Faithfulness in Middle Earth

How come everybody always forgets me in the list of traitors???

Er... my user name, at any rate. My poor, unappreciated traitor.... *pets him* People, in my opinion, tend to underrate his significance in the stories. So forgive me if I rant.

Gorlim's struggle with faithfulness is one of the most stirring in all the books, I think. He was faced with a choice between two loyalties: to his wife, or to his captain. He chose wrongly, and what does that say to us, the readers? It's a real pickle, to be sure; especially for those who read religious connotations in the works. Was Gorlim's betrayal an abandonment of chivalry? Was it foolishness? Or is Gorlim merely a character to be pitied for the torments he was put through? Or... can Gorlim be seen as a twisted sort of martyr? It is clear that he had to break *one* oath. He was given a choice to break the bonds of marraige by allowing himself to die, or to betray the faith of his Captain by revealing their hiding place at Tarn Aeluin.

I have not decided one way or another, but I would like to offer the speculation that in this specific case Tolkien is setting an example by having Gorlim remain faithful to his marraige before his Captain. Though the end was still death, he was martyred for the holier of the two bonds.