: : What we have to find out is if it was Tolkien's idea to give Tom a feather or the doll was like that. Because if it was Tolkien's idea, then maybe he was modeled after the wizards in Roverandom. If he just copied the dolls looks, then it's impossible to have a connection, because the wizards couldn't have been modeled after Tom, because the story was written over 20 years earlier.

: :
: : : One thing, before I find out about the doll.
: : : Although It works well with figuring out the modern day canon of the Protestant Bible;Years and dates can't figure too much in this line of discussion. As an artist,I can safely say my work from 5 years ago affects the piece I drew today, and I haven't noterized that, or done the math. Tolkien wrote whatever popped in his head, so he didn't figure dates and noterization into his original mythology.
: : : Seanith

: yes okay but, suppose Tolkien decided the doll was a sort of wizard because, by chance, it conformed with his previous idea of wizards.

Yeah, possibly. But it still doesn't make much sense. No other wizard in LotR has a feather in his hat (well at least not Gandalf and Saruman, and most likely not Radagast, can't speak about Alatar and Pallando though). I mean why wouldn't Gandalf then conform. Plus Tom really isn't wizard-like, he's nothing like any of the Istari or any other character for the matter (save Goldberry).

I think Seanith is trying to make Tom be a Maia because he has a similar characteristic to a wizard in Roverandom. Michael I believe will side with me when I say that Tolkien really didn't have a very clear idea (if he had an idea at all) about the Maia, Valar, etc at the time he wrote Roverandom. So while I commend Seanith with coming up with the idea, I don't think it really works, even if Tolkien did come up with the idea to give Tom the feather.