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Friendship on the Quest  by KathyG 4 Review(s)
AntaneReviewed Chapter: 1 on 9/8/2016
Great essay of what love truly is about and the many celebrations Tolkien made of it in the tale through the deep friendships and love stories therein. He chose to focus more on the platonic than the romantic and I think it is where love really shines through Frodo and Sam's bond, Aragorn's words to Frodo when he pledges himself to the Ring-bearer and Boromir's sacrifice to try to save Merry and Pippin.

Namarie, God bless, Antane :)

Author Reply: Thank you. I agree that the love really shines through in the examples you mentioned. And most of the love exhibited in the book is platonic, although there are examples of romantic love, too (Aragorn and Arwen, Sam and Rose), as well as one unrequited romantic crush (Eowyn's crush on Aragorn).

PSWReviewed Chapter: 1 on 9/7/2016
Yes! Friendship and the deep loyalty it engenders are so vital. Where would the world be without them? We live in a culture that continually seems to devalue friendship -- or at least rank it as secondary to romance (evidence how few male/female friendships on TV can manage to stay that way without veering off into romance or just plain sex). This is disappointing to me, and I always applaud when I see pieces such as this which make a point of how valuable our friendships really are. So...thanks for writing! :-)

Author Reply: You're welcome! I'm glad you like it. I can only agree with you on all of the points you made.

shireboundReviewed Chapter: 1 on 8/9/2016
This is so nice. The theme of unconditional friendship is one of my favorites in LOTR and, as you say, one the Professor obviously felt very strongly about.

Author Reply: He sure did; that came across to me very strongly the first time I read it. It's one of the things I love about The Lord of the Rings.

LarnerReviewed Chapter: 1 on 8/9/2016
Well thought out!

Author Reply: Thank you!

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