[Rimbaud]

The class system in England 'broke down' after the war? Well, to some degree but institutionalised snobbery in Britain is still very much apparent, although perhaps not so readily to an outsider. Woe betide the job-seeker in London minus the BBC accent. Lower pay, fewer benefits if employed in the first place, certainly in the higher echelons. Yes there is improvement and I would even concede that it is dramatic but centuries of distinction between peoples do not vanish, more's the pity.

The North/South divide in England is as pronounced as ever, with London salaries so much higher on average than those in the North-East as to make a mockery of claims of equalisation. Add to that the rampant unemployment levels in England the further you get from the South-East - and you realise that much is the same as 'talways was.

Tolkien's knowledge of the inherently felt differences in that classical English society are well illustrated by the characters of Sam and the Gaffer. English fiction is rife with the stories of cross-class pairings and Tolkien tapped gently into this vein.

It is right to cite Gaffer's discomfort at such dealings. It was a badge of merit to be as distinct from the 'gentry' as possible, who, especially since the French Revolution, were seen as a joke, albeit a dissolute and excessively powerful one.

Gaffer's relationship with his son is a very typical picture; indeed something of a stereotyped picture. I'll quote another thread if I may - here is another example of an 'Archetype Devourer'. The gruff working class father too repressed to show emotion and steadfast of his knowledge of his place and his childrens' place. It would not surprise me if the thought of 'loving' his son would be somewhat alien to him. This is not to say that he did not, merely that it would not occur to him to consider it too much, for that was clearly 'woman's work'. Any such emotion would be coated in layers of duty and responsibility and the ingrained work-ethic. It would appear that Sam would inspire a feeling of 'pride' within the Gaffer rather than the rather newer concept of 'love' and all the hang-ups the Western world has dangled upon that word.