Episode 31 Summary

[Tony Meade]

SESSION 31

Comment on Tom Bombadil’s anarchy:

• Tolkien had an interest in anarchism, with regard to the Hobbits, not the political kind.
• Farmer Cotton is a textual example of Tolkien’s social views of this kind of benevolent anarchy.
• Tolkien had to distinguish his brand of anarchy from those known for blowing things up in the early 20th century.
• Tom Bombadil is more of an example of a perfected model of the abstract concept of anarchy.

Comment on Tom Bombadil’s inclusion in The Lord of the Rings:

• Tom is a strange character to both The Silmarillion and The Hobbit worlds.
• The original Tom Bombadil poem predates The Hobbit, but he was added to The Lord of the Rings very early in the writing process.
• Tolkien’s original plot notes included a witch house adventure but replaced that with Tom and Goldberry very early on.
• It’s important to remember that the Silmarillion and Hobbit worlds were not originally integrated prior to the writing of The Lord of the Rings.
• It’s interesting that Tolkien does not change or adjust Tom’s character or story from the poem to fit with the world of The Silmarillion, as he does with characters from The Hobbit, such as Elrond.
• Tolkien was adamant about keeping the mystery around Tom, and not fitting him in with the schema of the legendarium.
• By bringing in the elements from the poem wholesale, this allows for some inside jokes for those who have read the original poem.
• The one major difference between the book and the poem is in the captures of Tom in the poem, while Goldberry asserts his mastery and power in the book.
• Note: Within the frame of the story Tolkien attributes the writing of “The Adventures of Tom Bombadil” to the Bucklanders’ traditional poetry.

The hospitality of Tom and Goldberry:

• The whole scene of perfect comfort and good cheer is in stark contrast to the uncanny and dangerous day that they have survived in the Old Forest.
• Tom shows extra hospitality by taking care of their ponies, not only relieving the hobbits of the responsibility for this job, but also to show welcome to the ponies themselves. Looking after horses after a ride is a lot of work, something a modern audience may not appreciate.
• Tom is referred to as “the Master” in the dinner scene, which means that the narrator has embraced and chosen to emphasize that aspect of his character.
• When Tom arrives in the house, he is wearing a crown of leaves, which is immediately after Goldberry identifies Tom as “the Master”.
• In contrast, the dinner in the house of Tom Bombadil is very homey, rather than regal, such as later episodes in Rohan and Gondor.
• This is also similar to the way that Frodo, Sam, and Pippin in the house of Farmer Maggot.
• The dinner and the effect on the hobbits are the fulfillment of the invitation to fun and singing together issued by Tom and Goldberry in turn.
• Goldberry excuses herself early, much like a Victorian lady might, to leave the men alone to talk amongst themselves. This may be related to her flower affinity, as flowers close up at night.
• The singing seems to be related to the water-like drink they consume at dinner.
• Frodo had already experienced this phenomenon in his spontaneous verse for Goldberry.
• This is showing that the hobbits are being brought into Tom’s world and are changed.
• The literal sense of “enchantment” related to singing is important here.
• The effect of the water is a purer version of what alcohol does, without the bad side effects.
• The drink is mysterious, and its description is only that it is like water in look and taste, and the effect is like wine, but the actual identity of the drink is unknown.
• Ent-draught is shown to be a similar substance, in that it is water that has been enchanted.
• The Elvish drink that was left with the hobbits in Woodhall is another of these kinds of drinks.

The benediction of Goldberry:

• Goldberry recognizes the dangers that outside in the Old Forest and the hobbits’ own fears but enjoins them to take comfort in the safety of the house.
• Tolkien clearly puts benedictions in the mouths of those that have the power to make them real.
• Goldberry’s “Good night!” may be in the category of Bilbo’s “Good morning!”, in that it has multiple meanings and we are left to parse which one she means.
• Her exit with a glimmer and a rustle reinforces her flower imagery, and the sound of her footsteps reinforces her relationship with water.

Tom and the hobbits, after-hours:

• The hobbits seem to be put in the role of children in Tom’s house, with the awkwardness of their curiosity and their understanding of Tom’s position over them.
• Note: The Black Riders would be totally unable to enter Tom Bombadil’s house. This is preserved from an earlier draft, with a cut episode in which Tom is shown to be able to stop the Black Riders with his words. Later, at the Fords of Bruinen, in which Frodo is described as not having the power to stop the Black Riders, in contrast to Tom, who can.
• Does Tom’s power and mastery come from him or from the land itself? It seems as though his mastery does not extend beyond his own land.

(continued below)

 

[Tony Meade]

(continued)

If chance you call it:

• Tom answers Frodo by saying that he did not hear them, but he knew they were coming.
• Tom also says that he had not planned for their meeting but acknowledges that there was a plan at work in their meeting.
• In a way, Tom is discounting chance as an explanation, while allowing them to call it chance.
• This is similar to Gildor’s response to Frodo, in his understanding that there is a plan, though he is not aware of their role in that plan.
• Note: Tom seems to be referring to the plan as being Ilúvatar’s plan, which would discount the possibility of Tom being Eru himself.
• He makes it clear that he was fully aware of the hobbits’ struggles in the Old Forest.
• Where did Tom get his news about their journey? The trees? The elves? It’s possible that he got a message from Gildor, but Gildor couldn’t know that they would enter the forest.
• Tom knows of the details of their journey within the forest, so the news must have come from inside the forest while they were on their way.
• He also says that he knew how their journey would end at Old Man Willow, but that he had no plans to rescue them until it happened.
• The gathering of the flowers seems to be his priority, regardless of this knowledge.
• The flowers become more important given Goldberry’s identity.
• The act of the gathering of flowers could be interpreted as the working of Providence, as he has faith (estel) that if he goes about his business, he will be in the right place to help if needed.
• Tom doesn’t seem to fear that this will be misunderstood or insulting to his guests.
• Tom presents the picking of the flowers as if it is a secret into which he’s welcoming.
• The “he” that dared not hinder his errand does not refer to Old Man Willow, but to Tom himself.
• This is to emphasize the importance of his errand of picking flowers.
• Tom often speaks of himself in the third person, which seems to be an expression of an innocent self-reflection, rather than self-regard.

Tom falls back into verse:

• Tom shifts back into the first person for the song, which reflects the tone of revealing a secret.
• He reveals much more detail through the song than he does in prose earlier.
• It’s important to note that in this song, Tom does not rhyme as he did before when singing.
• It’s a compromise between the prose speech and singing that Tom has done before.
• Tom never falls into normal prose, but this verse does not work as Tom’s prose, either.
• Tom sets a context of his errand as an annual ritual, and then goes on to describe the errand.
• He then explains why the errand is so important for both Goldberry and Tom himself.
• In context of Goldberry’s identity as a water-flower spirit, the flowers make more sense.
• The line that stands out for many readers is “and her heart was beating!”, which seems to be an anticlimax, following the poem’s buildup.
• Tom seems to be emphasizing her heart as the thing he notices, not her appearance.
• It is also not a given that an embodied water spirit would have a beating heart.
• This would imply that Goldberry has manifested a fully functional body in binding herself to the physical world, and to Tom himself. This has a permanence that isn’t automatic.
• Note: There is a fairy-tale tradition in which Tom might gather the lilies to keep Goldberry with him. This would explain why Tom dared not hinder his errand to gather the flowers. But her permanent embodiment would tell against this idea, as this was her choice.
• The gathering of flowers may be a manifestation of the joining of Tom’s house and Goldberry’s river home, which recapitulates their union, like the wedding feast.

Tom returns to the present:

• Tom emphasizes the good fortune of the hobbits, as this was the last opportunity for Tom to find them in this year.
• This reinforces for Tom that this was more than chance, and that there was a plan in action.
• The trees may have ironically contributed to the hobbits’ good fortune of meeting Tom.
• The evil acts of outside forces often result in fortunate ends in Tolkien’s writings.

Tom sends them off to bed:

• Tom chooses not to answer the questions at night, which emphasizes the child-adult dynamic between the hobbits and Tom. Tom is even referred to as “the old man”.
• Like Goldberry, Tom speaks a more obvious blessing over them in sending them to bed.
• The use of “old man” is telling, as he has not yet revealed how long he has been there.
• Gandalf and Tom have both said that darkness is not the time to speak of dark subjects.
• This is also related to the idea of speaking things into being, and that by speaking of dark things in the dark hours, they are given power they would not have otherwise.
• Their immediate sleep seems to be related to Tom’s incantation of sleep over them.

END OF SESSION

 

[NotACat]

• When Tom arrives in the house, he is wearing a crown of leaves, which is immediately after Goldberry is identified as “the Master”.

You mean "after Goldberry identifies him as the Master", shirley?

 

[Tony Meade]

Surely, you mean "surely", not "shirley".

 

[NotACat]

Surely, you mean "surely", not "shirley".