[Elora]

I think it's worthwhile to suggest that there may be a very good reason why characters such as Tom B, Goldberry and Beorn remain mysterious and unexplained.

Tolkien was creating a mythology for Britian, a fictional ancient history in the manner of those owned by other cultures around the globe. Located in an "earth like" setting, it had all manner of fantastical creatures and events. Even some of the land masses Tolkien envisionaged vaguely resembled continents of Earth.

His imagined world was without a doubt complete with detail on so many events, cultures, people and languages. It's scope and breadth remain to be a defining feature that sets his work apart from others in the speculative fiction genre.

As with reality, mysterious things had a place in Middle-earth too. There are some things that he never intended to explain. The possibilities of his world were enhanced. Not even the wisest knew everything. The world went beyond what was explained by the characters or the narration of the books.

It's possible Tom and Goldberry are Maia... but it's equally possible that they are simply devices used to add even more scope to Tolkien's "world" - the unanswered mystery. Beorn is another unanswerable mystery.

I kinda like leaving their riddles unanswered as the good Professor wished. [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img]