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Sam felt that he could sit like that in endless happiness; but it was not allowed. It was not enough for him to find his master, he had still to try and save him. He kissed Frodo’s forehead. ‘Come! Wake up, Mr. Frodo!’ he said, trying to sound as cheerful as he had when he drew back the curtains at Bag End on a summer’s morning.

This heavily suggests that Sam commonly "drew back the curtains" in Frodo's room back home, to wake him up, in the manner that one would assume that a butler/servant would for a rich person who has them hired to do all sorts of tasks to help them in general.

It does not sound like a pure gardener who is just keeping Frodo's garden trimmed.

This seems to conflict with what I thought I knew about Sam, and even with posts I've read here in the past.

What actually is Sam's relation to Frodo?

TheLethalCarrot
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Joeray G.
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    related https://scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/11113/why-does-samwise-gamgee-call-frodo-baggins-mr-frodo – Mithoron Jul 27 '22 at 15:42
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    Well, he was more than just a gardener, he was as much of a friend he could be while still being "a servant". – Mithoron Jul 27 '22 at 15:45

1 Answers1

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The early chapters of LoTR have a fairly strange depiction of Frodo's life in Bag End, which clearly dates from their origin as a sequel to The Hobbit rather than the much more serious work that it later developed into.

The initial chapter of The Hobbit, "An Unexpected Party", notably has Bilbo running around ragged trying to fetch food and drinks for all the dwarves that turn up; no sign of any servants at all. And similarly "A Long-Expected Party" in LoTR makes no mention of any servants in Bag End, just that the Gaffer looked after the garden and Sam was starting to take over.

But already by chapter 3, as part of Frodo's purported move to Buckland he is to be accompanied by Sam who will "do for Mr Frodo and look after his bit of garden". If Frodo in a small cottage in Buckland needs someone to "do for" him, why did he not in the much bigger Bag End?

And in the final chapter, The Grey Havens, Frodo encourages Sam and Rosie to move in with him, where they are basically the housekeepers, and it is noted that "there was not a hobbit in the Shire that was looked after with such care". Again, there is no reference to why Frodo needed "looking after" at that point and not before.

So, there isn't really any answer to your question from the book itself; it's just an inconsistency.

Daniel Roseman
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  • It is definite in The Hobbit that Bilbo has no servants who work in his hole. He has to clean up all fourteen visitors' breakfast dishes himself. – Buzz Jul 27 '22 at 16:59
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    I don't think servants for the gentry were on Tolkien's mind any more than the immense amount of labor -- close to half the population's -- needed to clothe people in the pre-industrial era. The small inconsistencies are myriad, but inconsequential. – Mark Olson Jul 27 '22 at 19:28
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    Yes, I've said here before that the economics of Middle-Earth makes no sense at all. – Daniel Roseman Jul 27 '22 at 19:36
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    It's just an excuse to bring Sam with Frodo. It doesn't have to be perfect. Apparently Frodo wasn't planning to live in Buckland. People's lifestyle changes, I didn't need a sitter, now I need one, having suffered too much. It doesn't sound like inconsistency to me. – Eugene Jul 28 '22 at 02:47
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    I don't think Frodo asked Sam to move in because he "needed looking after". Frodo offered Sam a big Smial and in the end made Sam his heir. Sam and Rose looked after Frodo in return. And I don't think Sam and Rose would let Frodo do the cooking, laundry, and stuff, even if he used to. Frodo got looked after as a consequence of living with a married couple. – Eugene Jul 28 '22 at 02:53
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    "Again, there is no reference to why Frodo needed "looking after" at that point and not before." I would argue that Frodo needed help after his ordeal with the ring. It did take a while between the Scouring of the Shire and this point, but Frodo could have been insistent that he could take care of himself (though I may be projecting frustrations with an elderly parent doing the same). – sharur Jul 28 '22 at 05:24
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    I thought Frodo wanted Sam to come along because he had overheard the conversation with Gandalf about the ring. But I may be misremembering. – Lykanion Jul 28 '22 at 07:51
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    @Lykanion I think you're right. As I recall Sam was supposed to be cutting the grass outside the window but Gandalf noticed he was unusually quiet, leading to his realisation that Sam was eavesdropping. It turned out that Sam, Merry and Pippin had realised their friend Frodo was planning something big and had been doing their best to find out what, with the aim of joining in and/or helping. – Pastychomper thanks Monica Jul 28 '22 at 11:27
  • Yes but these comments are missing the point. We know Frodo wasn't really settling down in Buckland, and we know Sam was going with him because he overheard the conversation. But this isn't relevant to whether he was a servant before then, or simply a gardener. – Daniel Roseman Jul 28 '22 at 12:41
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    @sharur - indeed, and on the anniversaries of Weathertop he clearly needed help. – Jon Custer Jul 28 '22 at 14:34
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    The Hobbit "notably has Bilbo running around ragged trying to fetch food and drinks for all the dwarves that turn up; no sign of any servants at all." But Bilbo, while a land owner, was not fabulously wealthy until he came back again (i.e. with chests of silver and gold). So perhaps his economic fortune allowed him to subsequently hire servants? – Lexible Jul 28 '22 at 16:26
  • Service was still a thing back then, especially in a story like this. – RonJohn Jul 28 '22 at 23:58
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    There's a difference between being "someone's servant" and doing a bit of groundskeeping for them, even if you do live with them. I think it's safe to say Sam is neither exclusively a gardener nor a general servant. – Darren Ringer Jul 29 '22 at 13:10