LOTR, The Fellowship of the Ring, Post 6

This is the sixth post of a series of posts on J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings.  This series focuses on the first volume of the trilogy, The Fellowship of the Ring.

You can find the first post here. 

The second post here.

The third post here.

The fourth post here. 

The fifth post here.

 

 

 

Summary: Bk1 Ch 10_11

 

Chapter 10: Strider

Frodo, Sam, and Pippin made their way back to the Inn’s parlor, and when they lit a fire noticed that Strider was among them.  Strider reminded Frodo he needed to speak to him.  Strider said the information he was to provide would cost Frodo something, that is Frodo must take Strider as a companion.  Reluctant, Frodo said it depended on the information.  Strider said that Frodo and the hobbits had been too talkative and careless with information.  Strider himself had heard the hobbits use the name of Baggins as they made their way to Bree.  He then warned Frodo that the pursuers were close and they would need to leave in the morning.  Strider could take them through less known paths.

Frodo, suspicious, asked Strider who he was and what did he know of Frodo’s business.  As Strider was explaining that Frodo had no choice but to trust him, there was a knock and Barley the landlord came in with a letter for Frodo.  The letter was from Gandalf and that Barley had promised to deliver to the Shire some three months before.  But he had forgotten.  The letter explained that Gandalf had an urgent matter, had to rush off, and would not be able to meet up with him.  There would be a man named Strider, whose real name is Aragorn, that would help the hobbits get to Rivendell.  He included a poem in the letter that the real Strider would know.

Frodo read the letter silently, and, when Strider mouthed off a few lines from the poem, Frodo knew before him was the real Strider.  Strider laid out a plan to get to Weathertop, a flat hill half way to Rivendell. 

Suddenly Merry burst into the room and slammed the door shut.  He had come across Black Riders.  Strider explained the Black Riders have not all assembled together yet, and that there is a little time to escape them.  They went to bed for the night with the plan to leave immediately in the morning.

 

Chapter 11: A Knife in the Dark

In the middle of the dark night, back at Buckland at the house at Crickhollow, there was a blow to the door, and when no one responded there was another blow to the door and the locked gave way and the door flipped open.  Fatty Bolger, who had remained at the house, screamed in fear.  The Black Riders announced themselves “in the name of Mordor.”  Fatty escaped and ran out to the nearest neighbor.

Back at Bree, Frodo was disturbed in his sleep.  At daybreak, Strider roused them and prepared them to leave.  The landlord came upon them to announce their ponies had vanished; someone had let them out of the stable.  By the time they could round a few ponies up and get others, three hours had passed.  Finally they had breakfast and set out on the road.

At a particular point on the road, they broke off and headed north and by a circuitous route in wild country headed for Weathertop.  By the third day from Bree they came upon a marsh land, and on the fourth day camped they saw a series of mysterious flashing lights in the distance.  On the fifth day they came upon a series of hills with the tallest one being Weathertop. 

On the sixth day from Bree they found a path that seemed to lead all the way to the top of Weathertop.  Strider told them historical stories about Weathertop and the region, about how Elendil stood at the top waiting for Gil-galad from the west.  Then Sam started singing a song about Gil-galad, who was an Elven king, a song Bilbo had taught him when young. 

When Strider, Frodo, and Merry got to the top of Weathertop, they found a ring of crumbling, ancient stone-work and signs of a great fire that had once occurred.  On some of the flat stones, they found markings that were runes.  From the top Frodo let out a cry when in the distance he saw two black riders meeting.  They hurried back down to meet with Sam and Pippin.

Strider explained that the Black Riders cannot see in the light, where they use their sense of smell predominantly, but they have other senses which accentuates their ability to sense.  Their horses however can see in the daylight, and Frodo’s ring draws the Black Riders as well.

It was extremely cold that night and Strider continued with his tales of Gil-galad and Middle Earth.  He chanted a poem of the tale of Beren and Tinúviel and their love and her rescue of Beren.  After the poem and with the moon shining, Frodo felt a chill, and when they looked up on top of a hill they could see four Black Riders staring down on them and their camp.  In the fear, Frodo slipped on the ring and he could now see there were five Black Riders.  Three of them advanced toward him, and he felt a stabbing pain in his left shoulder.  Falling down, Frodo caught in his sight Strider with a flaming club repelling the Black Riders.  Frodo then slipped the ring off his finger, clutching it in his hand.

###

I don’t really have much to comment on in this section.  The one thing that came to mind as I read the Strider chapter was how much that chapter reminded me of a detective novel, something like The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett.  It reminded me of that one scene where everyone is huddled in a room, each character full of suspicions and a letter comes in that turns the screw of the plot.  Here we have the hobbits suspicious of Strider, Barley suspicious of the hobbits, and Strider, hard boiled and detached, controlling the situation similar to a central detective character.  Suddenly a letter from Gandalf shows up that alters the stability of the situation and clears up allegiances.  Suddenly Merry bursts in the room to inform them all of the outside terror, tightening the tension further.  Tolkien superbly plotted the chapter. 

###

Here’s an interesting detail mentioned in the “A Knife in the Dark” chapter.  On the sixth day from when the companions left Bree, it mentions that the date is the fifth of October.  Well, if you remember that the hobbits left the Shire on Frodo’s birthday, which was September 22^nd, that would make the hobbit’s journey now two weeks.  It feels like it’s been a lot longer, doesn’t it?

###

I just realized there are a few more interesting details in the “A Knife if the Dark” chapter.  We learn about the nature of these dark riders.  After spotting a number of the horseman from on top Weathertop, the hobbits ask Strider about their nature.

 

‘Can the Riders see?’ asked Merry. ‘I mean, they seem usually to have used their noses rather than their eyes, smelling for us, if smelling is the right word, at least in the daylight. But you made us lie down flat when you saw them down below; and now you talk of being seen, if we move.’

 

‘I was too careless on the hill-top,’ answered Strider. ‘I was very anxious to find some sign of Gandalf; but it was a mistake for three of us to go up and stand there so long. For the black horses can see, and the Riders can use men and other creatures as spies, as we found at Bree. They themselves do not see the world of light as we do, but our shapes cast shadows in their minds, which only the noon sun destroys; and in the dark they perceive many signs and forms that are hidden from us: then they are most to be feared. And at all times they smell the blood of living things, desiring and hating it. Senses, too, there are other than sight or smell. We can feel their presence – it troubled our hearts, as soon as we came here, and before we saw them; they feel ours more keenly. Also,’ he added, and his voice sank to a whisper, ‘the Ring draws them.’

 

‘Is there no escape then?’ said Frodo, looking round wildly. ‘If I move I shall be seen and hunted! If I stay, I shall draw them to me!’

 

Strider laid his hand on his shoulder. ‘There is still hope,’ he said. ‘You are not alone. Let us take this wood that is set ready for the fire as a sign. There is little shelter or defence here, but fire shall serve for both. Sauron can put fire to his evil uses, as he can all things, but these Riders do not love it, and fear those who wield it. Fire is our friend in the wilderness.’

 

‘Maybe,’ muttered Sam. ‘It is also as good a way of saying “here we are” as I can think of, bar shouting.’

 

So we learn the Dark Riders cannot see in the light but have some other sense that allows them to perceive in the dark.  But while they cannot see in the dark, “shapes cast shadows in their minds.”  Hmm, seems to recall Plato’s allegory of the shadows in the cave.  I wonder if there is a connection.  The Dark Rider’s sense of smell is such that they can “smell the blood of living creatures.”  We also learn the riders are deathly afraid of fire, and that the companions need to use it for defense against them.  But Frodo’s Ring is what really draws them.  To this Frodo is taken aback and has a moment of despair for his safety.  It is interesting that when Strider tries to reassure Frodo, he touches Frodo’s shoulder.  Is there significance in that touch to the shoulder?  I don’t know.  Later in the chapter Frodo will be stabbed by one of the Dark Riders in the shoulder.

###

There is still one more element of “A Knife in the Dark” that I would like to just highlight.  One night as the companions have left Bree now for six days and are making their way eastward, though in jagged directions, Sam asks Strider to tell them a “tale of the old days.”  After Strider recites a poem of Beren and Tinúviel, he goes into a talk of a history.  Here is the passage.

 

Strider sighed and paused before he spoke again. ‘That is a song,’ he said, ‘in the mode that is called ann-thennath among the Elves, but is hard to render in our Common Speech, and this is but a rough echo of it. It tells of the meeting of Beren son of Barahir and Lúthien Tinúviel. Beren was a mortal man, but Lúthien was the daughter of Thingol, a King of Elves upon Middle-earth when the world was young; and she was the fairest maiden that has ever been among all the children of this world. As the stars above the mists of the Northern lands was her loveliness, and in her face was a shining light. In those days the Great Enemy, of whom Sauron of Mordor was but a servant, dwelt in Angband in the North, and the Elves of the West coming back to Middle-earth made war upon him to regain the Silmarils which he had stolen; and the fathers of Men aided the Elves. But the Enemy was victorious and Barahir was slain, and Beren escaping through great peril came over the Mountains of Terror into the hidden Kingdom of Thingol in the forest of Neldoreth. There he beheld Lúthien singing and dancing in a glade beside the enchanted river Esgalduin; and he named her Tinúviel, that is Nightingale in the language of old. Many sorrows befell them afterwards, and they were parted long. Tinúviel rescued Beren from the dungeons of Sauron, and together they passed through great dangers, and cast down even the Great Enemy from his throne, and took from his iron crown one of the three Silmarils, brightest of all jewels, to be the bride-price of Lúthien to Thingol her father. Yet at the last Beren was slain by the Wolf that came from the gates of Angband, and he died in the arms of Tinúviel. But she chose mortality, and to die from the world, so that she might follow him; and it is sung that they met again beyond the Sundering Seas, and after a brief time walking alive once more in the green woods, together they passed, long ago, beyond the confines of this world. So it is that Lúthien Tinúviel alone of the Elf-kindred has died indeed and left the world, and they have lost her whom they most loved. But from her the lineage of the Elf-lords of old descended among Men. There live still those of whom Lúthien was the foremother, and it is said that her line shall never fail. Elrond of Rivendell is of that Kin. For of Beren and Lúthien was born Dior Thingol’s heir; and of him Elwing the White whom Eärendil wedded, he that sailed his ship out of the mists of the world into the seas of heaven with the Silmaril upon his brow. And of Eärendil came the Kings of Númenor, that is Westernesse.’

Now that is a long discourse of which we the reader are completely disconnected.  At this point in the narrative this is outside our understanding.  It is a very elaborate history.  I’m not sure how this figures into the novel.  Perhaps it will be explained in further exposition.  Or this may be the sort of history that Tolkien will write in future books, such as The Silmarillion.  What is interesting to me is the question of whether Tolkien had worked this pre-history out before LotR or was it something he filled in as he went along?  I get the feeling he generated this history even before he wrote his epic novel. 

###

L Comment:

Thank you very much for the summary, Manny, and for the insightful comments. I particularly like your comparison of the strider chapter in Bree with a detective novel. Besides being a brilliant analysis, it helps me to better understand how the comes together.

 

On the point about the history of Middle Earth, a friend of mine wrote this, which could be relevant: 'What I find fascinating is that way every step you take in Middle Earth connects you to some event or person of the past. The past is all around you, yet it’s also gone. Yet it’s also exerting some influence on the present. There is the God of History at work over the ages.'

My Reply to L:

Oh that is a helpful observation, and yes, I am seeing it as I read. Thanks L.

Frances Comment:

If you go to Gutenberg.com. “On Fairie Stories,” J.R.R. Tolkien, you will find several excellent articles there, including one by Word On Fire’s Holly Ordway. She writes eloquently about the joy one would feel if an especially beautiful fairy story is found to be real, its narrative to be history. Holly Ordway not only came to a new understanding of fairy stories when she studied the Gospels, she discovered the one story where “Legend and history met and fused,” and converted to Catholicism. The Gospels are the Story behind the story of LOTR. I think an understanding of Tolkien’s thought is very helpful when reading it.

Michelle Comment:

Manny wrote: "What is interesting to me is the question of whether Tolkien had worked this pre-history out before LotR or was it something he filled in as he went along? I get the feeling he generated this history even before he wrote his epic novel."

He must have. Even the Elven language was conceived beforehand. What an amazing intellect he had!

Ellie Reply:

"Manny wrote: "What is interesting to me is the question of whether Tolkien had worked this pre-history out before LotR or was it something he filled in as he went along? I get the feeling he generated this history even before he wrote his epic novel."

He did, actually! The Silmarillion is his first and also his last book, because it was finished by his son and published after his death. He created the world, the characters, and - most importantly, to him - the languages and then fit the story of The Hobbit and LoTR into the world. I find this so fascinating.

(Last year I had a talk on Tolkien and his work in one of my classes and I'm glad my notes are finally coming in handy HAHA)

And to comment on what Frances said about the Gospels being the core Story behind Tolkien's masterpiece, I definitely want to encourage everybody to read Holly Ordway's book on Tolkien's faith, it's so wonderful and really informative and useful for our discussions as well! Tolkien once said, as Frances pointed out: "The Story of the Gospels is supreme; and it is true. Art has been verified. God is the Lord, of angels, and of men - and of elves. Legend and history have met and fused."

Frances Reply:

Wonderful, Ellie. I hope you can share your notes with us. We’re eager learners.

 

J.R.R. Tolkien had another convert even more influential than the exceptional Holly Ordway. On their long walks along the Oxford grounds he became the evangelist to C.S. Lewis: Tolkien, calling attention to how myths and fairy tales point to an underlying reality — what life should be; Lewis, countering that beautiful as they are, myths and fairy tales are ‘’lies, though breathed through silver . . .’’

 

Then, Tolkien’s brilliant insight: “No, they’re not: Look at the Gospels.

See what you find there. Heroic self-sacrifice; good triumphing over evil; love overcoming death: the Gospel story is the underlying reality to which all other stories point.’’

 

And so, out of centuries of myths and legends and fairy tales, Tolkien gave us this deathless story.

Kerstin Reply:

Jonathan Pageau held a talk entitled "Fairy Tales and the Music of the Spheres". In it he also refers to the Gospels as being the basis of all stories.

 

 

Frances Reply to Kerstin:

Thank you, Kerstin. I'd never heard of Jonathan Pageau before your recommendation. "Fairy Tales and the Music of the Spheres" is beautiful.

Michelle Comment:

I just came across this book (The Theological Landscape of Middle Earth) and thought of this thread.

LOTR, The Fellowship of the Ring, Post 5

This is the fifth post of a series of posts on J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings.  This series focuses on the first volume of the trilogy, The Fellowship of the Ring.

You can find the first post here. 

The second post here.

The third post here.

The fourth post here. 

 

 

Summary: Bk1 Ch 7_8_9

Chapter 7: In the House of Tom Bombadil

When the hobbits get to Tom Bombdil’s house, they are greeted by a woman, Goldberry, who mysteriously tells them that she is “daughter of the River.”  The hobbits are enchanted by her.  They ask her who is Tom, and she replies that he is “the Master of wood, water, and hill.”  When Tom walks in, he has the hobbits wash and sit down for supper.  Afterwards, all tired they were led to a room with beds and quickly fell asleep.

Three of the hobbits had dreams that night.  Frodo dreamt of wolves and an eagle that bore him away.  Pippin dreamt of being trapped again in the willow tree.  Merry dreamt of a flood overfilling the house.  Only Sam did not dream but slept contentedly.

In the morning they found that it was raining, and they sat around with Tom telling them stories of the Old Forest.  The he told them stories of the Great Barrows, followed by ancient tales from pre-memory.  At one point, Frodo asked him, who he was?  Tom replied that he was here before the Kings and Barrow-wights, and elves, and even the Dark Lord.  When the rain ended, they had another supper, even better than the previous night’s. 

After supper, Tom asked Frodo to see the ring, and Frodo handed it to him.  Tom put it on his finger, and to everyone’s surprise he did not disappear.  Tom handed the ring back to Frodo, and Frodo suspicious that it was not the true ring put it on his finger and he disappeared.  After laughing about the disappearance, they all went back to the bedrooms for the night.

Chapter 8: Fog on the Barrow-Downs

After breakfast the next morning, the hobbits resumed their journey heading north.  Up the first hill, Frodo realized he had not said goodbye to Goldberry and was about to turn around when she appeared toward the top of the hill.  She bid farewell and blessed them.  They continued, riding over the hills of the Barrow-Downs.  Up and down the hills was slow going.

A fog rolled over the hills, and the hobbits felt trapped.  The fog was so thick that it had darkened the sky.  At one point Frodo realized the other three were not trailing behind him.  When he called out to them only a cold, dark voice responded, and it seemed it came from a tall shadow.  The shadow touched him and Frodo fainted.

When he came to, he found the other three hobbits lying beside him.  The cold voice sang a deathly song, and its shadowy arm stretched toward Frodo.  Frodo grabbed a sword and hacked at the arm.  He remembered Tom Bombadil’s song and he sang it, and shortly Tom’s voice could be heard in the distance singing back.  When Tom arrived, his magical song drove off the dark shadow. 

With that, the other three hobbits came out of their stupor.  Tom traveled with them for a while, and in the morning after breakfast Tom gave them the advice to head on the road to the town of Bree and get to an old inn called The Prancing Pony.

Chapter 9: At the Sign of the Prancing Pony

 The hobbits come to Bree, the chief town of the region of Bree-land, a region of mixed hobbits and men.  The Road ran through Bree and at the foot of a hill stood the Inn with the sign of the Prancing Pony.  The Inn was run by Barliman Butterbur, a big folk man.

The hobbits did not receive a warm reception at the inn, but were led to a parlor room to rest and eat.  After getting refreshed and rested, the hobbits joined the other guests in the big common room.  There they got into discussions with the locals, a mix of hobbits, men, and dwarves.  While the other hobbits were enjoying their conversation, Frodo noticed a strange looking man in the shadows against the wall listening intently and quietly smoking his pipe.  Frodo was told that such men as that who roam about the countryside are called Rangers, and that particular man goes by the name Strider.

At one point, Strider came over to Frodo, who had been going by the name Mr. Underhill, and introduced himself.  Strider told Frodo to restrain his fellow hobbits from talking too much.  They had gone on about Bilbo Baggins and his disappearance from the Shire.  Frodo realizing the danger of the conversations decided to distract by jumping on the table and talking and singing a song.  It drew a loud cheer and applause, but Strider found it even worse than the loose talk of the other hobbits.  He told “Mr. Baggins”—knowing his proper name—he would like to have a word with him, but Frodo put him off until later.

In the meantime, someone had seen Frodo just vanish, and Frodo reappearing dispelled that notion.  It was now time for everyone to go onto bed, and, as they were going off, and Strider again came over to Frodo requesting a word with him.

###

L Comment:

Thank you very much for the helpful summary, Manny!

 

As I was reading the chapter 'Fog on the Barrow-Downs', I was struck by how much darker the novel seems compared with when I read it for the first time as a teenager. In its mood and imagery, the chapter resembled other Christian pilgrimage literature, such as the Divine Comedy and The Pilgrim's Progress. The Slough of Despond and parts of the Inferno came to my mind as I imagined Frodo suddenly isolated in the thick fog, the captive of the mysterious and terrifying Barrow-Wight.

My Reply to L:

Yes, I agree L, the Barrows chapter is very dark. It's probably the first real incident where we see the power of the dark side.

 

I was thinking of the Divine Comedy in the previous chapter. Frodo's dream if I remember was first with being chased by a wolf and then lifted by an eagle. Dante (the character, not the author) is forced to go through world of the afterlife because he was being pursued by three creatures, the last being the wolf. And then in Purgatorio Dante is lifted up by eagle from the lower part of the mountain to the terraces section. There may be parts of LotR that allude to the Divine Comedy. I have not read Pilgrim's Progress, but I would imagine such a spiritual journey could have echoes in LotR.

 

As to Barrows, that is a unique noun for hills or hilly country that only seem to be used in England. Barrows also has a particular allusion to burial grounds. There is probably more to the use of "Barrows" than we understand.

Ellie Comment:

Thank you for these summaries, Manny! They definitely help a lot, there is so much to remember.

 

I really loved the chapter about Tom Bombadil, where I found two big Christian themes, one of which is confession (which is specifically Catholic, I would say). When Frodo talks with Tom Bombadil, Tolkien describes Frodo feeling compelled to tell him the whole story, to tell him even more information he told Gandalf:

 

"Indeed so much did Tom know, and so cunning was his questioning, that Frodo found himself telling him more about Biblo and his own hopes and fears that he had told before even to Gandalf."

 

I feel like this is a great allusion to a certain divine nature to Tom Bombadil, along with the fact that when Frodo asks Goldberry who Tom really is, she simply replies "He is." which definitely reminded me not only of the "I Am that I Am" of the Old Testament in which God names Himself, but also of the New Testament ("Before Abraham was, I am"). Tom Bombadil is such a strange and intriguing character, I wish Tolkien told us what he actually was, but also this failure to categorize him in Tolkien's world gives his character a great meaning

Michelle Reply to Ellie:

Ellie, I also thought of "I AM" when Goldberry said that.

My Reply to Ellie:

Ellie wrote: "I really loved the chapter about Tom Bombadil, where I found two big Christian themes, one of which is confession (which is specifically Catholic, I would say). When Frodo talks with Tom Bombadil, Tolkien describes Frodo feeling compelled to tell him the whole story, to tell him even more information he told Gandalf:

"Indeed so much did Tom know, and so cunning was his questioning, that Frodo found himself telling him more about Biblo and his own hopes and fears that he had told before even to Gandalf."
"

I did not pick up on that. I will have to go back and re-read that. Thanks for pointing it out Ellie.

I too picked up on what seems to be the divine nature of Tom Bombadil. However, I can't see anything Christian in him. He strikes me as some sort of wood demi god from pagan mythology. I intend to flesh that thought out more but if you can connect him with some sort of Christian tradition, I would love to see that.

Kelly Comment:

Tom Bombadil seems to me to be a type of an Adam figure. What he might have been like before the fall. Not divine, but also not affected or limited by sin. When he plays around with the ring and it doesn't have the same effect on him, similar to the temptation that is derived from original sin that everyone else, even Gandalf and Galadriel acknowledge. He also is able to experience joy and shed the weight of darkness quicker than the others. Goldberry seems to share these qualities also.

Michelle Reply to Kelly:

I thought of him like a type of an angel-figure.

My Reply to Kelly:

Kelly that is an interesting thought. I never thought of that. He does seem to have some sort of magic powers which I don't think Adam had.

 

One thing I will say when I do put my thoughts together is to reference Goldberry's comment that Tom is "Master of wood, water, and hill." Taken from a Christian perspective, those three elements could refer to cross, baptism, and death, hill being a burial mound. But then what does that mean? I don't know.

 

Can anyone tell if Goldberry is his spouse or his daughter? What exactly is their relationship?

Michelle Reply to Me:

I thought she was his wife, but now I'm wondering if that was an assumption on my part. Hopefully someone else could clarify!

Kelly Reply to Me:

I think Goldberry is his spouse. Also, I am thinking he is not an allegorical Adam but just a type, who, hints at what man might have been had he not fallen.

 

My Reply:

OK, I found it. Goldberry is Tom's wife but only knowable from outside the LotR. From Wikipedia:

 

"Goldberry first appeared in Tolkien's 1934 poem, The Adventures of Tom Bombadil,[4] re-worked into a 1962 poetry collection of the same name.[5] The poem tells of how she drags Tom into the river before he escapes, returning later to capture her and make her his bride."

 

So one has to know an outside source to know their relationship. I only questioned it because Goldberry strikes me as much younger than Tom, and at one point she identifies herself as "the daughter of the River." While that doesn't mean she's Tom's daughter, the suggestion of daughter is raised to the reader.

Kerstin Comment:

Manny wrote: "Three of the hobbits had dreams that night. Frodo dreamt of wolves and an eagle that bore him away. Pippin dreamt of being trapped again in the willow tree. Merry dreamt of a flood overfilling the house. Only Sam did not dream but slept contented."

 

I wonder if this is also a foreshadowing of what is going to happen to the characters. With Frodo there will definitely be a significance with an eagle. I don't quite remember what all happens to Pippin and Merry. With Sam, he is the faithful servant and quite content in the role.

We'll have to keep this passage in mind as we move deeper into the tale and see.

 

Tom Bombadil's feels like a true safe haven. Nothing bad from the outside world threatens or penetrates. The hobbits don't have to worry about anything, just eating, resting, and listening to the tales of Tom. They are being cared for by Tom and Goldberry like beloved children. Tom has slipped into a father figure and Goldberry into a mother figure. It is such a wholesome place they gather strength for the challenges ahead without being aware of it. When they leave Goldberry blesses them like a mother would and Tom steps into the role of protector until they are past the Barrow Downs.

Frances Comment:

You can sense the richness and depth of Tolkien’s genius in the many different images that spring forth from his writing, can’t you? I found this about mysterious Tom: “Bombadil was described in Tolkien’s books as ‘older than the old,’ a benevolent entity who begins life around the time all life began . . . In a 1937 letter to his publisher, Tolkien described Bombadil as ‘the spirit of the vanishing Oxford and Berkshire countryside.’ Tolkien chose not to write in allegory, but it’s clear he saw Bombadil as nature personified — right up to the character’s ambivalence about interfering in the larger world around him. “

###

So what are we to make of Tom Bombdil and Goldberry?  They are definitely mysterious.  My first reaction when I came to Goldberry inviting the four hobbits into the house was, oh my gosh, a female character!  This was the first real female character we have come across, a book that will be fairly sparse of women characters.  There are of course the women hobbits at Bilbo’s birthday party and Mrs. Maggot but they are all vague and undeveloped. It’s surprising to me how women enjoy LotR since it’s such a boy oriented book.  Perhaps some of the ladies here can answer why they enjoy this boyish book.

My first thought to what Tom might be was to identify him as some sort of nature deity.  He does have some sort of magic powers, especially with his singing.  Goldberry identifies herself as “daughter of the River.”  Taken literally that is something right out of Greek mythology.  Tom is certainly naturally attuned to the woods, the trees, the stream, and later we see the hills.  His stories seem to be about the history of Middle Earth within the parameters of nature.  All his songs are filled with nature.  Here’s one from chapter seven:

 

I had an errand there: gathering water-lilies,

green leaves and lilies white to please my pretty lady,

the last ere the year’s end to keep them from the winter,

to flower by her pretty feet till the snows are melted.

Each year at summer’s end I go to find them for her,

in a wide pool, deep and clear, far down Withywindle;

there they open first in spring and there they linger latest.

By that pool long ago I found the River-daughter,

fair young Goldberry sitting in the rushes.

He is within nature, doing things with nature, and using nature for his ends.  Goldberry says that he is “Master of wood, water, and hill."  When he accompanies the hobbits out in Barrow-downs, he comes to a limit to how far he can go and will go no further.  Pippin asks him if he thinks they will be attacked this evening.  Tom answers him with a qualification.

 

‘No, I hope not tonight,’ answered Tom Bombadil; ‘nor perhaps the next day. But do not trust my guess; for I cannot tell for certain. Out east my knowledge fails. Tom is not master of Riders from the Black Land far beyond his country.’

“Out east my knowledge fails,” is the first time we are told of Tom’s limitation.  When the hobbits urge him to continue with them, Tom does not.  Take note, in that last sentence, that is the only place where “master” is not capitalized, and it’s linked to a limit beyond his domain.

They begged him to come at least as far as the inn and drink once more with them; but he laughed and refused, saying:

 

Tom’s country ends here: he will not pass the borders.

Tom has his house to mind, and Goldberry is waiting!

 

Then he turned, tossed up his hat, leaped on Lumpkin’s back, and rode up over the bank and away singing into the dusk.

His country ends there.  It’s almost like he’s linked to a particular plot of earth, and his powers will not be efficacious beyond it.  This alludes to a local nature deity in pagan worldview.

On the other hand, if we look at Tom from a Christian perspective, he seems he has been given some sort of divine nature.  Goldberry’s description of Tom as “Master of wood, water, and hill” can be taken as a Christian identity.  Wood is associated with the cross and the trees in Eden, water as from the river that was once thought to have its source in Eden flowing down to Earth and, of course, associated with baptism, and hill associated with the hill of Calvary and the burial mounds for the dead.  Why is “Master” capitalized?  I believe it’s capitalized every time someone refers to him as master.  “Master” capitalized seems to me to be an allusion to Christ, who is sometimes referred to as “Master” in the Gospels.  Tom repeatedly saves the hobbits, from the Old Willow, from the Dark Shadow in the Barrow-downs, and from the dark riders as he gives them the path to get to Bree.  He saves them and he does it merely with the spoken word.  “For he spoke, and it came to be” (Ps 33:9).  Jesus speaks and miracles happened.  Now Tom is clearly not Jesus, but perhaps he could be a delegate such as a saint in a hagiography.  There are lots of examples, but I’ll just pick a Biblical one.  St. Peter brings Dorcas back to life in Acts 9 through the power of words. 

I really like Kelly’s thought that Tom and Goldberry are types for Adam and Eve prior to the Fall.  Frodo asked at one point.

 

‘Who are you, Master?’ he asked.

 

‘Eh, what?’ said Tom sitting up, and his eyes glinting in the gloom. ‘Don’t you know my name yet? That’s the only answer. Tell me, who are you, alone, yourself and nameless? But you are young and I am old. 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.’

That does put Tom in the mythic past of before the Earth and history were formed.  It does put him in an Edenic context.  He could be associated with Jesus because Jesus is the new Adam.  Tom is the Adam that could have been if Adam and Eve had not disobeyed.

There is a third aspect to Tom that is suggested in the text.  He is a story-teller. 

 

He then told them many remarkable stories, sometimes half as if speaking to himself, sometimes looking at them suddenly with a bright blue eye under his deep brows. Often his voice would turn to song, and he would get out of his chair and dance about. He told them tales of bees and flowers, the ways of trees, and the strange creatures of the Forest, about the evil things and good things, things friendly and things unfriendly, cruel things and kind things, and secrets hidden under brambles.

 

As they listened, they began to understand the lives of the Forest, apart from themselves, indeed to feel themselves as the strangers where all other things were at home. Moving constantly in and out of his talk was Old Man Willow, and Frodo learned now enough to content him, indeed more than enough, for it was not comfortable lore. Tom’s words laid bare the hearts of trees and their thoughts, which were often dark and strange, and filled with a hatred of things that go free upon the earth, gnawing, biting, breaking, hacking, burning: destroyers and usurpers. It was not called the Old Forest without reason, for it was indeed ancient, a survivor of vast forgotten woods; and in it there lived yet, ageing no quicker than the hills, the fathers of the fathers of trees, remembering times when they were lords. The countless years had filled them with pride and rooted wisdom, and with malice. But none were more dangerous than the Great Willow: his heart was rotten, but his strength was green; and he was cunning, and a master of winds, and his song and thought ran through the woods on both sides of the river. His grey thirsty spirit drew power out of the earth and spread like fine root-threads in the ground, and invisible twig-fingers in the air, till it had under its dominion nearly all the trees of the Forest from the Hedge to the Downs.

Tom is a bard, a teller of stories, one who a sings of history and feats.  It is particularly significant in ancient Celtic cultures where the bards were associated with nature.  Here is how Wikipedia describes “bard.”

 

In the words of the Oxford English Dictionary, the bards were an "ancient Celtic order of minstrel-poets, whose primary function appears to have been to compose and sing (usually to the harp) verses celebrating the achievements of chiefs and warriors, and who committed to verse historical and traditional facts, religious precepts, laws, genealogies, etc."

But such bards existed in many pre-literate cultures.  Homer is considered a bard.  Tom continued with his tales.

 

Suddenly Tom’s talk left the woods and went leaping up the young stream, over bubbling waterfalls, over pebbles and worn rocks, and among small flowers in close grass and wet crannies, wandering at last up on to the Downs. They heard of the Great Barrows, and the green mounds, and the stone-rings upon the hills and in the hollows among the hills. Sheep were bleating in flocks. Green walls and white walls rose. There were fortresses on the heights. Kings of little kingdoms fought together, and the young Sun shone like fire on the red metal of their new and greedy swords. There was victory and defeat; and towers fell, fortresses were burned, and flames went up into the sky. Gold was piled on the biers of dead kings and queens; and mounds covered them, and the stone doors were shut; and the grass grew over all.

And Tom goes further and further back, beyond human memory.

 

When they caught his words again they found that he had now wandered into strange regions beyond their memory and beyond their waking thought, into times when the world was wider, and the seas flowed straight to the western Shore; and still on and back Tom went singing out into ancient starlight, when only the Elf-sires were awake.

The bard doesn’t just tell a story, he creates reality itself.  If you want to read a book on the nature of bards, pick up Alfred Lord’s The Singer of Tales, where Lord “formulates oral tradition as a theory of literary composition and its applications to Homeric and medieval epic. Lord builds on the research of Milman Parry and their joint work recording Balkan guslar poets.”    One could think of J.R.R. Tolkien as a bard (albeit that LotR is a written and not an oral composition) by the telling of the tale of this epic.  In this sense we could almost see Tom Bombadil as Tolkien himself.

So which is it?  Is Tom a pagan nature deity, an Edenic prelapsarian Adam, or a bardic singer of tales?  His person, I think, is so mysterious, so rich, and so deep that he encompasses all three.  There is no reason to limit his persona.

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Kerstin Reply to Me:

Manny wrote: " It’s surprising to me how women enjoy LotR since it’s such a boy oriented book. Perhaps some of the ladies here can answer why they enjoy this boyish book."

I think first and foremost it is a very good story exceptionally well written. Everything else is secondary.

We have a quintessential hero's quest here. Man in his divinely ordained role as protector. What are the characters compelled to fight? The loss of peace, stability, order, and culture, in other words, they fight for their freedom to live within their inherited traditions. Now this serves women too. Only in peace and freedom can one raise stable families and provide for the needs of daily living. When a population gets enslaved - and this is the big outside threat - the family unit and thereby the culture that arose from it gets destroyed.
There is something deeply satisfying, even primal, in a well written hero's quest.

I would say my favorite female hero in literature is Penelope of the Odyssey. While her husband, as a result of dumb decisions, wanders around for twenty years before he finally gets home, she protects home and hearth. But it goes much deeper than that. Their marriage bed is no ordinary bed, it is carved out of a tree stump still rooted in the earth which Odysseus built himself. The house was built around it. On this bed they conceived their son Telemachus, and in the long years of waiting she is protecting his inheritance. That's quite heroic for a (young) woman in her prime given she has her choice and lure of male suitors. Aside from the material aspects, she is protecting at home peace and stability while the men are off at war.
In contrast, Agamemnon's wife Clytemnestra chose to defile the marriage bed, and his house and kingdom fell apart.

If one is to fend off threats from the outside, it takes heroic actions of both, men and women, those that are on the front lines and those who keep the home fires burning.

Michelle Comment:

There may be only one female so far, but soon Galadriel, Arwen and Eowyn will enter the picture. It's never bothered me with books. Some of my favorite are with male characters. Maybe because I'm in my mid-fifties, who knows.

Kerstin Reply to Me:

Manny wrote: "So which is it? Is Tom a pagan nature deity, an Edenic prelapsarian Adam, or a bardic singer of tales? His person, I think, is so mysterious, so rich, and so deep that he encompasses all three. There is no reason to limit his persona."

Here is another layer: The name Thomas means twin. He is like..., and like..., etc. Just like a twin who is part of a whole but still wholly separate.

It struck me that Tom Bombadil has an ordinary first name unlike most of the characters, which are creations of Tolkien.

My Reply to Kerstin:

Oh you're right Kerstin. I didn't realize that. Tom is the only contemporary name in the entire story with the possible except of his wife Goldberry. I guess Goldberry is contemporary, though perhaps unusual. So Tom and Goldberry not only go back to the beginning of time but in a sense they go forward to contemporary time. 

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One other thought on Tom and Goldberry, and this is perhaps a question and not a thought. How does Tom and Goldberry figure into the novel? Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I do not think they come back into the story. They are only here in these three chapters: six, seven, and eight. They are not part of the structural story. Tolkien could have left them out and had the hobbits get into other adventures on their way to Bree. What purpose does Tom and Goldberry play in the novel?

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Kerstin Reply:

That's a good question!

It may be to represent the past before the past, the pre-history. Throughout the story we read about ancestries and legacies of one sort or another. The history of a person, who somebody's ancestors are, where a certain people originally came from and why they were forced to settle in a new place long ago. All these things are still being documented and brought to mind as relevant. But there must have been something before known history, and Tom and Goldberry are a remnant of that time.

The value of tradition seems to me another theme in the book.

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I don’t have much to say about the chapter at the Prancing Pony.  I did find it humorous.  Here men and hobbits and dwarves and the allusive Rangers, a hodge podge for sure, all gathered together, shared stories, and got drunk.  Tolkien must have had his weekly Inklings gatherings at the local pub in mind.  The Prancing Pony scene reminded me of the bar scenes in the Star Wars movies where aliens of many eclectic species from across the universe come together to imbibe and fraternize.  The scene was so popular that I would say it became a meme in itself, and though I have not seen all the Star Wars movies, that meme was reproduced into all the movies as far as I can tell.  Wikipedia has an entry for that original bar scene called Mos Eisley, the name of the town it was to have happened, possibly parallel to the town of Bree.  Since Star Wars owed some inspiration to LotR, I have to believe that the bar scene was an imitation of the scene at the Prancing Pony.  There is something funny about a gathering of eclectic characters coming together to socialize.

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Bruce Comment:

This post is direct excerpts from Your Friend In Reykjavik:

 

In Icelandic folktales, we have countless stories about giant, ugly creatures that turn to stone when exposed to the sun. They are sometimes described as dumb and like tricking people in their favour. They usually live up in the mountains in caves. In The Hobbit, giant ugly creatures turn to stone when exposed to the sun. When they are not outside, they stay inside caves. Tolkien later explained that since trolls were created from stone by Morgoth using a spell cast in darkness, they change back to their true form when exposed to the sun, therefore turning to stone.

 

Tolkien did impressive work; he created all the characters, a whole new world, and a few languages.

 

One of the languages was the Angerthas or Dwarf runes. It was a runic script used by the dwarfs that utilized both runes and glyphs when written. It was created by the elven loremaster Daeron of Doriath and was at first called Cirth or Certar Daeron. The dwarfs learned the runes from the elves and took up that language. Later it became the dwarf language.

 

While other languages in Middle-Earth, like the Elvish languages (Quenya and Sindarin), were inspired by Latin and ancient Indian, the dwarf runes were inspired by the Nordic runes of the Vikings.

My Reply to Bruce:

Bruce, wow, some good stuff you posted. You should space it out a little bit so as to not overwhelm. Fascinating the connection with the Icelandic myths. That seems to be a real strong connection. I bet there is fodder there for anyone looking to do a term paper or Master's thesis.

 

What really caught my eye was how you point out that the various languages within the book are based on current languages. Elvish on Latin and Dwarf's languages on Germanic. One intuits this but it's good to have it formally put down to confirm it. The languages should be coming up soon, and I will definitely keep this in mind.

 

Some of the numerology you pointed out is also interesting. It makes sense.