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[Eurytus]

To be honest I have always felt that Tolkien somehow felt more threatened by Muir’s comments on the “Boy’s own” nature of the book and the lack of any real men/women relationships than he did from any other criticism.
Having read his letters it seemed apparent to me that Tolkiens comments on Muir were exceptionally vitriolic, especially by his own rather mild standards. The fact that he also did not specifically refute anything Muir had said with examples (which he was normally happy to do) makes me think that he felt more threatened by this criticism than by others. Perhaps because he felt in his heart that Muir had a point.
I certainly think he had a point. There is nothing wrong in having a “boy’s own” type of story. Many stories are. There is likewise nothing wrong in having a story totally dominated by the male gender, again many are. Lawrence or Arabia being a classic case in point.
However when you refer to a love that is the main driving force behind the character after which the 3rd book is titled then I think you have to make it believable. And I think that Tolkien failed here. It is no more believable than Mallory’s Arthurian tales of chivalry.
It might be possible to look into Tolkien’s life and find reasons for this. He certainly seems to have sought the companionship of men, and various “brotherhoods” were of supreme importance to him.
I don’t really believe that he was capable of writing the romance side of the book any differently. I don’t know if he had it in him so to speak. But it is interesting to me that the most developed “love story” in the book is Frodo and Sam’s. It may be platonic in nature but it is far more believable than Aragorn/Arwen.