Who do you think Tom Bombadil really was

[Bêthberry]

Originally Posted by Pitchwife

Agreed.
However - viewed purely as an entertaining thought-construct, regardless of its truth value, I find alatar's theory ingenious, especially the part about Fatty Lumpkin as the Third Person of the Trinity. After all, if the Holy Spirit can be symbolized by a pigeon, why not a pony? Both species have been used to convey messages...

And we Downers are particularly enamoured of ingenious theories.

Now, I was initially tempted to propose the Dustbroom Motivation. That is, when I read the very first post here, I saw a post desperately in need of a new broom to remove the code from previous forum software. Why, I couldn't even find the post topic amidst all that code! I thought maybe al was nudging our Moddess a bit, to tidy up her fora.

So I gave up and just looked back at alatar's resurrecting posts. Here's what intrigued me:

Originally Posted by the blue wizard

Originally Posted by In the House of Tom Bombadil
Quickly he (Tom) returned, bearing a large and laden tray. Then Tom and Goldberry set the table; and the hobbits sat half in wonder and half in laughter: so fair was the grace of Goldberry and so merry and odd the caperings of Tom. Yet in some fashion they seemed to weave a single dance, neither hindering the other, in and out of the room, and round the table; and with great speed food and vessels and lights were set in order. (emphasis added)

Now, al finds this evidence of two halves. I find it evidence of . . . The Author In His Work.

This bit of Fred and Ginger reminds me of Beren wanting to dance with Luthien, and we all know how autobiographical that part of The Silm is. Just think of the Tolkien headstone.

So, I'm more inclined, if we are going to consider Tom as a creator in his works, to think that Tom just might be Tolkien himself in his works. After all, it would be his little joke to give himself such verse. He would also of course be first, as without him none of it would exist. And he would be immune to the Ring, as he would know the Ring was a fictive construct of his own creation, not some villain's. And it would be just like an Author to send his characters out on adventures while he stays home in his cozy study, dotting all the i's and crossing all the t's and proofreading.


*curtsies*

[Pitchwife]

Originally Posted by Bêthberry

So, I'm more inclined, if we are going to consider Tom as a creator in his works, to think that Tom just might be Tolkien himself in his works.

Nice theory, and nice arguments! There may even be anagrammatic evidence to support it. If we take the name TOM BOMBADIL and eliminate from it all the letters it doesn't have in common with JOHN RONALD TOLKIEN, we're left with... er...
MBMB.
Er. Wait. MBMB???
Oh well... I guess it was worth a try...
*prays for the earth to swallow him*

Seriously though, I've always loved the Ginger & Fred passage, especially since I've got married myself. Maybe the only example in Tolkien's works (or one of two - I just remembered Sam and Rosie) of a happy and working marriage on an everyday level we mortal hobbits can relate to. Yes, I can easily see that this is what T. wished his own marriage to be like - though maybe not what it actually was like in their later years.
MayBe MayBe...

[Tuor in Gondolin]

Ah ha! One anagram of Tom Bombadil is
Blab Do IT Mom (obviously a secret message for Goldberry
to reveal,....,,ah?

Of course, another anagram is Bad Limbo Tom (internet search
engines can come in handy). Clearly an indication he's
not Fred Astaire, or even Gene Kelly. At least Tolkien never called for
an interpretive dance performance of Tom Bombadil and Goldberry.
OR DID HE!