Okay, so the Ents were some primeveal life force, Sauron, Saruman, Smeagol, Sam, anyone whose name starts with as “S” is evil, Hobbits are little weed smoking fellas…what the heck was Tom?
Tom was one of the Maia in Tolkien’s pantheon - think lesser god or angel. Other Maia running around were the wizards, Sauron, and the Balrog. Tom just chose to stay within his own country, for whatever reason.
Wait a second. Sam evil? Nope.
The evil S thing was a bad joke. Sam gets the last word, does he not? “I’m home” or something like that. If Frodo reminds me of those young intelligent Brits who died (metaphorically) charging machine guys with sabres in WWI, Sam is Everyman, who did his part and came home to keep the country running afterwards.
So, anyway, is there metaphor here?
The old prof said that there was not, but he was influenced I’m sure by the events in his lifetime…so any metaphors or meaning were not intended by him but may be read into his works bearing that in mind.
With that said, I tend to think of Tom as being a spirit of nature, strong within his boundaries, and active against the unnatural (ie the Barrow Wights), but basically uncaring outside of his sphere.
You could also view Tom as being emblematic of the US just before WWI - neutral except within his own territory, but I think that that’s stretching metaphor way too far.
Sorry for not catching the S joke on Sam.
From The Tolkien Bestiary…
So is the theory utterly discredited, that Tom Bombadil was actually Illuvitar?
Here is an excellent site dealing with this very question. I always went with the Maia explanation myself, but this site raises some questions.
Ain’t the internet great?
Here’s my favorite theory.
An interesting theory, Katisha. Unfortunately, it assumes a few things: One, that the Witch King is schizophrenic, and two, that he’s somehow managed to overcome a power which has supposedly completely consumed him. It also ignores the possibility that Tom may simply be a very powerful being.
I liken Tom to an old, retired CEO of a major corporation, who doesn’t participate in day-to-day operations but still retains enough power to act with impunity within the company.
No way.
Mr. Greenjeans, maybe, but not a CEO. :)\
I’d guess that he’s more like the old, retired janitor that the company lets hang around the his old haunts. Because he’s so familiar with the place, he can sidestep any problems both for himself and other people.
Maiar, while powerful, aren’t exactly the top dogs, after all. Matter of fact, they’re closer to at least the elves than it may seem. I can’t remember her name, but a Maia married King Thingol of the Sindarin in the days of Beleriand and had a child by him, Luthien Tinuviel.
A better question would be “What was Goldberry?” Another Maia? A nature spirit?
jayjay
She was Tom’s Old Lady, man.
We have one vote for “Bored of the Rings”… 
jayjay
I’ve always figured that Tom and Goldberry were JRRTs alter egos for himself and the missus, plain and simple.
Tom Bomadil was little dolly that belonged to Tolkien’s daughter. He served as a whimsical character and as an interesting diversion in the initial Hobbit story. Attempts to make him more complex and cram him into a logical place in Tollkien’s universe are fraught with problems as Tolkiend himself discovered.
Well, Tom is completely out of place in LOTR (he doesn’t appear in the earlier Hobbit). And of course there is a book I have never read that Tolkien published in his lifetime, The Adventures of Tom Bombadil. So I suppose that I shouldn’t weigh in further without reading it, but, that doesn’t usually stop anyone around here. Tolkien knew that the TB episode was out of place in LOTR, and couldn’t bring himself to remove it. It always struck me as a long and odd digression. Here was a very powerful being that was clearly good, but would not help the side of good with his power, and whom if evil won everywhere else, evil could defeat. This seemed to me to be a metaphor for the author, who could defeat Sauron with the stroke of a pen, but then you would miss the story and its moral. Yet if evil won in the story, even the author would have been overcome by it.
My best guess is that Tom is an unaffiliated Ainur (ie, he isn’t a Maia in the service of any Vala.) Possibly, he is the first Ainur to enter Ea. Such unaffiliated Ainur could be the “nature spirits” theorized by some people, and still be fully in-line with what we know about Tolkein’s work.
Goldberry might be the same thing, or she might be a Maia that is associated with rivers and water.
I think he was one of the inspirations behind “Bored of the Rings”. Many of its characters are believable, but to a child of the 60s Bombadil is utterly realistic.
Tolkien himself would have violently rejected any notion that Bombadil was “back to nature” or a middle earth hippy. But we’re dealing here with deep subconscious. Remember, this is the man who was openly offensive to an American, a stranger, he met on a train. Very oppressed, as we say in California.
Though I find Tom Bombadil a delightful character, I also agree with those who have noted that he seems out of place in LOTR.
And, as much as I like him, I understand perfectly why Peter Jackson left him out of his film. The time the hobbits spend with Tom Bombadil is pleasant, but long and uneventful. That sequence could only have slowed down an already long movie.
Moreover, finding somebody who could play Tom Bombadil without looking utterly asinine would be a huge challenge, for ANY casting director.
Just what actor do you think COULD seem both jolly and mighty? Who could convey a sense of true power and command over nature, a sense of timeless grandeur, while wearing tall yellow boots and singing “Hey dol, derry dol, ring a ding a dillo”?
Just what actor can you think of who’d be sublime AND ridiculous enough to play Tom Bombadil?