Episode 30 Summary

[Tony Meade]

SESSION 30

Comment on the influence of Virgil’s Eclogues on the willow trees in the Old Forest:

• In these works, the willow trees put people to sleep as well.
• The farmer described begins to also sound a lot like Tom Bombadil in that text.
• The coincidence of these concepts in the two works may be less influence and more Tolkien and Virgil both being interested in similar things and speaking in similar ways about them.
• Their shared interest seems to be the concept of contentment and self-sufficiency in creating an ordered farm in the midst of the wild.
• Of course, Tolkien studied classics, so influence is not out of the question, but he also had original creations, which may be in parallel to older sources.

A definitive interpretation of Goldberry’s symbolism and identity:

• The reference to “river-daughter” may be to that of the flora and fauna supported by the river.
• This would include water-lilies, which themselves produce a yellow flower.
• The word “berry” in Goldberry’s name may refer to “fruit” of the river plants, meaning the flowers.
• Reeds and water-lilies are the two plants explicitly named in reference to Goldberry.
• She should then be considered a spirit of the river flowers, rather than simply a water spirit. The water flowers could be considered the “daughters of the river”.
• The comparison to a “reed by a pool”, and her wearing a gown which is “green as young reeds” and “covered in living flowers” make a connection to river plant life.
• Tom originally found her sitting among the reeds and water flowers by the banks of the Withywindle, which is exactly where one would expect to find a river flower spirit.
• It is probably her influence as a flower spirit that causes the water-lilies to linger so long, and to last all through the winter in Tom’s house.
• Most people have interpreted “river-daughter” to mean that she is a derivative water spirit of the spirit of the Withywindle, but her symbolism is much more in line with the flowering plants.
• When examining relations between allegorical figures or divinities in mythology, the symbolism in relation between the figures is all-important.
• All of Tom’s song lyrics about her also point to her water plant imagery.
• Note: In Andrew Lang’s fairy-stories, there is also a tale of a maiden being transformed into a water flower. This may not be a direct reference, but it’s a similar idea.
• The direct description goes beyond her symbolism, but her yellow hair and green dress is a direct comparison to water-lilies.
• Tom’s collecting water-lilies for Goldberry is a direct reference or recapitulation of his marriage.
• Note: The words for “nymph” and “water-lily” are directly related in Greek.

The Master of wood, water, and hill:

• There is an innocence imposed upon the hobbit’s fascination with Goldberry’s movements.
• This is not sexual, but more related to her natural grace, which is like the enjoyment of watching trees and plants and water by a river, which is unlike human movement.
• What are we interpret from Tom’s constant singing, especially about the color of his clothing?
• There seems to be a childlike quality about Tom that is without pride or dignity.
• There is possibly something in the lack of pride or ego in Tom that is designed to test the egocentricity of the readers.
• Note: Tom was originally inspired by one of Priscilla’s dolls, but that does not necessarily explain Tom’s childlike qualities.
• The space of Tom’s house, both physically and spiritually, allows one to delight in beauty without having inappropriate desires, which allows the hobbits to have their response to them.
• One quality of both Tom and Goldberry is innocence and purity, without corruption, that allows them to take such joy in their surroundings.
• There is a separation from evil within Tom’s home, but they are not themselves ignorant of evil or suffering, having witnessed much over their time in the world.
• Tom is an opposite of Saruman at the time of the Scouring, contrasting between an unspoiled and spoiled land and character.
• There is an emphasis on the quality of the colors, being described as “bright”. The colors are not totally unnatural, but it is striking how much they don’t blend into their surroundings.
• The colors are also prime colors, which are unmixed.
• Tom has no need of camouflage, as he has no fear.
• What material are the boots made from? Rubber is not possible.
• Tom is not only merry and singing merrily but is also singing about merriment itself. In doing so, he is broadcasting his joy and inviting others to join in with that joy.
• Is Tom a spirit of joy itself? Is he associated with Nienna? This is hard to say, and Tolkien does not explain how Tom fits into the Silmarillion mythology.

Who is Tom Bombadil?

• Note: This passage has led to the theory that Tom is in fact Eru Ilúvatar, due to the use of the phrase “He is”, echoing the phrase “I am that I am” as the name for God in the Bible. This was brought up during Tolkien’s lifetime, and he denied this correlation. This is also an example of Tolkien’s way of interacting with his own texts, approaching them as a reader and scholar, rather than as the original author. This is in contrast with many other authors’ approach.
• Frodo seems to be mistaking the question “who is he?” for the question “what is he?” Frodo may have meant “what” but Goldberry is answering the spoken question of “who”.
• Her clarification is drawing Frodo’s attention to what he has actually experienced, rather to any possible mysteries.
• Goldberry’s response is to the quality of Frodo’s question, though she is willing to expound.
• Note: There is a parallel to the story of David and Saul, after the king has met David and his defeat of Goliath, asking “who is he?”. He knows who David is, but he is asking a deeper question about his identity and importance within the fate of the world.
• What Goldberry (and Tolkien) is saying to Frodo is that there is no deeper mystery, and that Frodo only needs to examine his own experience of Tom to answer his own question.

(continued below)

 

[Tony Meade]

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A question of ownership:

• Goldberry spontaneously breaks into Tom’s trochaic heptameter when expounding on what she means by the term “master”.
• Frodo and Goldberry are clearly speaking at cross-purposes. Frodo seems to be talking about the term “master” as being about ownership, but Goldberry is clearly not.
• The concept of ownership seems to be an unpleasant surprise for Goldberry, per her response.
• Goldberry asserts that everything in nature belongs to itself, and there is no need for dominion.
• Tom’s mastery lacks any need for possession or domination (per Tolkien).
• Tom’s mastery is in his knowledge and understanding of the things living in his land.

Tom Bombadil as Master:

• How does Tom’s lack of ownership relate to his unwillingness to leave his own boundaries?
• This seems to be mainly to do with his contentment; he lacks nothing and has everything he wants. He has no need to leave, and the boundaries are self-imposed.
• Note: The word “master" has a very hierarchical connotation, such as master-student and master-servant relationships. This is why Tolkien clarifies that Tom is “master” in a very peculiar way, unique to himself, and outside of a hierarchy.
• Note: Another sense of the word “Master” is as the means of address to the child of the aristocratic lord. When used for other children, it is metaphorical. This doesn’t apply to Tom.
• There is also a sense of “mastery” in the sense of a craftsman, but this is not the sense in which Tom has achieved mastery. There is, however, a connection to knowledge and understanding.
• Tom’s mastery of the grass and trees is not ownership, but they do recognize him as Master.
• There is an element of leadership in Tom’s mastery, but this is still more active than Tom’s nature.
• Note: It is perhaps intentional that the unfamiliarity with Tom’s brand of mastery, as we would always attribute authority and ownership to it. Tolkien (through Goldberry) is asking us (through Frodo) to challenge our assumptions and to imagine a state of mastery without domination. Likewise, Tolkien was always loath to expound more on Tom Bombadil because he wants to depict something that is outside the normal categories of human experience.
• Is Tom’s world a glimpse of an unfallen world, i.e. Arda Unmarred? Perhaps.

Tom and Goldberry together at last:

• Tom immediately breaks into his verse meter when he greets his wife.
• All of the food items mentioned are originally listed in the wedding feast in the original poem.
• In this way, they daily recapitulate their wedding and love anew.
• Are Tom and Goldberry vegetarian? Based on their food, possibly, and it would be hard to imagine Tom killing and butchering animals. There was some violence done to the plant items, such as in the making of flour and picking of herbs and berries.
• Note: Tolkien’s emphasis on the lives and independence of plant life is interesting when it comes to killing plants for vegetarian foods, much the same as for animals.
• The growing of beans on poles shows a mastery over those plants’ lives.
• Where do they get the dairy products? It’s unclear, though possibly by trade with hobbits like Farmer Maggot.

Tom as lodging host:

• Tom’s spondaic beginning of “Tom, Tom!” is typical and lines up his prose with his poetic meter.
• His exhortation of the hobbits to clean and prepare themselves properly for dinner is another example of Tom’s surprising civilization in the midst of his wild home.
• There is often an assumption that hobbits never wear shoes at all, but this is not entirely true, and hobbits would enjoy the comfort and domesticity of their slippers.
• Where did the slippers come from? This seems to be part of Tom’s mysterious power.
• This is another example of the juxtaposition of the familiar with the alien for the hobbits.
• There is a sense in which the hobbits are getting the house they would expect or understand, but their mindset is still foreign to Goldberry, showing that it’s not entirely hobbitish there.
• Note: The familiarity of Tom’s house is in contrast with the candy house from “Hansel & Gretel”, where the house is strange but exactly what two starving children might want. In the original concept of the adventure, this was also supposed to be a witch’s house, but this plays with that.
• There are things missing that would make this even more hobbitish, such as beer, bacon, mushrooms, and smoking. The hobbits get what they need, not everything they want.
• All these elements work together to make Tom’s house an ineffable experience.

END OF SESSION