No Married Persons

[Bêthberry]

Originally Posted by Inziladun

Not to mention the "evil lust" of Morgoth as he watched Lúthien dance and sing.
With the exception of Beren/Lúthien, it may be notable that "lust" seems to lead to negative consequences.

I think it is very interesting that the negative examples of lust certainly are full of issues of power, as Sarumian suggests. It is of course modern legal and psychological definitions of sexual assault that remove rape from sexual desire and describe it not as desire but as power. In a book about the misuses of power, sexual assault would be prime examples of abuse. Wormtongue, as Legate remarks, is a particularly creepy example.

The ability not to impose one's wishes on others is a central value in LotR and that refers to sexual desire as well as other attempts at control. Tolkien really has a remarkably modern view of sexual assault.