I love queer readings of the classical/old stories because of how many new layers and perspectives in characters and dynamics they can add that might not have been through about before. For example, my dearest samfro.
See, a couple days ago I mentioned that Sam's descriptions of Frodo are very "queers of the time" kind of talk, incredibly subtle and yet on the nose if you know the context and the personality of the speaker, e.g the "elvish beauty" as an adjective. And while I may not be well-versed in the queer culture of Britain in the 1950s, this little tag lead me to yet another thought.
I remembered Tolkien's letter in which he noted that, paraphrasing "Sam didn't think of himself as brave as heoric" or really anything but in his servitude and service to Frodo. This is a canonical notion that can be seen through the text and it is the one I always found very interesting, because Sam always leans into the social dynamics of it all way more than Frodo does it. Sam calls Frodo his master repeatedly, and yet Frodo never refers to Sam all his servant (the closest he gets is "hobbit at my service" which both suggest temporarity and person-first language), barely ever gives him any orders and seems to be way more vocal in his view of Sam as his "friend of friends" more than anything else.
Obviously, there's way more to this than just one factor: there's the societal factor of the Shire structure, the conservative nature of his upbringing and his father's (and by extension, his own) habit of bringing himself down more often than not.
But I thought there can be another factor, there can be another layer to that. And then it hit me: the queer readings.
I can absolutely believe that one of the reasons Sam capitalises so much of seeing himself as nothing but Frodo's servant and not seeing himself beyond his servitude, among the other reasons, is also because it's the only socially-appropriate way to love Frodo the way he loves him.
Sam was raised in a bit less strict (via working for the Bagginses) but still very conservative typical working-class British family. Old Hamfast was canonically afraid that there would be some hurt of Samm learning to write and read, and promptly instructed him to think less about tales and more about flowers and cabbages because that's where his place is, that's what his family is about. It's steeped in tradition and old notions. And in addition to hobbits being based on the British countryside of the time, it doesn't really pain a positive relationship with the concept of queerness as it was. What I am saying is, if there's someone beetwen the two to struggle more with the concept of being in love with another hobbit-lad (and indeed from a different societal place) it's Samwise Gamgee.
Which leads to a next interesting point: his love and devotion for Frodo can only be rationalised as socially acceptable and quote unquote "normal" when performed soley through the established class concept of servitude and resected. A devoted servant is a good sevant. No one would blink at a servant saying they will follow there master anywhere because that's what a decent servant is supposed to do, that's his job even if the servant in question is a gardener. Seeing it through the more professional service lense brings more explanation that fits the way he was raised and taught and the society he lives in.
Obviously, he knows that his love for Frodo goes beyond the servitude: no gardener is actually obliged to follow their employee to the end of the Earth, but it doesn't mean he immediately goes with it. Because when there's no servant, there's no servitude, and no ready inner explanation to the way he loves Frodo in the way he loves him.
Maybe that's one of the things his the "whether or no" monologue is about: him realising that his love for Frodo goes beyond what one may consider friendship but also one that may he considered going beyond the required devotion of servant. That "I love him" he says means way more than he initially allowed himself.
Samwise Gamgee goes through his own mini-arc of clutching onto the concept of servitude because that's the only way he allowes himself to be in love with Frodo in the midst of his environment and classical system, and then slowly realising that there might be more to it. Thanks for coming for my ted talk.
