Tom Bombadil


Vort
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Just finished my nightly reading from The Lord of the Rings to my twelve-year-old. We started The Hobbit early last month, and today we read Chapter 8 of The Fellowship. It's the chapter where the hobbits are taken by the barrow wight and saved by Tom Bombadil.

When I first read these books back around 1980, I remember skimming over the Tom Bombadil stuff. Kind of boring, or so I thought. When I read them again much later, to my older sons when they were still young (maybe 15 or so years ago), I enjoyed Tom a lot more. But on this reading, I remember so little that it's almost like I haven't read these before at all. And I'm enjoying Tom Bombadil a great deal more than ever before.

Here's the thing: My twelve-year-old loved it. He got really excited when Tom came to cast out the barrow-wight, literally jumping up and down, smiling and laughing in excitement. When I finished, he said, "That's my favorite chapter!" High praise indeed.

In the Vort household, Tom Bombadil is officially Awesome.

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6 hours ago, Vort said:

Just finished my nightly reading from The Lord of the Rings to my twelve-year-old. We started The Hobbit early last month, and today we read Chapter 8 of The Fellowship. It's the chapter where the hobbits are taken by the barrow wight and saved by Tom Bombadil.

When I first read these books back around 1980, I remember skimming over the Tom Bombadil stuff. Kind of boring, or so I thought. When I read them again much later, to my older sons when they were still young (maybe 15 or so years ago), I enjoyed Tom a lot more. But on this reading, I remember so little that it's almost like I haven't read these before at all. And I'm enjoying Tom Bombadil a great deal more than ever before.

Here's the thing: My twelve-year-old loved it. He got really excited when Tom came to cast out the barrow-wight, literally jumping up and down, smiling and laughing in excitement. When I finished, he said, "That's my favorite chapter!" High praise indeed.

In the Vort household, Tom Bombadil is officially Awesome.

I loved that part in the book. My dad read The Lord of the Rings to me when I was younger, and I always felt comforted by Tom Bombadil. The fact that the ring had no power over him, and that he had power over evil things always helped me believe (the first time the book was read to me of course, before I knew the ending☺) that Frodo would be successful, and that good would triumph no matter how bad things looked. I remember feeling relief when he forced Old Man Willow to release the hobbits, and later when Frodo calls for him in the barrow wight tomb and he hears him and comes to save them again. I especially love the scene you mentioned, where he uses his power to cast out the barrow wight. It just had a very, I don't know, gospel feel to it. I'm definitely reading it to my daughter when she's old enough.

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From what a friend of mine explained to me, Tom is somewhat symbolic of a Christ figure. That he is not just some half elf hair dwarf, but a god or something that only appears at the end of the world (and since the war if the ring was about to start, he showed up).

 

Could be making all that up, never read more than the Lord of The Rings series

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In Tolkienian mythology, Tom Bombadil is one of the Ainur, the spirits created by The One (Eru, or God) before Middle Earth was formed. Specifically, Tom Bombadil is one of the Maiar, the lesser (but still very powerful) type of these beings, as opposed to the Valar, the great angelic spirits (such as Manwë) that actually accomplished the creation.

We meet several Maiar in LoTR and The Hobbit, but we don't ever meet any Valar. Tom Bombadil and Goldberry are very powerful Maiar, as of course is Gandalf and the other wizards (Saruman and Radagast are the only other wizards actually featured in text). Sauron himself is an exceptionally powerful Maia, and other fell creatures like Shelob are ancient Maiar bound to their specific form.

I haven't told my son any of this, because it's irrelevant for a twelve-year-old. I want him to experience LoTR from a fresh perspective, based on Tolkien's context provided within the work itself, and not with a bunch of cheater knowledge. When we're done reading the books, I'll probably tell him about some of Tolkien's mythology, which I think is very interesting and even beautiful. I'll let him know who and what Gandalf and Tom Bombadil and such beings are. I do think it adds an element of insight and a dimension of fun to have this sort of "outside the novel" knowledge of things, but I don't want it to detract from the fun of the novels as they were written.

EDIT: FTR, in the past 4.5 years I have done a bit of research into who and what Tom Bombadil is, and I'm no longer nearly so confident in my statement above. Not sure I even believe it any more. Tom Bombadil seems to be Other. Still probably my favorite character, or at least one of my favorites, purely for literary reasons. (It's not like he has much to do in the story or figures into the plot at all, other than being an Enigma wrapped in a Riddle and lightly toasted with grated cheese sprinkled on top.)

Edited by Vort
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On 2/2/2019 at 4:57 PM, Vort said:

In Tolkienian mythology, Tom Bombadil is one of the Ainur, the spirits created by The One (Eru, or God) before Middle Earth was formed.

I think this is speculation on the part of readers - though it does make a lot of sense. I once found a list of alternative theories about who Bombadil is: one of them even suggested he was an embodiment of Iluvatar/Eru!

I always loved the "Barrow" episode too. Years ago I read a commentary of LOTR, which discussed the incantation of the Barrow-wight:

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"In the black wind the stars shall die,
and still on gold here let them lie,
till the dark lord lifts his hand
over dead sea and withered land"

The suggestion was that this is some twisted version of the Last Judgement - that the nations will one day be judged, not by Christ but by a "Dark Lord"; that is the ultimate future to which the dark beings of Middle-earth (Barrow-wights, Nazgul etc.) look forward.

But at the same time there is the impression Frodo gets from hearing the words:

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The night was railing against the morning of which it was bereaved, and the cold was cursing the warmth for which it hungered.

Tolkien knew well that it was possible to love and hate something simultaneously. We are attracted to the sins that ensnare us, and we do feel "pleasure" in our wickedness. (If you disagree then perhaps you're strong or fortunate enough never been in that position - I have.) And yet even at that low point we can feel a hunger for the light, which makes us hate the sins we have fallen into. And this in turn makes the darker side of us more angry and hateful of the light. We see exactly the same thing in Gollum:

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(Gandalf is talking) "Even Gollum was not wholly ruined ... There was a little corner of his mind that was still his own, and light came through it, as through a chink in the dark: light out of the past. It was actually pleasant, I think, to hear a kindly voice again, bringing up memories of wind, and trees, and sun on the grass, and such forgotten things. But that, of course, would only make the evil part of him angrier in the end - unless it could be conquered."

Even Frodo at the end - after all his trials and sufferings - discovers what it is to be sucked in, body and soul, by the darkness. But I know some people haven't read the books, so I'll post no spoilers!

Strange coincidence: last night before bed I got out my "special" LOTR copy. (It's a beautiful hard-bound single volume bought for me a few years ago by my daughter - printed on Bible-thin paper - not the tatty paperback copy more often read) opened it at random and read myself to sleep. I started with Merry and Pippin captured by the Orc-band and ended with them heading into the forest with Treebeard. And the strange thing was, the whole time I heard Tolkien's own voice reading it to me. (I have some recordings of him reading his poems aloud so I know what he sounded like.) That never happened before.

It was the first time I'd read LOTR for about 6 months at least. More recently I've been reading Karen Kingsbury aloud to my wife. (I would not normally read that sort of stuff for myself - but J likes it.)

Edited by Jamie123
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On 2/2/2019 at 9:57 AM, Vort said:

In Tolkienian mythology, Tom Bombadil is one of the Ainur, the spirits created by The One (Eru, or God) before Middle Earth was formed. Specifically, Tom Bombadil is one of the Maiar, the lesser (but still very powerful) type of these beings, as opposed to the Valar, the great angelic spirits (such as Manwë) that actually accomplished the creation.

Do I remember correctly that Sauron was a fallen Valar, while Shelob the spider and the Balrog were corrupted Maiar?

I need to re-read the Silmarilion.  I remember Galadriel was a very, very naughty teenager.  The Elf version of 'stealing daddy's car and getting in a wreck' is quite a story to read.

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1 minute ago, NeuroTypical said:

Do I remember correctly that Sauron was a fallen Valar, while Shelob the spider and the Balrog were corrupted Maiar?

I need to re-read the Silmarilion.  I remember Galadriel was a very, very naughty teenager.  The Elf version of 'stealing daddy's car and getting in a wreck' is quite a story to read.

IIRC (always an iffy proposition), Morgoth was originally the greatest or at least most complete and powerful of the Valar, and Sauron was a Maia who followed Morgoth. Morgoth is mentioned in LoTR as "the Great Enemy" in a chapter I just read to my son last night. (Varda is also mentioned as "Elbereth"; as far as I know, those are the only two Valar explicitly mentioned in the text of LoTR.)

6 hours ago, Jamie123 said:

I think this is speculation on the part of readers - though it does make a lot of sense. I once found a list of alternative theories about who Bombadil is: one of them even suggested he was an embodiment of Iluvatar/Eru!

I based my authoritative-sounding statement on stuff I read years ago and my own assumptions about what is right and reasonable, which goes something like this:

On the one hand, Tom Bombadil looks like a (short, stocky) man, but he is ageless. That means he is neither man nor dwarf. He clearly is not an elf; they don't recognize him as one of their own, and anyway he was around before the elves awoke. So Tom is in some ways obviously far greater and more powerful than men or even elves. That puts him in Ainur territory. On the other hand, Tom is clearly not a great power (Valar). Though he is very powerful, Tom is far too limited in scope, both in what he does and in what he considers his "domain", and never shows the kind of creative power or overawing majesty of one of the Valar. So by process of elimination, Tom is neither man nor elf and therefore Ainur, but not among the Valar so therefore Maia.

Also, if Tom were an embodiment of Eru (God) in any sense other than how you might say that any of the Ainur are "embodiments" of their Creator, then it would be strange that Tom was adjudged by Gandalf, himself a powerful Maia, and by the elves to be insufficiently responsible (or interested, or whatever word you want to use) to entrust the One Ring to. Plus it would seem strange for God to come along to save the hobbits from a malevolent willow tree and a barrow wight, but allow the One Ring and the great evil associated with it to wreak havoc in Middle Earth. (Though this brings up the seeming conundrum of the God of the Ten-Dollar Bill, which although a topic that always makes for a rollicking good time on a discussion list, I don't really want to consider here.)

(BTW, Jamie, it's very good to see you again, along with your intimidating Charles Atlas avatar.)

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@Vort this has inspired me to undertake and complete the Silmarillion. I started it as a teenager after reading LOTR and it seemed like the Bible of Middle Earth - I decided I should embark on scriptures that apply to me before reading one for a fictional narrative. In a sense I owe my testimony to Tolkien, because he took away my excuse that the standard works were just too large to read.

Have you read the more recently released Fall 0f Gondolin?

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10 minutes ago, SpiritDragon said:

Have you read the more recently released Fall 0f Gondolin?

Nope, haven't even heard of it. I did read the Silmarillion years ago, and skimmed it within the last four years or so. Despite the apparent ridiculousness of the work on its face--a book of pseudo- ancient lore and language about elves and dwarves, made up out of whole cloth by some random guy--I found it both entertaining and inspiring, with unexpected depth and even beauty.

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It’s been a long time since I’ve read Tolkien. It’s time to pull out my books and reread them. I don’t know how any of you remember any of what you posted. My husband has a good memory for detail. I’m lucky if I remember the gist after I finish the last page.

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https://www.amazon.com/Fall-Gondolin-J-R-R-Tolkien/dp/1328613046

For the convenience of any who would like more Tolkien to read. I had seen references to this book in The Lost Tales Part 1, but only recently realized it was actually released as a stand alone book in 2018 which will surely have much more detail than the brief coverage given to the matter in the Silmarillion which you can listen to here:

 

 

Edited by SpiritDragon
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8 hours ago, Vort said:

Nope, haven't even heard of it. I did read the Silmarillion years ago, and skimmed it within the last four years or so. Despite the apparent ridiculousness of the work on its face--a book of pseudo- ancient lore and language about elves and dwarves, made up out of whole cloth by some random guy--I found it both entertaining and inspiring, with unexpected depth and even beauty.

The Silmarillion is a bit of a disappointment if you come to it expecting more LOTR. I felt that way when I first read it myself at 19, but I soon got attuned to the different style of storytelling. It's a wonderful book, but when you read Unfinished Tales and the The Book of Lost Tales you soon see how poor it is compared to the full glory of Tolkien's vision. Of Tuor and the Fall of Gondolin (as it appears in the the Silmarillion) is a poor shadow of Of Tuor and his Coming to Gondolin (in Unfinished Tales) and the wonderfully detailed version of The Fall of Gondolin in Lost Tales. I've not yet read the standalone Fall of Gondolin  but it sounds like Christopher Tolkien has at last bolted these two works together to create a complete narrative - and I think it's about time!

I did however read The Children of Hurin which I had long thought should be a standalone book. The version in Unfinished Tales - called Narn i Chin Hurin - has a huge gap in it, which Christopher seems to have filled from other sources. However, I thought it lacked somewhat the power of the Unfinished Tales version, as it includes a full description of the Nirnaeth Arnoediad, the "Battle of Unnumbered Tears" where Hurin is defeated and imprisoned by Morgoth. In Unfinished Tales the story cuts abruptly from Hurin and his warriors riding valiantly out to war, to the defeated Hurin's capture. I think the detailed description of the battle takes something away from that - though perhaps you only feel that if you read it through the lens of the Silmarillion and know in advance the outcome of the battle.

I also understand Christopher Tolkien has released Beren and Luthien as a standalone book too - which I'm looking forward to reading some day.

Returning to Tom Bombadil: while its difficult to place him in the fictional universe (though I agree with you Vort that he is most likely a Maia) he is actually one of the simplest of characters to explain. He was originally a doll belonging to Tolkien's daughter, whom he (Tolkien) made up stories about to amuse his children. These became The Adventures of Tom Bombadil and Bombadil Goes Boating. You can well imagine Tolkien, wanting an "adventure along the way" for the Hobbits between The Shire and Bree, and his children's doll popping into his head.

Of course, the Bombadil stories were later canonized into the Middle-earth universe, as poems written by the East-Shire Hobbits about Tom Bombadil whom some of them (like Farmer Maggot) knew well. I have a rather nice copy of that book somewhere - illustrated by Pauline Baynes. I love Baynes' illustrations - but it's always puzzled me why she never drew Hobbits with hairy feet! It's not even as if she couldn't have known - she and Tolkien were great friends! (Nowadays she tends to be associated more with C.S. Lewis, though she only ever met him once, and from what I gather they didn't especially hit it off!)

Now, having finished my morning drone I'm going to do some work! :)

P.S. Be sure to read the version of the Hurin/Turin legend in Lost Tales (vol.2) - it has quite a different flavour from any of the other versions, and  (to my mind) seems a lot more real and shocking.

Edited by Jamie123
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