Tom Bombadil/Nature

2011-09-06T13:15:42Z

79.184.181.125: /* Tom as Eru */

[[Image:John Howe - Tom Bombadil.jpg|thumb|''Tom Bombadil'' by [[John Howe]].]]
{{quote|He is a strange creature|[[Elrond]], ''[[The Council of Elrond]]''}}
Tom Bombadil's mythological origins in the internal cosmology of [[Middle-earth]] have puzzled even erudite fans. For example the fact that the Ring had no power on Tom would either suggest that Tom existed in both the [[Seen]] and the [[Unseen]] realms, or that the Unseen had no effect on him since "He is his own master".

Speculative ideas about his true nature range from simply a wise [[Elves|Elven]] hermit to an angelic being (a [[Maiar|Maia]] or [[Valar|Vala]]), to the creator God, [[Eru Ilúvatar]].
==Tom as Eru==
When Goldberry was asked by [[Frodo Baggins]] who he was, she simply said "He is" which parallels the scriptural name of God in Christianity, "ho On" (the One who is). Goldberry also said that Tom is simply "the Master",<ref name="Council">{{FR|Council}}</ref> and the theory that Tom is an incarnation, embodiment or "avatar" of Eru has been favored by the fans.<ref name="FAQ">[http://tolkien.slimy.com Tolkien Meta-FAQ], "[http://tolkien.slimy.com/essays/Bombadil.html What is Tom Bombadil?]", last updated 27 October 2002 (accessed 23 October 2010)</ref>

However Tolkien later remarked that this dialogue was not a reference to God, the way that priests called "Father" does not allude to God.<ref name="L153">{{L|153}}</ref>

In the Council of Elrond it was mentioned that Tom has limited knowledge and understanding of the powers of the Ring, a limitation that the creator God arguably would not have.

It must be added, that Tolkien was a devout Roman Catholic, so the idea of an incarnation of the Creator being married may not have went well with him; he explicitly said that the idea of God's Incarnation was too large to fit in his work.<ref name="L181">{{L|181}}</ref>

In any case however, Tolkien experimented with this idea in the ''[[Athrabeth Finrod ah Andreth]]'' about a future incarnation or Eru into the world.

==Tom as an Ainu==
If we reject the Eru theory, the most common possible explanation is that Tom is an [[Ainur|Ainu]] such as a Vala.<ref name="FAQ" /> Tom seems to have unlimited power inside the boundaries that he set for himself and perhaps the reason of why he has such powers might be the fact that he set himself limits in which he is master.

However since all seven Valar are accounted and known by their names,<ref name="Val">{{S|Vala}}</ref> one has to associate one with Tom. For instance, a theory identifies Tom with [[Aulë]] (and Goldberry with [[Yavanna]]).<ref>[http://www.cas.unt.edu/~hargrove/index.html Gene Hargrove], "[http://www.cas.unt.edu/~hargrove/bombadil.html Who is Tom Bombadil?]" (accessed 23 October 2010)</ref> Furthermore, it is nowhere referred that Aulë or any other Vala abandoned Valinor to live on [[Middle-earth]] and such an explanation becomes risky and radical; The most common theory is therefore that Bombadil is just a "rogue" Maia who perhaps stayed behind and did not follow the other Ainur at the [[Breaking of the World]]. In contrast to the seven Valar, the Maiar are an unknown number,<ref name="Val" /> so it's easy to associate Tom with them.

Tom remembers to be the "[[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 [[Timeless Halls|Outside]]". Eldest is also a title given to [[Treebeard]].

If Tom refers to [[Melkor]], who was the first Vala to enter [[Arda]], Tom was already there even before all the [[Valar]]<ref name="Days">{{S|Days}}</ref>, dismissing the theory that he is a Vala or a Maia. If Tom was refering to Sauron, however, then being a Maia may not be as far fetched.

One possible drawback was his relationship to the Good and Evil and the [[Unseen]] realm, which is evident on the effect of [[the One Ring]] on him. The Ring (containing Sauron's essence) had no effect on him although it had some effect on [[Saruman]] and [[Gandalf]]. Also, Gandalf in the Council of Elrond said that Tom is "neutral" and would not understand the cause of the [[Free peoples]], while all other known Maiar had their sides.

[[Robert Foster]] in ''[[The Complete Guide to Middle-earth]]'' indeed identifies Tom, [[Goldberry]] and the [[River-woman]] as Maiar.

==Tom as a nature sprite==
A more radical and abstract theory is that he is possibly the embodiment of [[Arda]] itself, a "Father Nature", or some kind of '[[sprites|sprite]]' which (unlike the greater [[Ainur|Ainu]] spirits) were 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 Good vs Evil struggle and had no position in it.<ref name="Council" /> Bombadil could have been created as a side-effect of the [[Music of the Ainur]] and that would explain why he was there in the beginning.

His Elvish name "Eldest Fatherless" can support this notion: since he is only a part of creation, he has no "father", while the Ainur have ([[Eru]]).

This also would be consistent with his neutrality: Nature is neutral and has no morality.

The problem with this explanation is that no such beings are mentioned elsewhere in late writings such as ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'' (although one could argue that the [[sprites|sprites and fays]], found in such early writings as the ''[[The Book of Lost Tales (disambiguation)|Book of Lost Tales]]'', would fit this description).

==Beings like him==
Whatever his nature, another question about Bombadil is whether he is one-of-a-kind being, or if he has other colleagues in other parts of Arda. Bombadil could be for example the one and single "spirit of all Arda", or just the "spirit of the Old Forest" with other such beings in other forests.

The nature of Goldberry (and [[River-woman]]) is also obscure. They could be the same kind of being like himself, or his female counterpart(s). If we had more knowledge about them, we could partially answer the question about Tom as well.

Gandalf, when narrating his fight with [[Durin's Bane]], mentions tunnels made by [[Nameless Things|dark nameless things]] whose existence Sauron knows not, since they are "older than him".<ref>{{TT|White}}</ref>

{{references}}
==External links==
* [http://www.glyphweb.com/arda/t/tombombadil.html Entry in the Encyclopedia of Arda] (a concise overview of the discussion)
* [http://tolkien.slimy.com/essays/Bombadil.html ''What is Tom Bombadil?''] by Steuard Jensen (a detailed explanation)
* [http://www.cas.unt.edu/~hargrove/bombadil.html ''Who is Tom Bombadil?''] by Gene Hargrove (a somewhat unorthodox but well-presented essay)
[[category:debates]]

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Tom Bombadil/Nature