The White Council

Re: Istari, bombadil, departure of ringbearers

Tolkien and Inklings Discussion

>Snip< : : Oh no, not the "what is Bombadil discussion again (can it not be posted in the FAQ section?). But, new contributors ask old questions and has the right to it and answers. I had a thought when rereading about the stay at Bombadil's house (I also found the answer to my question concerning Maggot) Tom is outside the story and world- in a sense, he is one who sees and remembers all, one who live on to retell. He is possibly a parallel to Tolkien himself?? : : ;-) Neithan Turambar ("Tom is a skraelling- he should go and vanguish evil or die proudly in the attempt")

: Some years ago (on the old Prodigy Classic Tolkien BB)I too had thought that maybe Tom was Tolkien, though not Tolkien per se, but the author, the one personage that has the powers that Tom exhibits, but sets boundaries. In this case the boundary set by Tolkien is that he is not omniscent. He writes the book from the viewpoint of the translator with phrases like "it is said" or "it may be". And as Tom's self-appointed boundary was the Old Forest (approximately). Bound by territory but not by knowledge. Tom seems to know everything. Tolkien has boundaries too. Middle-Earth. Once the 3rd Age is ended and the Age of Man (our age) is reached, the book ends. And if all of Middle-Earth were overcome by Sauron, Tom's domain would be that last to be overthrown, so in a sense would it be for the author. This may be stretching the point a bit, but I sometimes feel that this hypothesis really does fit. And it woudn't surprise me in the slightest that Tom is a minor allegorical jest in an otherwise allegory free story. My view was challenged by some one who said that Tolkien was Beren, but after I have had time to think it over, so what? Beren and Luthien were not allegorical representations of Tolkien and his wife. Beren and Luthien are merely a romantic notion of the love between him and his wife. Tolkien says Tom is an enigma. But I don't think he was an enigma to Tolkien, just to us. As Sam might say, "He's a puzzle all right, make no doubt about it." I only wish Tolkien were alive to give us the answer. I enjoy the enigma, but I'd like to know if I'm anywhere near the mark on my guess.

I agree 100% with you, the same thought has passed my mind (as evidenced by my post) but you have evidently had more time to ponder on it than me (who was just struck by it a couple of days ago). I applaud your interpretation, it is like to mine (scary thought, what kind of person are you? I am too close to my namesake for comfort- your comfort that is, who would like to think like him? hehehe) ;-) Neithan Turambar