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Fascinating
I've always found Aldarion and Erendis a fascinating little tale. Coming from reading the Lord of the Rings, one would never anticipate that Tolkien would've written something even remotely as, well, Jane Austen-esque. Of course Tolkien is here even more pessimistic about the possibilities of monogamous relationships that Austen, but like her he depicts the strictures of society acting as buffers for two people who in another social situation might actually function as a couple.
I've always thought it would make an excellent "period-piece" film. It would certainly be the most unusual fantasy movie ever made, but I think it would do very well, and it would certainly change perceptions of Tolkien as an author and as a writer! If only we could convince Adam Tolkien to hire Michael Arndt to write a good screenplay from the Unfinished Tales fragments once Christopher paces into the Netherworld! Of course marketing such a film would be a nightmare!
Numenorean society here is really delicately evoked here, on a social level, more completely than, say, Gondorian society in the Third Age (we only see it there though the eyes of a hobbit and during wartime).
As to the possible homosexual take re. Erendis - I think this is a very legitimate reading. She certainly seems to be reacting against all those things that the men have appropriated to themselves in Numenorean society - adventure, the sea, etc. Perhaps there is a sexual element in this rebellion as well.
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