It
began
with
a
shy
caress
on
the
hand.
From
there,
it
grew
into
sleeping
side
by
side.
By
the
time
the
tale
winds
to
its
dramatic
end,
there
are
sacrifices,
kisses
and
open
declarations
of
love.
Indeed,
the
couple’s
relationship
might
be
hailed
as
a
great
romance
of
20th-century
literature
—
but
for
the
tyranny
of
gender.
The
characters
in
question
are
Frodo
Baggins
and
Samwise
Gamgee,
the
two
hobbits
at
the
heart
of
“The
Lord
of
the
Rings.”
And
though
they
grow
preciously
close
to
each
other
during
their
quest
to
destroy
the
One
Ring
of
the
Dark
Lord
Sauron,
the
fact
that
both
characters
are
male
suppresses
a
thorough
discussion
of
their
love
—
a
sort
of
Middle-Earth
“Don’t
Ask,
Don’t
Tell.”
But
since
the
billion-dollar
blockbuster
film
series
renewed
interest
in
J.R.R.
Tolkien’s
epic,
some
fans
are
asking
a
question
no
one
seemed
to
think
about
when
the
trilogy
was
first
published
in
the
mid-1950s:
What
exactly
is
the
nature
of
Frodo
and
Sam’s
relationship?
“Return
of
the
King,”
the
finale
of
the
film
series
and
the
on-screen
relationship
between
Sam
and
Frodo,
opens
Dec.
17
in
wide
release.
Between
the
two
characters,
some
fans
see
a
close
bond
between
master
and
servant
(Sam
is
Frodo’s
gardener),
and
others
find
a
deep
fraternal
love
between
comrades
in
wartime.
Still
others
discover
clear
evidence
of
romantic
love.
Could
it
be
that
the
heroes
of
this
spectacular
tale,
beloved
by
millions
across
the
world,
are
gay?
Could
Tolkien,
a
renowned
linguist
who
utilized
words
with
precision,
have
crafted
a
subtle
statement
about
gay
love?
The
very
notion
that
the
hobbits
had
a
romantic
interest
in
each
other
is
enough
to
send
some
people
into
apoplexy.
Between
the
release
of
the
first
and
second
films,
some
fans
were
surprised
to
learn
that
actor
Ian
McKellen,
who
portrays
the
wizard
Gandalf,
is
gay.
For
a
time,
the
official
“Lord
of
the
Rings”
Fan
Club
message
boards
even
censored
the
word
“gay,”
until
McKellen
found
out
and
helped
lift
the
ban.
So
one
can
imagine
the
potential
for
hostility
to
any
suggestion
that
Sam
and
Frodo,
making
their
way
towards
the
fires
of
Mount
Doom,
were
also
heating
things
up
with
a
fire
of
their
own.
There
is
no
direct
reference
to
any
sexual
passion
between
the
pair.
Then
again,
there’s
nary
a
spark
in
the
source
material
between
the
tale’s
human
protagonist
Aragorn
and
his
immortal
lover,
elf
princess
Arwen.
The
films
clearly
play
up
that
star-crossed
love
affair.
McKellen
posted
a
statement
on
his
Web
site
about
the
relationship
between
Sam
and
Frodo.
“Frodo
and
Sam
would
not
be
the
first
young
gentleman
and
his
servant
to
be
a
little
in
love
with
each
other,
but
Tolkien
doesn’t
make
their
affection
explicit
sexually,
nor
does
every
reader
agree
that
he
has
dropped
any
real
hints
about
it,”
McKellen
writes.
“Theirs
is
certainly
a
close
interdependent
relationship.”
Even
Elijah
Woods
and
Sean
Astin,
the
heterosexual
actors
who
play
Frodo
and
Sam,
acknowledged
that
the
pair
could
be
gay
during
interviews
after
the
release
of
the
second
film
“Two
Towers.”
“I
think
the
gay
community
has
certainly
embraced
it
as
a
beautiful,
special
thing,
and
I
think
it
can
be
interpreted
that
way,”
Woods
said
at
the
time.
“It’s
good
to
know
that
people
appreciate
the
relationship,
because
it
is
powerful,
and
it
is
integral
to
both
individual
journeys.
Frodo
wouldn’t
make
it
without
Sam,
and
Sam
wouldn’t
make
it
without
Frodo.”
The
comic
relief
duo
Merry
and
Pippin
could
also
be
interpreted
to
have
a
love
relationship,
according
to
the
actors
who
play
them.
“There’s
a
nice
kind
of
loving,
close
friendship
that
goes
on,
a
kind
of
unconditional
love
between
the
hobbits,”
said
Dominic
Monaghan,
who
plays
Merry.
“It
is
something
that
you
can
associate
with
gay
people.”
Even
as
some
straight
fans
shy
away
from
the
notion
that
Frodo
and
Sam
might
be
gay,
the
topic
is
of
great
interest
to
gay
fans
of
the
series.
“It’s
not
a
specifically
homoerotic
relationship,
but
it
is
a
homo-romantic
one,”
asserts
Shawna
Walls,
a
Tolkien
historian
who
runs
the
gay-friendly
site
BagEndInn.com,
and
moderates
a
Yahoo
group
for
queer
“Rings”
fans.
“The
thing
is,
Tolkien
didn’t
talk
about
sex
at
all,
so
using
sex
as
a
litmus
test
to
decide
whether
or
not
Sam
and
Frodo
are
a
gay
couple
doesn’t
really
apply,”
Walls
says.
“On
a
non-sexual
level,
they
definitely
compare
to
the
other
romantic
relationships
that
Tolkien
illustrates.”
Clifford
Broadway,
a
writer
and
Tolkien
expert
...
