I've been away from the boards for a while (sinus infection -- better now!), and WOW! This has suddenly become an extremely interesting topic! Cool!
Lhun - I need to re-read The Hobbit, but I will look for the similarities the next time through! Thanks!
Nar & Kale - I DEFINITELY need to read the Sil (it's next on my list, after I finish the Tolkien biography I'm reading)! But your ideas are clear and I find them totally fascintating. (Though I don't know enough right now to be able to get into a discussion on that level.)
Naar - First of all, now that you bring out the "numbers" concept (1-3-5-9), I feel so stupid for not having noticed it before! Very astute! Secondly, I, too, am fascinated by the concept of the beings who live in "both sides" at once (as noted about Glorfindel, et al). Very interesting thought about that being the reason that the Ring had no invisibility-effect on TB -- b/c he was already "grounded" in the other side. But I disagree with you on your point that the reason the Ring had no effect on him was b/c he had no desire for it.
The concept of a Ring of Invisibility dates back at least as far as the philosopher Plato, who imagines the "Ring of Gyges," which makes its wearer invisible. This leads to a discussion of Justice: If a man came into possession of the Ring of Gyges, surely he would use it to obtain all the wealth and power that he could for himself. The argument back is that the Just Man would not do this. The counter-argument to this is that no man is that just. Indeed, in LOTR, Tolkien spends a huge amount of time telling us how the temptation of the One Ring is so difficult to refuse. He, himself, is re-stating Plato's case about human weakness and the veritable improbability of the existence of a person who could be so purely just as to be able to refuse a ring of power. (Not even Gandalf, or Galadriel, would trust themselves to be able to withstand the Ring's power!) Therefore, I do not believe that Bombadil was "above" the Ring's power for the "lack of desire" reason.
In LOTR, TB is referred-to as being "fatherless." This tells us that though he takes a manlike form, he cannot be a man. In fact, we learn that he is the "oldest of the old" (yeah, he and Fangorn). It is for this reason that I believe, rather, that he is able to withstand the temptation of the Ring's power: because he was an entity who was in existence before the Ring was created. Even though Sauron poured all of his own power into the Ring, and even though Sauron's "world" grew larger and stronger while Bombadil's was getting smaller, TB's "being" superceded that of the Ring, thus rendering it powerless over him.
Those are my thoughts, anyway... [img]smilies/biggrin.gif[/img]
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- Eve
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