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ship_manifesto2006-02-10 08:52 am
mod-journal.livejournal.com) wrote in ship_manifesto2006-02-10 08:52 am
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Samwise Gamgee/Rosie Cotton (Lord of the Rings)
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hyel]
Title: Sam and Rosie - The Happy Ending
Author:hyel
Fandom: Lord of the Rings
Pairing: Samwise Gamgee/Rosie Cotton
Rating: G
Spoilers: For the entire book, of course.
Author's Notes: It could be better. I have to admit I forgot this was due and had to write it in a hurry. Perhaps I'll expand on it and make it better later.
Sam and Rosie: the Happy Ending
Samwise
Samwise is a working class hobbit, a gardener, second youngest of six children, who lost his mother at a young age and was since raised by a father who, for all his good qualities, never flinched from calling Sam stupid. Sam believes this himself and often mentions it. Nonetheless he has a gift with pleasant rhymes and loves stories and romances, and there's no evidence he's any dumber than the next hobbit. He does have an innocence, eagerness, and straight-forwardness that might wrongly translate as stupidity.
The war of the ring and his soul-changing journey to Mordor and back with his master and friend Frodo brought out qualities in Sam that had never needed showing before: great courage, fighting instincts, iron resolve. It also deepened his affection for Frodo – for which we have clear evidence from the time before the quest, though the quality and depth of which is left to interpretation - to boundless love.
Although he bore many of the same rigours as Frodo on their journey – all, in fact, save the battle of wills against the Ring, though he shared that too for a short period of time – left Sam less changed than his master. Sam was not emotionally scarred, but rather strengthened by his experiences. He returned stronger, more assertive, but much the same otherwise: still straight-forward, still humble, and called to the profession of serving - though he in time expanded this to include servitude to the entire Shire rather than other individuals, by taking on the restoring of the Shire after the scouring, and later by becoming mayor of Hobbiton.
Sam has great reserves of love in him – for Frodo, for the Shire, for Rosie, and for the many friends they made on their journey. It's love also that made him the best fighter, as when he fought down the spider monster Shelob, but he's much better suited to tending living things, from plants to animals, people and communities.
Rosie
Rosie Cotton is a farmer's daughter, the only girl in a brood of five. Both her parents lived to see her come of age and marry. As a child she used to play in the river with her brothers and Sam; as an adult she took up feminine things, sewing and working in the house along with her mother. She and Sam were involved, perhaps even engaged, or at least had an understanding, before he left to follow Frodo on his quest. When the dark times came to the Shire, while he was away, she let go of hope of seeing him again, until one day – supposedly the day when the Ring was at last destroyed, on the other side of Middle-Earth – that she felt hope fill her, and she knew then he would return. When he did, she scolded him for taking his time, then called him very fine. They go on to marry.
Rosie is mentioned only once in the text before the hobbits return to the Shire, when Sam fondly remembers playing with her and her brothers in the Water, the river running by Hobbiton. (This is curious, since Sam is afraid of water.)
Their story, and Frodo
When Sam returns, one of the first things he does is ride to the Cotton farm, to rouse the Cottons, but also to see her, as Farmer Cotton seems to divine – at least that's my interpretation of the grin he sports when he asks after her and Mrs Cotton's safety. She tells him she's been expecting him home, and then rushes him back to Frodo's side, since there's an uprising in progress. She does stop to ask him to come back later, and tell him he looks very fine. Later, as Frodo praises Sam's bravery in foreign lands, her eyes shine, and he blushes, pleased.
Sam takes his time, as there is plenty of re-building to do, but once Bag End has been restored and Frodo moved in and comfortable, he asks for Rosie's hand in marriage. He tells Frodo about this when Frodo asks Sam to move in with him – no longer as nearly a servant as a precious friend, after their experiences together. Frodo then extends the invitation to Rosie, and the couple marries and moves in.
Their first child is a girl, so couldn't be named Frodo; instead, Frodo names her Elanor.
Frodo's illness drives him to the decision to leave for the Undying Lands, an honour bestowed to him because of his heroism in the War of the Ring. He makes a will to leave everything to Sam, though he doesn't tell him. Sam finds all this out only after they've ridden out of the Shire, on the way to the Grey Havens. On the shore he needs to make a choice between going with Frodo, whom he's never left, and staying home. Frodo orders him to stay, but Sam's never obeyed him before. This time, though, he would be leaving the Shire and his family, and that's too much even for his loyal heart. Frodo says Sam must be whole, not "torn in two", suggesting that he sees himself as an extra responsibility that Sam doesn't deserve.
There are a number of interpretations about this, of course, but I believe he was wrong, blinded by his own humility. It's removing himself that tears Sam in two – one half of his heart across the sea, one at home. Sam never remarks on that, but returns alone to his wife and daughter. Later, after Rosie's death, when all their children are grown, he himself leaves for the Grey Havens, and it is said that he found an Elven boat to take him to the Undying Lands and perhaps found Frodo again over the sea.
During their marriage, Sam became mayor seven times, and a father thirteen times. The unpublished epilogue gives us a glimpse of their happy married life; even so, Elanor refers to Frodo as Sam's lost treasure.
Not all ships have to sail
Sam and Rosie's relationship, as portrayed, seems to me to be simple and equal. They're both practical and yet romantic. (I base this interpretation of Rosie on the fact that after seeing her lover returned after years away, she still tells him to go back to work and get back to her later – hence practicality. On the other hand she's impressed and delighter by hearing he's a hero – romanticism!) Perhaps Rosie is less rules in her actions by her emotions, than Sam is – but this would indeed be necessary for the sensible running of the family.
The reason I love this pairing, simply put, is that Rosie is the real happy ending of The Lord of the Rings. I steal this way of putting it from Mary Borsellino's fic 'Pretty Good Year', but it's been true to me ever since I read the book, over thirteen years ago ago. The first thing I did as a young girl after putting the book down was draw Rosie and her children. It broke my heart that Frodo had to leave, but at least Sam could have the ending they both would have deserved. Having them both go would have been heart-breaking; having Sam stay with no beloved, no family, would have been even more so.
The fandom
When I first encountered LotR online fandom, specifically the hobbit fandom, which was soon after the first movie came out, there wasn't much shipping of Rosie and Sam around. It's understandable, considering the slash fandom is formidable online and, after all, Frodo and Sam's relationship is so much more integral in the book. I've always loved Frodo and Sam's relationship, but never considered it gay (though I noticed the possibility) before online fandom corrupted me. Nowadays I accept either interpretation, as long as no-one tries to claim Sam didn't love Rosie.
I was lucky to soon find people who appreciated Rosie as I did, but it was hard to define this group of people as a specific fandom. Then I discovered Mary's 'Pretty Good Year', which is all about Sam and Rosie's marriage – with the addition of Frodo. I was hooked, and formed fast friendships in the small fandom that had sprung around that one fic series. The fics contained everything I found so beautiful about Rosie, and a countless new things I had never considered. For anyone open to the idea of a Rosie-Sam-Frodo threesome, it's essential reading. Mary also has a website, Nowhere Elaborated, dedicated to the character of Rosie, which I highly recommend.
Links
Fic recommendations:
Pretty Good Year
Rosie/Sam/Frodo. So much brilliance, also in the stories by other authors.
Dana: Of the Sea
A heartbreaking vignette set near the end of Rosie's life.
Dana: Rain Will Come
Says everything I said above about Sam's heart being in two places.
![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
hobbit_het
Not only Sam/Rosie, obviously, but one of the places where you can find Sam/Rosie fic.
Non-fic links:
Nowhere Elaborated
A Rosie site. Especially check out the essay, Expecting You Since Spring, which says a lot of things that should have been said here, but I wasn't smart enough to write myself.
The Unpublished Epilogue, First Version
This is my favourite version, though the other one was Tolkien's. I haven't found that one online.
hyel] Title: Sam and Rosie - The Happy Ending
Author:
hyelFandom: Lord of the Rings
Pairing: Samwise Gamgee/Rosie Cotton
Rating: G
Spoilers: For the entire book, of course.
Author's Notes: It could be better. I have to admit I forgot this was due and had to write it in a hurry. Perhaps I'll expand on it and make it better later.
Sam and Rosie: the Happy Ending
Samwise
Samwise is a working class hobbit, a gardener, second youngest of six children, who lost his mother at a young age and was since raised by a father who, for all his good qualities, never flinched from calling Sam stupid. Sam believes this himself and often mentions it. Nonetheless he has a gift with pleasant rhymes and loves stories and romances, and there's no evidence he's any dumber than the next hobbit. He does have an innocence, eagerness, and straight-forwardness that might wrongly translate as stupidity.
The war of the ring and his soul-changing journey to Mordor and back with his master and friend Frodo brought out qualities in Sam that had never needed showing before: great courage, fighting instincts, iron resolve. It also deepened his affection for Frodo – for which we have clear evidence from the time before the quest, though the quality and depth of which is left to interpretation - to boundless love.
Although he bore many of the same rigours as Frodo on their journey – all, in fact, save the battle of wills against the Ring, though he shared that too for a short period of time – left Sam less changed than his master. Sam was not emotionally scarred, but rather strengthened by his experiences. He returned stronger, more assertive, but much the same otherwise: still straight-forward, still humble, and called to the profession of serving - though he in time expanded this to include servitude to the entire Shire rather than other individuals, by taking on the restoring of the Shire after the scouring, and later by becoming mayor of Hobbiton.
Sam has great reserves of love in him – for Frodo, for the Shire, for Rosie, and for the many friends they made on their journey. It's love also that made him the best fighter, as when he fought down the spider monster Shelob, but he's much better suited to tending living things, from plants to animals, people and communities.
Rosie
Rosie Cotton is a farmer's daughter, the only girl in a brood of five. Both her parents lived to see her come of age and marry. As a child she used to play in the river with her brothers and Sam; as an adult she took up feminine things, sewing and working in the house along with her mother. She and Sam were involved, perhaps even engaged, or at least had an understanding, before he left to follow Frodo on his quest. When the dark times came to the Shire, while he was away, she let go of hope of seeing him again, until one day – supposedly the day when the Ring was at last destroyed, on the other side of Middle-Earth – that she felt hope fill her, and she knew then he would return. When he did, she scolded him for taking his time, then called him very fine. They go on to marry.
Rosie is mentioned only once in the text before the hobbits return to the Shire, when Sam fondly remembers playing with her and her brothers in the Water, the river running by Hobbiton. (This is curious, since Sam is afraid of water.)
Their story, and Frodo
When Sam returns, one of the first things he does is ride to the Cotton farm, to rouse the Cottons, but also to see her, as Farmer Cotton seems to divine – at least that's my interpretation of the grin he sports when he asks after her and Mrs Cotton's safety. She tells him she's been expecting him home, and then rushes him back to Frodo's side, since there's an uprising in progress. She does stop to ask him to come back later, and tell him he looks very fine. Later, as Frodo praises Sam's bravery in foreign lands, her eyes shine, and he blushes, pleased.
Sam takes his time, as there is plenty of re-building to do, but once Bag End has been restored and Frodo moved in and comfortable, he asks for Rosie's hand in marriage. He tells Frodo about this when Frodo asks Sam to move in with him – no longer as nearly a servant as a precious friend, after their experiences together. Frodo then extends the invitation to Rosie, and the couple marries and moves in.
Their first child is a girl, so couldn't be named Frodo; instead, Frodo names her Elanor.
Frodo's illness drives him to the decision to leave for the Undying Lands, an honour bestowed to him because of his heroism in the War of the Ring. He makes a will to leave everything to Sam, though he doesn't tell him. Sam finds all this out only after they've ridden out of the Shire, on the way to the Grey Havens. On the shore he needs to make a choice between going with Frodo, whom he's never left, and staying home. Frodo orders him to stay, but Sam's never obeyed him before. This time, though, he would be leaving the Shire and his family, and that's too much even for his loyal heart. Frodo says Sam must be whole, not "torn in two", suggesting that he sees himself as an extra responsibility that Sam doesn't deserve.
There are a number of interpretations about this, of course, but I believe he was wrong, blinded by his own humility. It's removing himself that tears Sam in two – one half of his heart across the sea, one at home. Sam never remarks on that, but returns alone to his wife and daughter. Later, after Rosie's death, when all their children are grown, he himself leaves for the Grey Havens, and it is said that he found an Elven boat to take him to the Undying Lands and perhaps found Frodo again over the sea.
During their marriage, Sam became mayor seven times, and a father thirteen times. The unpublished epilogue gives us a glimpse of their happy married life; even so, Elanor refers to Frodo as Sam's lost treasure.
Not all ships have to sail
Sam and Rosie's relationship, as portrayed, seems to me to be simple and equal. They're both practical and yet romantic. (I base this interpretation of Rosie on the fact that after seeing her lover returned after years away, she still tells him to go back to work and get back to her later – hence practicality. On the other hand she's impressed and delighter by hearing he's a hero – romanticism!) Perhaps Rosie is less rules in her actions by her emotions, than Sam is – but this would indeed be necessary for the sensible running of the family.
The reason I love this pairing, simply put, is that Rosie is the real happy ending of The Lord of the Rings. I steal this way of putting it from Mary Borsellino's fic 'Pretty Good Year', but it's been true to me ever since I read the book, over thirteen years ago ago. The first thing I did as a young girl after putting the book down was draw Rosie and her children. It broke my heart that Frodo had to leave, but at least Sam could have the ending they both would have deserved. Having them both go would have been heart-breaking; having Sam stay with no beloved, no family, would have been even more so.
The fandom
When I first encountered LotR online fandom, specifically the hobbit fandom, which was soon after the first movie came out, there wasn't much shipping of Rosie and Sam around. It's understandable, considering the slash fandom is formidable online and, after all, Frodo and Sam's relationship is so much more integral in the book. I've always loved Frodo and Sam's relationship, but never considered it gay (though I noticed the possibility) before online fandom corrupted me. Nowadays I accept either interpretation, as long as no-one tries to claim Sam didn't love Rosie.
I was lucky to soon find people who appreciated Rosie as I did, but it was hard to define this group of people as a specific fandom. Then I discovered Mary's 'Pretty Good Year', which is all about Sam and Rosie's marriage – with the addition of Frodo. I was hooked, and formed fast friendships in the small fandom that had sprung around that one fic series. The fics contained everything I found so beautiful about Rosie, and a countless new things I had never considered. For anyone open to the idea of a Rosie-Sam-Frodo threesome, it's essential reading. Mary also has a website, Nowhere Elaborated, dedicated to the character of Rosie, which I highly recommend.
Links
Fic recommendations:
Pretty Good Year
Rosie/Sam/Frodo. So much brilliance, also in the stories by other authors.
Dana: Of the Sea
A heartbreaking vignette set near the end of Rosie's life.
Dana: Rain Will Come
Says everything I said above about Sam's heart being in two places.
hobbit_hetNot only Sam/Rosie, obviously, but one of the places where you can find Sam/Rosie fic.
Non-fic links:
Nowhere Elaborated
A Rosie site. Especially check out the essay, Expecting You Since Spring, which says a lot of things that should have been said here, but I wasn't smart enough to write myself.
The Unpublished Epilogue, First Version
This is my favourite version, though the other one was Tolkien's. I haven't found that one online.
no subject
no subject
Great essay, and thanks for respecting the Sam/Frodo shippers too. :*
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called to the profession of serving - though he in time expanded this to include servitude to the entire Shire
What a lovely way to put it!
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