
MeadowForest wrote:^ I'd agree with that.
It is nice to see a 'main character' who doesn't have that little preoccupation of love. It wasn't added because it wasn't needed!
Shadowman82 wrote:Because despite what Hollywood thinks not every hero character needs a love interest . It would have added nothing to the books to include one .
Shadowman82 wrote:Tolkien is also a good enough writer that he can keep his audience enganged without a love story .
I liked the Harry Potter series as well but let's be honest did anyone reading those books really read them for the love interests ? I doubt it .
BerenVonRictoffen wrote:Shadowman82 wrote:Tolkien is also a good enough writer that he can keep his audience enganged without a love story .
I disagree that there was no love-story, but it simply wasn't central to the story like most writers feel the need to do-- and more than this, it was kept subordinate to the story's greater theme and purpose, rather than whiny "Romeo and Juliet" spoiled teenage-mentality where they kill themselves because they can't get what they want.
Rather, we learn most of the love-interests in the end, while it's only hinted at beforehand; and we find that Sam can't marry Rosie because he has a job to do, meanwhile Aragorn can't marry Arwen for the same reason, and he also can't return Eowyn's love-- but Faramir can.
Likewise, the hints are subtle but unmistakable.
I liked the Harry Potter series as well but let's be honest did anyone reading those books really read them for the love interests ? I doubt it .
Did you even read them? I couldn't stand another sentence about Harry's stomach flipping inside out around Ginny Weasley.
siddharth wrote:Oooh. But he had one.
Goldberry.
siddharth wrote:Oooh. But he had one.
Goldberry.
Chubb wrote:Hm interesting question, I agree with a lot of the comments here. Also, in a way, I think a love interest would actually make Frodo more difficult for people to relate to. I've heard many already find him a bit too distant and unrealistic - it would be even harder to explain his character and motivation if he willingly sacrificed the love of a wife or someone he was betrothed to (which might also diminish the uniqueness of Aragorn's sacrifice and separation from Arwen).
It would also make Frodo a bit too perfect! When in the Shire we already know he is a wealthy hobbit, well respected, educated, and doesn't seem to age. Gandalf describes him as the best hobbit in the shire. If he had a girl to boot, he'd just have too many things going right for him to be someone we can sympathise with. Not having a love interest makes him more of an outsider, a bit unusual, and possibly adds to the sense of vulnerability in his character. As he goes further with the quest, the loneliness of his burden as the Ring-bearer becomes stronger. I think Frodo's increased melancholy and sense of doom is quite an important development of his character, and also adds an element of tragedy in the tale. I don't think that would have worked so well if there was a love interest.
Also, would Sam's devotion and loyalty have carried as much weight if Frodo was able to find equal motivation by remembering he has a sweetheart back home to return to? I reckon not - Frodo's vulnerability is also the making of Sam, how often does he depend on Sam to lift his spirits and renew his hope.
Billobob wrote:Personally I don't think Frodo could have had a romance while he was journeying since most of the the time he was either in pain, almost dying, or along with Sam. As for in the Shire I think most hobbits saw Frodoas kind of a crank.
heliona wrote:Billobob wrote:Personally I don't think Frodo could have had a romance while he was journeying since most of the the time he was either in pain, almost dying, or along with Sam. As for in the Shire I think most hobbits saw Frodoas kind of a crank.
That doesn't really follow since Sam had a "romance" whilst journeying - with Rosie Cotton.
Frodo was a confirmed bachelor, just like his uncle, Bilbo. Plenty of characters in LotR don't have a love interest. There's more to life than love, and this story shows that. Frodo was happy on his own - some people are. I didn't miss it.
heliona wrote:Sorry, it wasn't clear to me that you meant no romance on the journey because of how he was viewed in the Shire. I thought you were talking about two separate things/events.
I wouldn't say he was seen as a "crank". That implies that he was looked down upon as someone that was annoying, whereas he and Bilbo were more seen as eccentric (ie: people didn't look down upon them, but just thought they were a bit strange and unusual). Of course, people were probably more used to Frodo after all of Bilbo's antics.I would imagine that if he wanted, Frodo could have found romance, probably with an adventurous Took.
But he was distracted after his return from Mordor and just wasn't interested beforehand; he probably thought he had plenty of time as he was quite young for a hobbit. (He was 33 when Bilbo left the Shire after his 111th birthday, and then of course Frodo had a bit more on his mind. He was only 50 when he left Middle-earth.)
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