Marriage in Middle-earth I (happy)

[lindil]

Michael Martinez has just written a nice peice on Bombadil, Goldberry and the Ent/wives which some here may find interesting. I did.

here is a snippet.

...She sits by the hearth and sings many songs for her guests. So, she is warm and friendly, very open, but a radiant source of poetic inspiration. Tom, of course, adores Goldberry, and he constantly brings her gifts, and awakens her by singing beneath her window. He may be his own man, but he makes it clear that he is also Goldberry's man. And Goldberry flows through Tom's home and heart like a fresh spring gushing from a mountainside.

and this bit is also a real gem and cuts to the heart of it [or if I may mix a metaphor, one facet of the heart of it]

If the differences between the relationships can be summed up in one word, it would have to be risk-taking; that is, both Bombadil and Goldberry risk something by allowing each other certain freedoms. The Ents and Entwives, on the other hand, were unwilling or unable to compromise on their needs and desires, and so ultimately they divorced each other. Such rejection would be unnatural in Tolkien's very Catholic point of view. To abandon the marriage would be a disgraceful, even sinful thing. More importantly, it removes all hope of nurturing the relationship and children from the home. There is no balance, no harmony, and the outcome of such a division is disastrous for all concerned.

ol' MM is getting downright poetic in his older age! [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img]

[ February 15, 2003: Message edited by: lindil ]