which is one of the four words they had for 'love' and is a kind of brotherly love in contrast to eros- erotic love, agape- the love of God or charity, and storge- or familial love. In Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics, 'philia' is often translated as 'friendship'.
I could list endless examples of philia between Frodo and Sam, and also other characters. Frodo and Sam's relationship, in particular, is interesting because it is one of master and servant. Sam looks to Frodo as his master and serves him as faithfully and whole-heartedly as he can. For example, Sam is always trying to lighten Frodo's load by taking on more luggage in his pack than the others. And when fate seems disposed to part Sam from Frodo, Sam fights tooth and nail to stay by his side (for example, at the council of Elrond, or when Frodo attempts to leave the company in secret prior to Borimir's death).
What characterizes Frodo and Sam's relationship is self-sacrifice, service, duty, love, and leadership. As the bearer of the Ring, Frodo voluntarily takes upon himself a great burden, one far too heavey for him to carry. Sam recognizes this, and hence takes up his place as Frodo's servant, though the relaltionship of master-servant was present between Frodo and Sam prior to the quest of the ring, I think, though perhaps to a lesser degree. Frodo takes upon himself the weight of the world, the fate of all who dwell in Middle-earth, and Sam takes upon himself the weight of supporting, serving, and caring for Frodo. Without Sam, Frodo would not have gotten far.
This friendship between Frodo and Sam, and the others as well, is exactly what makes the fellowship of men, elves, hobbits, and dwarves, but especially the hobbits, a force to be reckoned with. When Elrond is considering who else to send along with the company, Merry and Pippin protest at Elrond's reluctance to include them. But Gandlaf supports the inclusion of Merry and Pippin as the final two members of the fellowship. He says to Elrond, "I think, Elrond, that in this matter it would be well to trust rather to their [the Hobbits'] friendship than to great wisdom" (p269). Gandalf has the wisdom to see that there is great power and strength in the friendship of the Hobbits.
So, I think it is no accident that the Ring fell into Frodo's hands, that Gandalf spent so much of his time dealing in matters to do with Hobbits, and that it is a Hobbit, and not a great man or Elf, who ultimately brings the Ring to the fires of Mount Doom and carries out the task that could not be done by men before him. For only the love and friendship of Hobbits could undue such a great evil and malice upon the earth.
Love (philia) is the one thing the enemy does not factor into his plans. Rather, Sauron thinks his greatest threat is one of war, the power and might of great men in arms. As Gandalf says later in the book, "That we should wish to cast him down and have no one in his place is not a thought that occurs to his mind. That we should try to destroy the Ring itself has not yet entered his [Sauron's] darkest dream" (p.486). The enemy, so devoured by his own thoughts and schemes and self-love, could not help but view his opposition in terms only he understands. To the enemy, there is only power and a lust for power. This is the only motivation for anyone to do anything, according to him. With such great corruption and evil comes great pride and conceit- and the prideful and concieted believe that their aims and goals are the aims and goals of all others. So it is for him, and so he thinks that all other people think.
But, it is not so. For the forces of Good do not desire power and coercion and the subjugation of all else to their will. Rather, they desire peace, healing, preservation, and harmony. Thus, though it seems paradoxical that a tiny Hobbit would be the one to destory the Ring, it is actually unsurprising, because that which drives the Hobbits- philia, service, sacrifice- are the very things that Sauron cannot understand and so cannot guard against.
Lastly, it is also no coincidence, I think, that the traits which Tolkien gave to the Hobbits- self-sacrifice, love, service, etc.-are the same traits which characterize Christ. In the Christian story, Christ defeats the powers of darkness not through great strength and military might, but through weakness, sacrifice, and love. Here is one aspect of Tolkien's faith which shines brightly through his storytelling. I have no doubt that it is the very heart of his book. On this theme I shall write more in subsequent posts.
Source: Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings. Harper Collins, 1991.
Here, I want to focus on the kind of friendship we find between Frodo and Sam. It is a special kind of friendship or love between two individuals. The ancient Greeks called it 'philia', which is one of the four words they had for 'love' and is a kind of brotherly love in contrast to eros- erotic love, agape- the love of God or charity, and storge- or familial love. In Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics, 'philia' is often translated as 'friendship'.
I could list endless examples of philia between Frodo and Sam, and also other characters. Frodo and Sam's relationship, in particular, is interesting because it is one of master and servant. Sam looks to Frodo as his master and serves him as faithfully and whole-heartedly as he can. For example, Sam is always trying to lighten Frodo's load by taking on more luggage in his pack than the others. And when fate seems disposed to part Sam from Frodo, Sam fights tooth and nail to stay by his side (for example, at the council of Elrond, or when Frodo attempts to leave the company in secret prior to Borimir's death).
What characterizes Frodo and Sam's relationship is self-sacrifice, service, duty, love, and leadership. As the bearer of the Ring, Frodo voluntarily takes upon himself a great burden, one far too heavey for him to carry. Sam recognizes this, and hence takes up his place as Frodo's servant, though the relaltionship of master-servant was present between Frodo and Sam prior to the quest of the ring, I think, though perhaps to a lesser degree. Frodo takes upon himself the weight of the world, the fate of all who dwell in Middle-earth, and Sam takes upon himself the weight of supporting, serving, and caring for Frodo. Without Sam, Frodo would not have gotten far.
This friendship between Frodo and Sam, and the others as well, is exactly what makes the fellowship of men, elves, hobbits, and dwarves, but especially the hobbits, a force to be reckoned with. When Elrond is considering who else to send along with the company, Merry and Pippin protest at Elrond's reluctance to include them. But Gandlaf supports the inclusion of Merry and Pippin as the final two members of the fellowship. He says to Elrond, "I think, Elrond, that in this matter it would be well to trust rather to their [the Hobbits'] friendship than to great wisdom" (p269). Gandalf has the wisdom to see that there is great power and strength in the friendship of the Hobbits.
So, I think it is no accident that the Ring fell into Frodo's hands, that Gandalf spent so much of his time dealing in matters to do with Hobbits, and that it is a Hobbit, and not a great man or Elf, who ultimately brings the Ring to the fires of Mount Doom and carries out the task that could not be done by men before him. For only the love and friendship of Hobbits could undue such a great evil and malice upon the earth.
Love (philia) is the one thing the enemy does not factor into his plans. Rather, Sauron thinks his greatest threat is one of war, the power and might of great men in arms. As Gandalf says later in the book, "That we should wish to cast him down and have no one in his place is not a thought that occurs to his mind. That we should try to destroy the Ring itself has not yet entered his [Sauron's] darkest dream" (p.486). The enemy, so devoured by his own thoughts and schemes and self-love, could not help but view his opposition in terms only he understands. To the enemy, there is only power and a lust for power. This is the only motivation for anyone to do anything, according to him. With such great corruption and evil comes great pride and conceit- and the prideful and concieted believe that their aims and goals are the aims and goals of all others. So it is for him, and so he thinks that all other people think.
But, it is not so. For the forces of Good do not desire power and coercion and the subjugation of all else to their will. Rather, they desire peace, healing, preservation, and harmony. Thus, though it seems paradoxical that a tiny Hobbit would be the one to destory the Ring, it is actually unsurprising, because that which drives the Hobbits- philia, service, sacrifice- are the very things that Sauron cannot understand and so cannot guard against.
Lastly, it is also no coincidence, I think, that the traits which Tolkien gave to the Hobbits- self-sacrifice, love, service, etc.-are the same traits which characterize Christ. In the Christian story, Christ defeats the powers of darkness not through great strength and military might, but through weakness, sacrifice, and love. Here is one aspect of Tolkien's faith which shines brightly through his storytelling. I have no doubt that it is the very heart of his book. On this theme I shall write more in subsequent posts.
Source: Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings. Harper Collins, 1991.
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