Pierce Arnold - Requirements of the Second Self Motif 4/27/2026

A great example of the second self motif that we didn’t really discuss in class I think can be found in The Lord of The Rings. I need to be careful to not conflate the second self motif with just a generally strong friendship, because I think there is a difference between two people who share a close bond and a true second self relationship. That being said, I think it is fairly straightforward to claim that Sam is the second self of Frodo. After all, he compliments Frodo very well by supporting and challenging him throughout the series. What I don’t know is whether other relationships like Legolas and Gimli would count as the second self motif as well. Of course Legolas and Gimli develop a strong friendship, and of course they represent very different cultures, worldviews, and even races. But is that enough to establish a second self motif? Somewhere there has to be a line between a strong friendship between people who are very different, and the actual motif of the second self. Unless there isn’t and those are just the same thing. Assuming they’re not, however, what makes the difference? It could very well be that the answer to my question was given in the assigned readings and I have simply since forgotten, but it is still an interesting thing to discuss. One question that I absolutely still have, perhaps simply due to another lack of memory of the text, is, does there have to be a “primary” character for there to be a second version of that self? Or more explicitly, does the motif only work if I can choose either Legolas or Gimli to be the person for which the other can be the second self?

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