This is an interesting topic; however, from what I have read about Tolkien in his biography and letters, I would not agree that he used the convenient device of political matches for the marriages of his main characters. (There are matches like that in the Silmarillion and other stories, but they are not normally happy ones.) He himself married the woman he loved, against the will of his guardian. I think rather than being pragmatic about marriages, he was an idealist, with highly romantic notions of love. That the marriage itself did not go on in that idealistic way, did not daunt him. He kept those ideals.
When I read the title of this thread, I remembered two past discussions which used the word "matchmaker" and looked them up. They do not take the same turn of thought, but are certainly interesting supplements to this topic. Here they are for your enjoyment:
Matchmaker, matchmaker and
Galadriel, the matchmaker.
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'Mercy!' cried Gandalf. 'If the giving of information is to be the cure of your inquisitiveness, I shall spend all the rest of my days in answering you. What more do you want to know?' 'The whole history of Middle-earth..
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