This is very random but let me ramble about Tolkien and love. Under a cut because when I say ramble I do mean this is long and confusing and goes nowhere
This all started I was thinking about the age-old debate between "In the absence of obviously canonical same-gender romances in Tolkien, of course people will look at other types of close same-gender relationships in a romantic light" and "In an amatonormative society such as ours, of course people will feel strongly about keeping platonic relationships in Tolkien platonic as a reaction against 'true love = romantic love' trope"
And I was thinking about both these things strike me as true. By which I don't mean "This is how every fan should feel" but rather "I do indeed identify with both positions." Which, long story short, led me to thinking about love in Tolkien's works, like I said.
The thing is that Tolkien pretty much unfailingly portrays love as a good thing. When Melkor becomes evil beyond any redemption, Tolkien describes it as "all love had departed from him for ever."
Love (not to be confused with obsession, which is Always Bad) is, I would say, the virtue held up by Tolkien as the single most important. It might beat even other strong contenders such as wisdom or hope. (Could I defend this position in a paper? Probably not, but this is a tumblr post, go easy on me)
"Love conquers all" is hardly an unexplored theme in fiction, but what strikes me about Tolkien - and what made me write this post - is what an all-encompassing view of love he has.
It's not just that platonic, romantic or familial love seem to all be held up as being equally important - it's that other kinds of love aren't considered superficial next to these.
Love of one's lord, like Edrahil and Finrod. Love of one's subjects, like Aragorn and Faramir. Love of one's homeland, like Frodo and the Shire. Love of the land one chose to call home, like Tuor and Gondolin. Love of what one doesn't yet know, like Sam and the elves. Love of what one misses, like Bilbo and home. Love of improving the world around us, like Gimli and his Glittering Caves. Love of the world as it is, like Legolas and, uh, every part of Middle-earth he sees. Love of expressing oneself through subcreation, like Nerdanel. Love of learning about others through lore, like Elrond. Love of what's been lost, like Elendil. Love of what is at risk, like Boromir. Love of the unknown ahead, like Elros. I could go on forever.
And I don't know, it's just really super refreshing to see that. So very often the definition of love is not only extremely narrow, but also rigidly ranked, and it's so nice to think of how that's not really a thing in Tolkien's world. When Tolkien talks about fantasy he often points out how fantasy helps us see our world more clearly, and one thing I unironically think Arda makes me see more clearly is how much love enriches life.
The sheer scope of things that can be loved is something I don't think I would've realized without reading Tolkien. Tea and cake, or a Cool Rock on the sidewalk, or images from NASA, or having the Mom Friend Social Anxiety Override, are all things I don't think I would particularly love if not for hobbits, dwarves, elves, and men, if that makes sense.
It's just. I really love how stories impact me long before I've actually consciously noticed themes. It's amazing and makes me think of that one quote, "Small wonder that spell means both a story told, and a formula of power over living men."
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