Have you ever read a book with a prominent character who seemed to add little to the plot? Welcome to Fantasy Week! Today, we will examine a character from The Lord of the Rings who is so strange, mysterious, and confusing that he was cut out of the film—Tom Bombadil. Some ardent fans of the movies stop reading Tolkien’s books when they get to his chapters! What can we learn from his bizarre story?
Tom Bombadil’s Appearances
“With another hop and a bound there came into view a man, or so it seemed. At any rate he was too large and heavy for a hobbit, if not quite tall enough for one of the Big People, though he made enough noise for one, stumping along with great yellow boots on his thick legs, and charging through grass and rushes like a cow going down to drink. He had a blue coat and a long brown beard; his eyes were blue and bright, and his face was red as a ripe apple, but creased into a hundred wrinkles of laughter. In his hands he carried on a large leaf as on a tray a small pile of white water-lilies.”[1]
In The Fellowship of the Ring, Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin travel through the Old Forest on the border of The Shire. In Tolkien’s magical world, an ancient willow tree captures the Hobbits in its large roots. Without a moment to spare, Tom Bombadil appears on the scene as Tolkien describes above. He rescues the Hobbits by singing a melodious tune at the willow tree. Bombadil then invites Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin to his house. Tom and his wife, Goldberry, provide a respite for the Hobbits in the chaotic forest for two nights and a day. Tom and Goldberry communicate mostly in song. Time seems to stop in the Bombadil house, and evil is held at bay. When Frodo asks Tom who he is, Tom replies:
“Eldest, that’s what I am. Mark my words, my friends: Tom was here before the river and the trees; Tom remembers the first raindrop and the first acorn. He made paths before the Big People, and saw the little People arriving. He was here before the Kings and the graves and the Barrow-wights. When the Elves passed westward, Tom was here already, before the seas were bent. He knew the dark under the stars when it was fearless—before the Dark Lord came from Outside.”[2]
From this passage of Bombadil’s eternity, some fans theorize that he is an incarnation of God in Tolkien’s universe, known as Ilúvatar. Further evidence includes the Ring’s complete lack of power over him. Bombadil does not turn invisible with the Ring on his finger, indicating that he is already part of the spiritual world.[3] However, the limits of Bombadil’s power, his lack of interest in defeating evil, and Tolkien’s stated words that Ilúvatar never makes a physical appearance in his writings disprove this thesis.
After the Hobbits continue their journey, Bombadil rescues them again from one of the aforementioned Barrow-wights before escorting them to the next town. He is mentioned two other places. At the Council of Elrond, the Wise wonder if they should have invited Bombadil. Gandalf theorizes Bombadil would not have come as he cares little for the world outside the Old Forest. The Ring has no influence over him, and Sauron would only trouble him if they were face-to-face. At the end of The Return of the King, Gandalf tells Frodo that he is leaving them to talk to Tom, but Bombadil will probably only be interested in their meeting with Treebeard and the Ents.
Tom Bombadil’s Identity
Tolkien is cagey about Bombadil’s identity. He shows immense power over evil in the Old Forest and the Barrows. He gives names to the Hobbit’s ponies that they respond to until their dying day.[4] He and his wife Goldberry, the daughter of the River, are powerful beings. Goldberry tells the Hobbits that Tom Bombadil is “the master of wood, water, and hill.”[5]
Most Tolkien scholars conclude that Bombadil is one of the Maiar.[6] The Maiar are eternal but created beings who assisted the Valar in creating Middle-earth.[7] Sauron is a powerful Maia. Bombadil is probably a lesser Maia with a limited sphere of influence and a mind only for plants, animals, and water. He escorted the Hobbits within a few miles of the town of Bree and suggested where they should stay for the night.[8] Bombadil refused to leave his domain even to help destroy the Ring.
Application
Some fans criticize The Lord of the Rings for the lackadaisical role that the most powerful beings in Tolkien’s world (Ilúvatar and the Valar) play in the fight against Sauron. Yet, they help Frodo and Sam on their quest to destroy the Ring through characters like Tom Bombadil. When Frodo asked Bombadil what he was doing when he heard Frodo’s cry for help by the willow tree. Bombadil responds, “Just chance brought me then, if chance you call it. It was no plan of mine, though I was waiting for you.”[9] Only Bombadil could have gotten Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin through the Old Forest. Ilúvatar put it on Bombadil’s heart to go for a walk at that time and place. Later, Aragorn, Boromir, Faramir, and Gollum would show up at precisely the right time to play an indispensable role in the destruction of the Ring. The role of divine providence in defeating Sauron is seen most clearly in the character of Tom Bombadil. Peter Jackson chose to cut Bombadil’s character from the film adaptation and dispersed his actions among Aragorn, Gandalf, and Treebeard. In the movies, the poignant role of divine providence is lost.
Some fans find Tom Bombadil too bizarre to read, especially when he mostly disappears from the story after a few chapters of the first book. The next time you read The Fellowship of the Ring, read Bombadil’s scenes through the lens of divine providence. Think of a moment when a friend suddenly appeared at the right time to help you through a difficulty—just like Tom Bombadil did for the Hobbits.
Sources
Day, David. Tolkien: The Illustrated Encyclopedia. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1991.
Duriez, Colin. The J. R. R. Tolkien Handbook: A Concise Guide to His Life, Writings, and World of Middle-Earth. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1992.
Tolkien, J. R. R. The Fellowship of the Ring. New York: Houghton Mifflin. 1993.
[1] Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring, 131.
[2] Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring, 142.
[3] Frodo becomes invisible when he wears the Ring because its power brings its user into the world of spiritual beings like Sauron and the Ringwraiths.
[4] Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring, 155.
[5] Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring, 135.
[6] Duriez, The J. R. R. Tolkien Handbook, 52 and Day, Tolkien: The Illustrated Encyclopedia, 269.
[7] Duriez, The J. R. R. Tolkien Handbook, 172.
[8] Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring, 159.
[9] Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring, 137.