I don't remember anyone posting this before, but it's interesting to hear Tolkien reading his Tom Bombadil poem:
Also, according to Wikipedia: "As with Roverandom, Tolkien's initial inspiration came from an incident with his children playing with toys. Tolkien invented Tom Bombadil in memory of a Dutch doll which had been flushed down a lavatory."
In the poem, Tom's adventures begin by being pulled into the water. I suppose that's how he got down the lavatory. It was Goldberry's fault.
I also find it interesting to read in Wikipedia about Dutch Dolls: "Peg wooden dolls, also known as Dutch dolls, are a type of wooden doll from the Netherlands and Germany. They originated as simple lathe-turned dolls from the Val Gardenain the Alps.[1] These dolls were sold undressed. Children would then make their clothing from scraps of fabric."
So... Tom's gay clothing was a matter of choice, probably by Tolkien's children. We know Tom's singing has power. I wonder if his singing about his attire has anything to do with how that attire is perceived by his hearers, or his singing can actually affect the attire itself.
Now, from the text of the Fellowship regarding the hobbit's first encounter with Tom: "there came into view a man, or so it seemed. At any rate he was too large and heavy for a hobbit, if not quite tall enough for one of the Big People." So Tom is larger and heavier than a hobbit, but not as tall as a man. We later read about Tom's house, "They were in a long low room". Perhaps it was low because it didn't need to be any bigger than that because Tom himself was not too big. Often, we think of Tom as being a strange sort of a man, but if we do, we should remember that he is littler than men are.
Also, when the hobbits enter Bree, we read that Sam "had imagined himself meeting giants taller than trees... but at the moment he was finding his first sight of Men and their tall houses quite enough." Rather than stay at the Prancing Pony, he suggested looking for hobbit-folk and staying with them. It seems as though these are the largest folk he has ever encountered, by enough of a margin that he finds it intimidating. He had previously met Tom and these men were of a vastly different scale to him. Tom hadn't seemed too big to the small hobbit, Sam.
For that matter, I find it interesting that Sam had not been intimidated by the stature of Gildor and his folk. The narrator had described at least one of them as tall, but he did not say whether that tallness was relative to the hobbits, to the other elves, or to men. "Tall" is a relative term. Anyway, from the description of Sam's first encounter with the men of Bree (who are described as short), it sounds to me as if their size is something new to Sam.
Regarding the meaning of the word "tall", Butterbur reports that Gandalf had described Mr Baggins as "a stout little fellow ... but taller than some". It is clear there that he is taller than other hobbits. One needs context to understand what the word "tall" means. On the other hand, perhaps "tall" is an absolute term, and "taller" is relative. But I don't think so.
Also, according to Wikipedia: "As with Roverandom, Tolkien's initial inspiration came from an incident with his children playing with toys. Tolkien invented Tom Bombadil in memory of a Dutch doll which had been flushed down a lavatory."
In the poem, Tom's adventures begin by being pulled into the water. I suppose that's how he got down the lavatory. It was Goldberry's fault.
I also find it interesting to read in Wikipedia about Dutch Dolls: "Peg wooden dolls, also known as Dutch dolls, are a type of wooden doll from the Netherlands and Germany. They originated as simple lathe-turned dolls from the Val Gardenain the Alps.[1] These dolls were sold undressed. Children would then make their clothing from scraps of fabric."
So... Tom's gay clothing was a matter of choice, probably by Tolkien's children. We know Tom's singing has power. I wonder if his singing about his attire has anything to do with how that attire is perceived by his hearers, or his singing can actually affect the attire itself.
Now, from the text of the Fellowship regarding the hobbit's first encounter with Tom: "there came into view a man, or so it seemed. At any rate he was too large and heavy for a hobbit, if not quite tall enough for one of the Big People." So Tom is larger and heavier than a hobbit, but not as tall as a man. We later read about Tom's house, "They were in a long low room". Perhaps it was low because it didn't need to be any bigger than that because Tom himself was not too big. Often, we think of Tom as being a strange sort of a man, but if we do, we should remember that he is littler than men are.
Also, when the hobbits enter Bree, we read that Sam "had imagined himself meeting giants taller than trees... but at the moment he was finding his first sight of Men and their tall houses quite enough." Rather than stay at the Prancing Pony, he suggested looking for hobbit-folk and staying with them. It seems as though these are the largest folk he has ever encountered, by enough of a margin that he finds it intimidating. He had previously met Tom and these men were of a vastly different scale to him. Tom hadn't seemed too big to the small hobbit, Sam.
For that matter, I find it interesting that Sam had not been intimidated by the stature of Gildor and his folk. The narrator had described at least one of them as tall, but he did not say whether that tallness was relative to the hobbits, to the other elves, or to men. "Tall" is a relative term. Anyway, from the description of Sam's first encounter with the men of Bree (who are described as short), it sounds to me as if their size is something new to Sam.
Regarding the meaning of the word "tall", Butterbur reports that Gandalf had described Mr Baggins as "a stout little fellow ... but taller than some". It is clear there that he is taller than other hobbits. One needs context to understand what the word "tall" means. On the other hand, perhaps "tall" is an absolute term, and "taller" is relative. But I don't think so.
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