Tolkien's Sweetest Love Story: Sam Gamgee and Rose Cotton

J.R.R. Tolkien penned some truly epic romances, but for me, none is more moving than the one based in the bond between two sundered hobbits: Sam Gamgee and Rose Cotton. This tie is so strong that, on March 25th, Rose suddenly knows that Sam is coming back to her. The 'Epilogues' to The Lord of the Rings are rich in blink-and-you'll-miss-it treasures like this one, which demonstrates that hobbits could be foresighted where love was great.

It's a very cold day near the end of winter, and the Shire is suffering. The ruffians are there, stealing food, imprisoning folk, causing homelessness, ruining the green world, and engaging in Tolkien's least favorite activity: purposed domination. It's a time of fear and privation for the merry Little Folk that really burns my heart. Here, you see the Farmer and Mrs. Cotton in one of their work sheds, worriedly winding yarn they have spun and dyed, when suddenly, their lass begins to sing. Mrs. Cotton urges her daughter to be quiet because there might be ruffians about, but Rose declares,

"Let them come! Their time will soon be over. Sam's coming back."

And all the way over at the opposite end of the map, the Ring has been destroyed, and the gardener's son is, indeed, going to be restored to his sweetheart. Rose's intuition may seem like something from the Secondary World, but I've personally experienced these "knowing" moments in the Primary World concerning those to whom I am closest. Have you?

Readers may know that hobbits are dearest to my heart, and I feel so interested in the love story of Sam and Rose that I have devoted multiple paintings to it, but sometimes, a picture can be about more than one thing. If you look into the little work hut, you'll see that Mrs. Cotton is sitting next to a rustic loom. This is my nod to my favorite stanza in all of Tolkien's poetry, from the Mythopoeia poem he penned out of love for his friend C.S. Lewis:

Blessed are the timid hearts that evil hate,

that quail in its shadow, and yet shut the gate;

that seek no parley, and in guarded room,

though small and bare, upon a clumsy loom

weave tissues gilded by the far-off day

hoped and believed in under Shadow's sway.

This description of timid little beings with clumsy looms always calls the hobbits to my mind, especially because Rose tells Sam that her unexpected burst of song stems from a feeling of hope that comes over her amid the darkness of what is happening to her homeland. I see Rose's song as a note in the Music and a melody which bespeaks that, despite the sorry state of things in the Shire, and in greater Middle-earth, Eru is still at work in bringing about the far-off day. Ultimately, all will be well.

The prediction of this humble hobbit lass proves right, and I know how many of my kind readers have wonderful eyes for detail, so I would like to draw your attention to the robin and the primrose in this picture and ask if you can guess what these two things betoken for the future of Sam and Rose. It's a scene of endurance and hope amid trials. That little bit of snowy Road beside the shed is the same one Sam will be hurrying down to see his sweetheart, who will have been waiting in hope for him.

And I hope you will enjoy this little moment with Rose at the window, and take encouragement from it, my friends. Happy St. Valentine's Day to all the high and true hearts out there.