Lij's response.

[Diamond18]

Our society has such a selfish mindset that people figure Sam <I>must</I> want something from Frodo. Sam's love for Frodo is selfless...he does not expect anything in return. So to say that he has sexual fantasies about Frodo misses the whole point of his character. Selfless devotion. It would be equally erroneous to say that Sam follows Frodo loyaly because he wants Frodo to give him Bag-end, or that he's hoping to get his hands on the Ring eventually. It's along the same lines. Sam doesn't want Frodo's body or anything else...he wants to do whatever he can for Frodo. He'll be there for Frodo no matter what. Sam is really a very idealistic character, and not the type of person you see around much these days. (Not to say there aren't <I>any</I>, of course.)<P>I don't think a deep love always has to mean sex. Some people do, I guess, and those are the people that assume Sam wants to be Frodo's "lover".<P>As an aside, this is why when you have romances between characters, there's always a question that needs to be answered, "Do they really love each other, or is it lust?" The difference between carnal love and true love, I guess.<P>I think Elijah's response was what one would call tactful.<p>[ November 19, 2002: Message edited by: Diamond18 ]