Tom Bombadil

Tom Bombadil is a fictional character of Middle-earth, created by J. R. R. Tolkien. He first appears in Tolkien's fantasy epic The Lord of the Rings, first published in 1954 and 1955. In the first volume, The Fellowship of the Ring, Frodo and his company first meet Bombadil in the Old Forest. He also appears in The Adventures of Tom Bombadil, a book of verse first published in 1962, purported to contain a selection of Hobbit poems, two of which were about him.

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In The Lord of the Rings

He is quite a mysterious figure living a day's journey from the nearest settlement with his wife, Goldberry, "Daughter of the River". She describes him as being "Master of wood, water and hill." He nearly always speaks in stress-timed metre, or sings in the same rhythm: a 7-beat lines broken into groups of 4 and 3. His appearance lasts only two chapters, but behind Bombadil's simple façade there are hints of great knowledge and power. He remains highly mysterious, partly resulting from the fact that his character is the one exception to the narrative omnipotence that characterizes the rest of the novel. Tom Bombadil is the only major character about whom the narrative voice provides no personal thoughts, feelings or insights.

After Merry and Pippin are trapped and squeezed by Old Man Willow, Frodo cries for help, and Tom appears. He commands Old Man Willow to release them, and he shelters the hobbits in his house for a while. Here it is revealed that the Ring has no power over him. He can see Frodo while he is wearing the Ring (who remains invisible to most others) and he does not turn invisible when he wears the Ring himself.

Before sending them on their way, he teaches them a rhyme to summon him if ever they fall into danger inside his borders again. This proves to be fortunate, as the four soon encounter Barrow-wights at the Barrow-downs. After Tom saves them from the Barrow-wights, he gives each of them a long dagger taken from the treasure in the barrows. As the hobbits finally leave the Old Forest, he takes his leave of them, as he will not pass the borders of his own land, but before he goes he directs them to The Prancing Pony inn at Bree.

Tom's gift of the Barrow-blades would have far-reaching consequences, as Merry used his to wound, weaken and distract the Witch-king of Angmar at the Battle of the Pelennor Fields; it turned out that the blades were especially endowed with spells intended for his harm. Without Merry's blade, Éowyn probably would not have managed to kill him. Template:Endspoiler

In adaptations

In most film and radio adaptations of the story, Bombadil is notable by his absence (an exception are the Mind's Eye recordings). Both Ralph Bakshi and Peter Jackson have stated that the reason the character was omitted from their films was because, in their view, he does little to advance the story, having little to do with the Ring storyline, and serves little purpose when it comes to getting the hobbits to Rivendell or constructing the Fellowship. Some of Bombadil's dialogue, as well as the scene in which the hobbits meet Old Man Willow, are transplanted into the scenes that Merry and Pippin share with Treebeard in Jackson's adaptation, included in the extended edition DVD.

During the Fan Credits' Audio Commentary on the extended edition DVD of The Fellowship of the Ring, Elijah Wood pays a small homage to Tom Bombadil, by giving a "shout out" to him. Elijah then also takes note of his absence.

See also: The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien, with special reference to Letters 144 and 153.

Tom Bombadil's nature

He was a spry fellow, and would bring many a laugh to most who came across him. Only the sternest of faces could resist cracking a smirk at his rhymes. It seems his only adversary is Old Man Willow, who holds dominion over miles of Tom's "country". Tom Bombadil's origins in the cosmology of Middle-earth have puzzled even erudite fans, as he is arguably the only character in Tolkien's entire legendarium who does not neatly fit into any of the categories of beings Tolkien created. Speculative ideas about his true nature range from simply a wise Elven hermit to an angelic being (a Maia or Vala), to the creator, who is called Eru Ilúvatar in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. Tolkien explicitly denied this last possibility. He is the reprise of a character from an earlier, unrelated Tolkien poem.

In other opinions Tom could possibly be seen as a Jack in the Green character, with a Green Man motif, a creature from ancient mythology. This would be because of his care for the vegetation and his command over Old Man Willow who when asked to let go of Merry and Pippin, after Tom 'sings his roots off', he falls asleep and Merry and Pippin are set free.

The evidence tends to suggest that Bombadil was simply an anomaly; a character inserted by Tolkien into the Lord of the Rings for reasons ultimately known only to himself, and who genuinely had no causal relationship with Arda or the beings that created it beyond the specific incidents where Bombadil is described. Given that Tolkien was fastidious in explaining the origin and relation of every other element of his legendarium, it is possible that Bombadil represented his one indulgence outside that discipline, in the sense that Bombadil was simply there, and there was no real explanation for his presence.

One popular theory is that Bombadil is a Maia, as Tom seems to have unlimited supernatural power inside the boundaries that he set for himself, and perhaps the reason why he has such powers is the fact that he is content to live within these limits. "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." The Dark Lord Bombadil refers to is probably Melkor and not Sauron. But in that case, Tom was already there even before the Valar entered the world, dismissing the theory that he is a Maia. Another argument against the Maia theory is his immunity to the corrupting power of the One Ring, whereas both Saruman and Gandalf, both Maiar, were clearly not immune. In addition, he is eager to protect the Hobbits from danger within his own domain, yet is completely indifferent to the threat to Middle-earth as a whole, which is paradoxical and also uncharacteristic of a Maia.

The possibility that Bombadil is a Vala might account for the Ring's lack of influence over him. The strongest possible candidate for Bombadil among the Valar (given his temperament) is Aulë. Descriptions of Tom's wife Goldberry have many similarities to the Vala Yavanna. Yavanna is Aulë's wife among the Valar. Bombadil's interest in the Ring—but his lack of desire to possess or wield it—fits with Aulë's character. Aulë is one who desires to create, but not to possess. Bombadil-as-Aulë also makes an interesting moral counterpoint to Sauron and Saruman who were originally Maiar in Aulë's service. Bombadil's interest in Hobbits also mirrors Aulë's interest in the free peoples of Middle-earth—illustrated by his creation of the Dwarves. One possible argument against this theory, however, is dialogue from The Fellowship of the Rings suggesting that Bombadil was in existence before the Valar entered the world (it is worth noting that the distinction between Middle-earth and Arda as a whole is unclear in this statement). Also, in The Silmarillion, while most of the Valar enter into Eä at once, much of the fashioning of the world is accomplished before Melkor arrives to survey their work. Finally, at the Council of Elrond, Gandalf mentions that if Tom were entrusted with the Ring, Sauron would simply destroy everybody else and then Tom himself would fall, "Last as he was first." The Valar, being truly immortal, would not be likely to fall due to the mortal efforts of Sauron's minions.

Bombadil could be part of the Music of the Ainur, which would explain why he was there in the beginning, but if he was indeed part of the music, it is not said why he exists. Everything in the music had a purpose, and Bombadil's is not explained.

Other possibilities (compatible with the above theory) are that he is an abstract, a concept: possibly the embodiment of Arda itself, a "Father Nature," or some kind of 'spirit' that (unlike the Maiar) was of non-divine nature. Not only does the Ring have no effect on him, Tom himself seems unable to affect the Ring in return which shows that Tom was outside the divine plan and struggle and had no position in it. It should be noted that while Tom has ultimate control over his domain he seems to be restricted to defending his own lands. This makes him a sort of guardian and keeper of those lands. Tolkien may have meant for this to a symbol of hope that as long as there is good in middle earth Tom will exist.

Another possibility for Tom Bombadil's nature arises from careful reading of the Ainulindalë, when Eru Ilúvatar proclaims, "Let these things Be! And I will send forth into the Void the Flame Imperishable, and it shall be at the heart of the world, and the World shall Be." It is a possibility that Tom Bombadil is some sort of guardian or protector of the Imperishable Flame. If one considers Bombadil's constant reference to "water, wood, and hill," three common motifs Tolkien uses to describe Middle-earth, it is possible to see how Bombadil is an encapsulation of Arda as it should be. There is substantial debate among those who choose this view regarding the exact nature of the Flame itself, yet it is another possibility that must be considered.

Gandalf calls Tom Bombadil the eldest being in existence; this is also evident by his Sindarin name Iarwain Ben-adar (Eldest and Fatherless). Dwarves called him Forn (Scandinavian, meaning "Ancient" or "Belonging to the distant past"), Men Orald. All these names apparently mean "Eldest." However, Treebeard calls himself the eldest living being of Middle-earth and that he was there before anyone else. Bombadil is just called the "eldest." If Tom Bombadil is indeed not a normal being, but rather a supernatural being or "concept" this is not necessarily a contradiction (Treebeard is likely the oldest living being, while Bombadil could be an older supernatural being). Concerning Treebeard, Tolkien remarked: "[Treebeard] is a character in my story and even he does not know everything." It is possible, then, that Treebeard's knowledge omits Bombadil. Whatever the case, Tom Bombadil was almost certainly created to be an enigma.

In reference to Bombadil, Tolkien himself said that some things should remain mysterious in any narrative, hidden even to its inventor. He also placed the fate of the Entwives in this category, as well as the Cats of Queen Berúthiel, although hints of the latter story have emerged in posthumously released materials.

It is clear, though, that Bombadil was not, in Tolkien's conception, part of Middle-earth from the start. He was invented in honour of his children's Dutch doll, about whom Tolkien would invent stories. These predate the writing of The Lord of the Rings. Tom Bombadil was, however, part of The Lord of the Rings from the earliest drafts. Another theory is that Bombadil symbolizes the reader of the books. For full details, see the link below titled "Bombadil Discovered." This tactic, although slightly incongruous with Tolkien's philosophy of world-creation and dislike of allegory, still provides an interesting insight into the nature of Tom Bombadil.

It could be, however, that he is simply a law unto himself. When the hobbits initially arrive at the house of Tom Bombadil and Frodo asks Goldberry who Tom Bombadil is she replies "He is... ...He is, as you have seen him." Then later Frodo asks Tom himself who he is and he replies "Don't you know my name yet? That's the only answer."

Letter

In response to a letter Tolkien received from one of his readers, he described Tom's role in The Lord of the Rings:

"Tom Bombadil is not an important person — to the narrative. I suppose he has some importance as a 'comment.' I mean, I do not really write like that: he is just an invention (who first appeared in The Oxford Magazine about 1933), and he represents something that I feel important, though I would not be prepared to analyze the feeling precisely. I would not, however, have left him in, if he did not have some kind of function."

Tolkien did go on to analyze the character's role further :

"I might put it this way. The story is cast in terms of a good side, and a bad side, beauty against ruthless ugliness, tyranny against kingship, moderated freedom with consent against compulsion that has long lost any object save mere power, and so on; but both sides in some degree, conservative or destructive, want a measure of control. But if you have, as it were, taken 'a vow of poverty', renounced control, and take your delight in things for themselves without reference to yourself, watching, observing, and to some extent knowing, then the questions of the rights and wrongs of power and control might become utterly meaningless to you, and the means of power quite valueless...

"It is a natural pacifist view, which always arises in the mind when there is a war... the view of Rivendell seems to be that it is an excellent thing to have represented, but that there are in fact things with which it cannot cope; and upon which its existence nonetheless depends. Ultimately only the victory of the West will allow Bombadil to continue, or even to survive. Nothing would be left for him in the world of Sauron."

Quotes

"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." — The Fellowship of the Ring

"Hey dol! merry dol! ring a dong dillo!/ Ring a dong! hop along! fal lal the willow!/ Tom Bom, jolly Tom, Tom Bombadillo!" — The Fellowship of the Ring

"Old Tom Bombadil is a merry fellow / Bright blue his jacket is and his boots are yellow / None has ever caught him yet, for Tom he is the master / His songs are stronger songs and his feet are faster." - The Fellowship of the Ring

Portrayals

File:Bombadil.jpg

Tom Bombadil as depicted in The Lord of the Rings Trading Card Game.

Although Tom Bombadil was not portrayed in Peter Jackson's film trilogy of The Lord of the Rings, The Lord of the Rings Trading Card Game, by Decipher, Inc. (which had full use of Weta Workshop props and costumes), does contain a Tom Bombadil card. The model portraying Bombadil on this card is Harry Wellerchew.

Bombadil has also appeared in a number of other adaptations, including the Mind's Eye radio adaptation. He was played by Norman Shelley in the 1955–6 BBC radio adaptation of The Lord of the Rings. Of note, Tom Bombadil makes an appearance in EA Games' The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II as a summonable hero for the forces of good.

Influence

Nickel Creek, an American bluegrass / newgrass trio, released an acoustic instrumental tune called "House of Tom Bombadil" on their self-titled album in 2000.

Tom Bombadil is a Spanish Celtic folk band from Castellón de la Plana.

External links

• Entry in the Encyclopedia of Arda (a concise overview of the discussion)
• What is Tom Bombadil? by Steuard Jensen (a detailed explanation)
• Who is Tom Bombadil? by Gene Hargrove (a somewhat unorthodox but well-presented essay)
• Count, Count, Weigh, Divide discusses Tom Bombadil's moral aspects at length
• images of Tom Bombadil
• The Truth About Tom Bombadil is a rather silly theory about Tom's true identity (originally posted in rec.arts.books.tolkien).
• Bombadil Discovered by Barb Beier (a unique and compelling theory concerning the identity of Tom Bombadil)