Last night I checked out Katy Bush's "Wuthering Heights" video and it's stuck in my head now.

I have a different interpretation of Katy's Cathy, but man... some of her lyrics, movements, and voice.... just hits it there. The haunting voice, the cloudy moors, the repetition of "Heathcliff, it's me, I'm Cathy, I've come home now/I'm so cold, let me in-a your window."

(Honestly my favourite Katy Bush's song so far, first got introduced to it when Horrible Histories parodied it with Queen Mary I.).

With it being Valentine’s Day today, I’ve obviously been thinking a lot about love and relationships, and not just the romantic kind. I thought Tolkien does us a good job at portrayed all of the kinds so I wanted to have a discussion!

Tolkien gives us a bit of romance, but he primarily centres the more deep emotional bonds in friendship, thinking of Frodo and Sam, Merry and Pippin, and the loyalty of the Fellowship itself. These relationships are built on devotion, some shared hardship, and choosing one another again and again and you know, sometimes with more emotional weight than the love stories we usually celebrate this time of year.

So I’m curious what others think:

How do Tolkien’s friendships compare to his romantic relationships? Do you think bonds like Frodo and Sam’s carry the same (or even greater) emotional importance than romances like say, Aragorn and Arwen’s? If not, why?

Could some of these friendships be read as “platonic love”? And if you think so, how does that broader definition of love deepen the story and the world of Middle-earth?

Valentine’s Day always tends to focus on romance, but lately I think it's been shifting away to celebrate all of the different types of love we feel. Tolkien does a great job at reminding us that love can look like loyalty, sacrifice, and walking beside someone to the very end. I’d love to hear your thoughts!!