The White Council

Re: Tom Bombadil and the Earth

Tolkien and Inklings Discussion

: I've always felt that Galdor's remark was a bit metaphorical. Tom has always been around like the world the Elves know, and if the Earth itself could not defy Sauron, then how could any being who dwelt upon it -- even one as ancient and mysterious as Tom -- hope to defy him?

: Galdor goes on to say "what power still remains lies with us, here in Imladris, or with Cirdan at the Havens, or in Lorien." What power does he speak of, that he deems it is greater than Bombadil's (or perhaps, if not greater, then more appropriate for defying Sauron)? Does Galdor refer to warriors, wisdom, or the collective strengths of the Elves of Imladris, Mithlond, and Lorien?

The more I re-read the Council Of Elrond the more uncertain I become of Tom's power. And yet I feel that what is said about Tom is not always consistent with certain questions I have. The very first being, Why didn't the Ringwraiths invade Tom's territory and just take the Ring from Frodo? My assumption has always been that they couldn't. They certainly knew where Frodo was - didn't they? That was something I also assumed. At any rate, they didn't invade Tom's house, and there must have been enough power to keep them out. That's quite a lot. At the ford leading to Rivendell even Gandalf couldn't just command them to stop. They had to be stopped by a flood and unhorsed, though we don't know if that was because Gandalf lacked the power or because he was just using restraint. Considering the importance of the outcome I tend to lean toward the lack of power theory. If the Ring was that close to being capured, I would think that Gandalf would use his full might to prevent it.

But getting back to Tom. I interpret Galdor's remark's in light of what Gandalf said about Tom not being a safe repository for the Ring. Gandalf didn't say Tom didn't have the power to protect it, but rather that Tom wouldn't understand the need and either lose or throw the Ring away. So I see Galdor's comments as being like "If we can't count on Tom, then we'll have to count on our own power." I really hate putting words not written by Tolkien in any of the characters mouths. And I don't want to give Tom more power than he actually had. But the fact is we don't know how much power Tom had. But it seems the inference in the book is that Tom had enough to keep Sauron at bay for a while at least, until he all else was conquered. But even that is an extrapolation or hunch based on what was said at the Council. And even there it seems that some who spoke were merely stating rumors that they heard about Tom, not facts. Gandalf seems more certain and knowledgeable about Tom than the rest.

There seems to be no end to the "he really meant or maybe he meant" type discussions. I'm more of a question asker than a question answerer. But in all the discussions I've read over the years, this has been one of the best. Although it's sometimes like interpreting or debating passages from the Bible. You can find some line or passage somewhere in the book to back up your argument.