LotR -- Book 1 - Chapter 06 – The Old Forest

[davem]

Originally Posted by Lalwende

Davem, now I'll have to go and read Adventures of Tom Bombadil again! It's just struck me that Goldberry is rather like Ginny Greenteeth, the weed that floats on slow moving rivers and brooks, and which is supposed to be a female water spirit who drags the unwary under (this folk story is a very vivid childhood memory, probably told to me to make sure I stayed away from waterweed).

We speculated on this before, here:
http://forum.barrowdowns.com/showthr...ghlight=powler.

There's an interesting book on, among other things, Tolkien's sources, The Uncharted Realms of Tolkien, reviewed here:
http://home.insightbb.com/~sauron/UnchartedRealms.htm.

Interestingly enough, in the Poem Tom is captured by Goldberry, Willowman, a family of Badgers, & finally, in his bedroom, by the Barrow Wight, & he escapes in exactly the same way from all of them - by commanding them to go backto sleep.

Goldberry:'You bring it back again, there's a pretty maiden!'
said Tom Bombadil. 'I do not care for wading.
Go down! Sleep again where the pools are shady
far below willow-roots, little water-lady!

OMW:''You let me out again, Old Man Willow!
I am stiff lying here; they're no sort of pillow,
your hard crooked roots. Drink your river-water!
Go back to sleep again like the River-daughter!

Badgers:''Now, old Badger-brock, do you hear me talking?
You show me out at once! I must be a-walking.
Show me to your backdoor under briar-roses;
then clean grimy paws, wipe your earthy noses!
Go back to sleep again on your straw pillow,
like fair Goldberry and Old Man Willow!'

Barrow Wight:'Go out! Shut the door, and never come back after!
Take away gleaming eyes, take your hollow laughter!
Go back to grassy mound, on your stony pillow
lay down your bony head, like Old Man Willow,
like young Goldberry, and Badger-folk in burrow!
Go back to buried gold and forgotten sorrow!'

Its as if they should all be asleep, their awakening is somehow 'wrong', & Tom's role in the forest is to keep them all somnolent.

Finally, jumping back to the last chapter's debate, on the meaning of the name [i]Brandywine[/] - in the other Bombadil poem, Bombadil goes Boating, there is this verse:

Red flowed the Brandywine: with flame the river kindled.
as sun sank beyond the Shire, and then to grey it dwindled.
Mithe Steps empty stood. None was there to greet him.
Silent the Causeway lay. Said Tom: 'A merry meeting!'

Perhaps the brandy/fire relationship comes from this - at sunset the brown waters are turned firey red by the sunlight????