The Riddle of Tom Bombadil
I just read the Fellowship of the Ring (again, because I've lost count how many times I've reread LotR), and spent quite a lot of time going over the parts about Tom Bombadil. And I realized something: Tom Bombadil is the prevailing mystery in Tolkien's work. While almost every other aspect of Middle-earth is described in exacting detail, Tom is an enigma. There are almost no clues of his origins or his fate, his purpose or even what kind of being he is.
I mean, Tom is most definitely not a Man, a Hobbit, a Dwarf, or indeed of any mortal kind, and it can also be taken for granted, for obvious reasons, that he is not an Orc, a Troll, a Goblin, an Ent, a Dragon or an Eagle.
So, is Tom an Elf? His capering, his wisdom, his great age and his love of song undoubtedly give him a certainly 'Elvish' quality. This possibility though, is easily disproved by the following (coming from Tom himself); 'When the Elves passed westward, Tom was here already...' This is, accidently, proof of Tom's great age - the Elves 'passed westward' in the Great Journey some six Ages before Tom spoke these words.
Okay, not an Elf then. Is Tom a Maia? That would not make sense, one of the main reasons being that the Ring had no effect on him. There were other mighty Maiar in Middle-earth at the time of the War of the Ring, especially Sauron, Saruman and Gandalf, and all of these were in some sense under the power of the Ring. Yet Tom is unaffected by its power of invisibility, nor does he feel any desire to keep it (he hands it back to Frodo 'with a smile').
Probably not a Maia, then. Is Tom a Vala? The last of Tolkien's named races (using the term loosely) that might include Tom is that of the Valar, the Powers of the World. However, we know the names of all the Valar, and Tom isn't among them. This doesn't hold water, though, because we're specifically told that the Valar had many different names among the different races and cultures of Middle-earth, while of Tom himself it is said, '[Bombadil] was not then his name. Iarwain Ben-adar we called him, oldest and fatherless. But many another name he has since been given by other folk...' So it isn't inconceivable that Tom is one of the fourteen known Valar. However, one of the most significant difficult with this is Tom saying, 'Eldest, that's what I am... Tom remembers the first raindrop and the first acorn... He knew the dark under the stars when it was fearless - before the Dark Lord came from Outside.' All of the beings who became Valar existed before Arda was made, so any of them could with justification claim the title 'Eldest'. But Tom says he 'knew the dark under the stars' (that is, he was in the World, not outside it) 'before the Dark Lord came from Outside'. The term 'Dark Lord' is uncertain here - it might apply to either Melkor or Sauron, and both originally came from 'Outside' the World. If he means Melkor, then this is very significant: consider this description of the entry of the Valar into the World, from the original conception of the Silmarillion: 'Now swiftly as they fared, Melkor was there before them...' 'They' here refers to Manwë and Varda, who were explicitly the first Valar to enter Arda apart from Melkor. In Silmarillion, Melkor was the first being from 'Outside' to enter the World, and yet Tom suggests that he was already here when Melkor arrived!
Admittedly Tom may be referring to Sauron, who must have come into Arda after these great ones, but the phrase 'before the Dark Lord came from Outside' seems to make more sense if he means Melkor, the first Dark Lord (that is, he is referring to an event of cosmic significance, and a specific point in the World's history, which isn't the case with Sauron). This is only one of the objections to the Vala theory. Another, for example, is that characters who we would expect to recognize a Vala living in their midst (especially Gandalf) don't apparently do so.
A Vala can be ruled out, then. Now for the most startling one: is Tom Ilúvatar Himself? Tom's powers are apparently limitless, at least within his own domain, and this led me to thinking that he might be none other than Eru Ilúvatar himself. There are certainly several hints in the text of The Lord of the Rings that this might be the case; he is called 'Master', and 'Eldest', and Goldberry says of him simply; 'He is.' All of these points might suggest that Tom and Ilúvatar are in some sense the same being. However, then I clearly remembered that this point is touched several times in Tolkien's letters, and each time he makes it clear that Tom and Eru should not be confused.
Damn, that was my favorite theory. Not Ilúvatar then. Perhaps Tom is a representation of Arda itself? I like that theory, as well.
I, for one, is satisfied to leave Tom as the enigma he is. Part of the wonder of Tolkien's world is its depth and detail, but it needs its mysteries and unknowns too: if we knew everything about the World of Arda and its inhabitants, there would be no joy of exploration and discovery. If nothing else, Tom Bombadil stands proudly as a symbol of the mysterious, and I am glad that he does.
Fucking hell, this almost turned into an essay! If you read it all without having yawned once, you can give yourself a cookie.
Also, hehe, I'd completely forgotten how many twins there are in Tolkien's world. My favorite pair is Elladan & Elrohir, followed by Elrond & Elros. So many twins I can play around with because, like Evan Rosier said, twins are the most delightful of toys. (And I just realized that that's not a canon quote. Oh well, I always loved L's Rosier while JKR hardly dedicated a sentence to him.)
I mean, Tom is most definitely not a Man, a Hobbit, a Dwarf, or indeed of any mortal kind, and it can also be taken for granted, for obvious reasons, that he is not an Orc, a Troll, a Goblin, an Ent, a Dragon or an Eagle.
So, is Tom an Elf? His capering, his wisdom, his great age and his love of song undoubtedly give him a certainly 'Elvish' quality. This possibility though, is easily disproved by the following (coming from Tom himself); 'When the Elves passed westward, Tom was here already...' This is, accidently, proof of Tom's great age - the Elves 'passed westward' in the Great Journey some six Ages before Tom spoke these words.
Okay, not an Elf then. Is Tom a Maia? That would not make sense, one of the main reasons being that the Ring had no effect on him. There were other mighty Maiar in Middle-earth at the time of the War of the Ring, especially Sauron, Saruman and Gandalf, and all of these were in some sense under the power of the Ring. Yet Tom is unaffected by its power of invisibility, nor does he feel any desire to keep it (he hands it back to Frodo 'with a smile').
Probably not a Maia, then. Is Tom a Vala? The last of Tolkien's named races (using the term loosely) that might include Tom is that of the Valar, the Powers of the World. However, we know the names of all the Valar, and Tom isn't among them. This doesn't hold water, though, because we're specifically told that the Valar had many different names among the different races and cultures of Middle-earth, while of Tom himself it is said, '[Bombadil] was not then his name. Iarwain Ben-adar we called him, oldest and fatherless. But many another name he has since been given by other folk...' So it isn't inconceivable that Tom is one of the fourteen known Valar. However, one of the most significant difficult with this is Tom saying, 'Eldest, that's what I am... Tom remembers the first raindrop and the first acorn... He knew the dark under the stars when it was fearless - before the Dark Lord came from Outside.' All of the beings who became Valar existed before Arda was made, so any of them could with justification claim the title 'Eldest'. But Tom says he 'knew the dark under the stars' (that is, he was in the World, not outside it) 'before the Dark Lord came from Outside'. The term 'Dark Lord' is uncertain here - it might apply to either Melkor or Sauron, and both originally came from 'Outside' the World. If he means Melkor, then this is very significant: consider this description of the entry of the Valar into the World, from the original conception of the Silmarillion: 'Now swiftly as they fared, Melkor was there before them...' 'They' here refers to Manwë and Varda, who were explicitly the first Valar to enter Arda apart from Melkor. In Silmarillion, Melkor was the first being from 'Outside' to enter the World, and yet Tom suggests that he was already here when Melkor arrived!
Admittedly Tom may be referring to Sauron, who must have come into Arda after these great ones, but the phrase 'before the Dark Lord came from Outside' seems to make more sense if he means Melkor, the first Dark Lord (that is, he is referring to an event of cosmic significance, and a specific point in the World's history, which isn't the case with Sauron). This is only one of the objections to the Vala theory. Another, for example, is that characters who we would expect to recognize a Vala living in their midst (especially Gandalf) don't apparently do so.
A Vala can be ruled out, then. Now for the most startling one: is Tom Ilúvatar Himself? Tom's powers are apparently limitless, at least within his own domain, and this led me to thinking that he might be none other than Eru Ilúvatar himself. There are certainly several hints in the text of The Lord of the Rings that this might be the case; he is called 'Master', and 'Eldest', and Goldberry says of him simply; 'He is.' All of these points might suggest that Tom and Ilúvatar are in some sense the same being. However, then I clearly remembered that this point is touched several times in Tolkien's letters, and each time he makes it clear that Tom and Eru should not be confused.
Damn, that was my favorite theory. Not Ilúvatar then. Perhaps Tom is a representation of Arda itself? I like that theory, as well.
I, for one, is satisfied to leave Tom as the enigma he is. Part of the wonder of Tolkien's world is its depth and detail, but it needs its mysteries and unknowns too: if we knew everything about the World of Arda and its inhabitants, there would be no joy of exploration and discovery. If nothing else, Tom Bombadil stands proudly as a symbol of the mysterious, and I am glad that he does.
Fucking hell, this almost turned into an essay! If you read it all without having yawned once, you can give yourself a cookie.
Also, hehe, I'd completely forgotten how many twins there are in Tolkien's world. My favorite pair is Elladan & Elrohir, followed by Elrond & Elros. So many twins I can play around with because, like Evan Rosier said, twins are the most delightful of toys. (And I just realized that that's not a canon quote. Oh well, I always loved L's Rosier while JKR hardly dedicated a sentence to him.)
Kommentarer
Trackback
