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

[Bêthberry]

Good of you to quote the Bombadil verse from Tales of the Perilous Realm, davem. And answer to Bombadil, it is salutary to recall that Bombadil was a character already conceived before Tolkien began LotR, and was not part of the mythology of the Silm.

We could consider Tolkien's explanation of Tom in Letter # 153:

In historical fact I put him in because I had already 'invented' him independently (he first appeared in the Oxford Magazine) and wanted an 'adventure' on the way. But I kept him in, and as he was, because he represents certain things otherwise left out. [N.B. Now there's a statement for you!] I do not mean him to be an allegory--or I should not have given him so particular embodying individual, and ridiculous a name--but 'allegory' is the only mode of exhibiting certain functions: he is then an 'allegory' , or an examplar, a particular embodying of pure (real) natural science: the spirit that desires knowledge of other things, their history and nature, [i]because they are 'other' and wholly idependent of the enquiring mind,a spirit coeval with the rational mind, and entirely unconcerned with 'doing' anything with knowledge: Zoology and Botany not Cattle-breeding or Agruculture. Even the Elves hardly show this: they are primarily artists.

Now, we can take this with a grain of salt or not. Is Tom's enigmatic nature (another explanation of him from Tolkien, Letter # 144) the result of this alien transposition into a tale not wholly suitable? Was Tolkien so taken with this idea of representing something disappearing from the modern world that he happily accepted the fact that Tom does not fit well? After all, the demand that all parts of a work of art cohere competely is not an absolute requirement, and one quite often neglected if not denigrated by nonsense and fantastical literatures. Yet if Tolkien were adamant and serious about this point that knowledge was becoming more and more mechanical and bent on domination, why did he choose to clothe it in a ridiculous figure which has drawn scorn and derision if not neglect?

(It is, I think, highly significant that on this thread we have had Fordim and Sauce indulge in some silly nonsense posts, yes, indeed it is, Silmiel of Imladris. But of course with a nod towards wit and cleverness.)

Clearly, I think, Tolkien wanted a character who was himself wholly 'other'. There are things that order and rationality cannot include. The passage I quoted above concludes with this observation:

Also T.B. exhibits another point in his attitude to the Ring, and its failure to affect him. You must concentrate on some part, probably relatively small, of the World (Universe) whether to tell a tale, however long, or to learn anythig however fundamental--and therefore much will from that 'point of view' be left out, distorted on the circumference, or seem a discordant oddity. The power of the ring over all concerned, even the Wizards or Emissaries, is not a delusion--but it is not the whole picture, even of the then state and content of that part of the Universe.

Early in this thread Aiwendil made this observation about the worth of these three chapters, about why Tolkien did not excise them once he had straight in his mind what LotR was going to be about:

Looking at it this way, what Tolkien does is present a series of minor incidents each of which alters the tension in some way. Most add to it, a little bit at a time. One detracts from it - which only makes its eventual reappearance more striking. And only at the very climax does anything actually happen . A mistake too many authors make is to think that the reader is conscious only of what is happening at the moment, so that they think a constant level of action must be maintained for the story to be interesting. Tolkien realizes that readers have a memory and also a sense of anticipation, so that each of the little incidents he presents adds to the tension.

Tolkien himself in the first extant reference in his Letters to Bombadil suggests that there was a narrative reason for including these three chapters. (My, I am doing a fair bit of quoting today.)

Mr. Baggins began as a comic tale among conventional and inconsistent Grimm's fairy-tale dwarves, and got drawn into the edge of it--so that even Sauron the terrible peeped over the edge. And what more can hobbits do? They can be comic, but their comedy is suburban unless it is set against things more elemental. But the real fun about orcs and dragons (to my mind) was before their time. Perhaps a new (if similar) line? Do you think Tom Bombadil, the spirit of the (vanishing) Oxford and Berkshire countryside, could be made into the hero of a story? ...

This very early letter, before the sequel to the Hobbit was begun and while Tolkien was yet immersed in "the construction of elaborate and consistent mythology (and two languages)" shows Tolkien aware of the nature of narrative, of how to structure and organise events of a tale. Again, Tolkien appears to have been thinking of how to use Tom to contrast the hobbits and other events. Again, a recognition of how to use "the other" to set off his tale, even before it is written.

Having said all this in one post (that's what you get when I don't get around to posting on the thread for its entire week of life--you didn't think someone who constructed her entire RPG persona around Tom and Goldberry would not be here, did you?), I would like to return to davem comment about Goldberry.

davem wrote:

This episode follows straight on from Tom's first encounter with Goldberry, who is also malicious

Well now, yes, Goldberry pulls Tom into the water. And she appears to be in line with other perils Tom faces, as davem has pointed out, Old Man Willow, the badger folk and the barrow wight. Yet does Tom fear her? Can we say he views her as malicious? Tom calls out to her, "You bring it back, you pretty maiden." From the first, he is aware of Goldberry's gender. And he returns to her, to capture her and take her away from her mother:

Said Tom Bombadil: "Here's my pretty maiden!
You shall come home with me! The table is all laden
...
... Never mind your mother
in her deep weedy pool: there you'll find no lover!"

To me, there is little maliciousness here but much frisky play. Certainly, by the time we see Tom and Goldberry in The House of Bombadil, they have been much domesticated. This, however, is to jump ahead.

Oh, and, Evisse the Blue, I think you are right on about Tom's ability to make fun of himself. Maybe if Frodo had a little more sense of humour....

[davem]

Originally Posted by Bethberry

Yet does Tom fear her? Can we say he views her as malicious? Tom calls out to her, "You bring it back, you pretty maiden." From the first, he is aware of Goldberry's gender. And he returns to her, to capture her and take her away from her mother

Well, playing Devil's advocate, I have to point out that Tom doesn't fear any of his 'attackers'!Goldberry does play the part of all the River 'goddesses', pulling the unwary traveller down into her underwater realm. The whole tone of the poem is comic - even the barrow wight is presented as a kind of pantomime demon figure, & is given short shrift by Tom, who shoos him out of his house.

I have to say, I've always felt there was something very 'primal' about the whole Tom & Goldberry relationship, as if we're witnessing forces of nature personified, rather than simply two odd inhabitants of the forest. Goldberry is the spirit of the river - a very 'feminine' force, beautiful, mysterious, but also deep, dangerous, consuming, like the river which is her 'mother ' winding sinuously through the heart of the forest (Withywindle = 'winding through the withies/willows'), but what is Tom? He's someone who has come into the forest, master, but not an aspect of the wood, as it & its inhabitants don't seem to like him very much! If he doesn't completely 'belong' in the story, does he really 'belong' in the Forest, either? He's both incredibly wise & incredibly (annoyingly?) simple. And in the next chapter he gets worse (or better!) In the earliest draft he tells the hobbits he is ab-origine. He's the first - but the first what? He seems to have simply decided to pop up in the Old Forest, & instantly has the run of the place, whether the inhabitants want him or not - he seems to have done the same with Lord of the Rings. He pops up in the book & dominates three chapters, & then, apart from a couple of mentions by other characters, disappears again.

Perhaps that's what some readers find annoying - he's the extravert uncle, who embarrasses his nieces & nephews with his antics, who they usually wish would just be quiet & act his age, but he's also the one they run to when they're in trouble, because he's the one they know will get them out of it, & make everything alright again (& then he'll straightaway do something silly again). Its like he's joie de vivre given physical form, who'll always do just as he pleases, laughing his head off & singing nonsense all the while. You simply can't decide whether you want to slap him or hug him. Half of you just wants him to go away (& let life be SERIOUS!!!!- MY GOD - don't you realise there are BLACK RIDERS out there, & a Ring of Power to be dealt with! Get REAL Man, for once in your life!) & the other half of you never wants him to leave, because while he's around you're safe - however irrational that feeling of safety might be.

I suspect he knows full well that he annoys the hell out of some readers, & that's part of the fun for him - my advice to them is pretend (if you can) not to be annoyed by him, because that just makes him worse.

'He only does it to annoy, because he knows it teases'.