The hobbits experience a rain delay the morning after their first night in the house of Tom Bombadil, and Frodo couldn’t be happier. While Goldberry does her “washing”, Tom regales his guests with stories, but after supper Frodo starts telling his own tale, even the parts about the Black Riders and the Ring. What will happen when the “Eldest” crosses paths with the most dangerous weapon of the Third Age? Well, not that much, actually, and we’ll discuss why. Plus, why did Tolkien use the name “Tom” so often, and just what is Goldberry washing anyway?
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Recommended Reading:
Tolkien, J. R. R. Tales from the Perilous Realm (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, hardcover)
Tolkien, J. R. R. (Christopher Tolkien, ed.) The Silmarillion (Mariner Books, paperback)
A question from the deepest abyss of word-nerdery: What’s the opposite of “widdershins”?
Since the “widder-” part of that word means “against”, I’d love to be able to say that the opposite is “shins”… but apparently (and I only know this thanks to Hammond & Scull) it’s “deasil”.
It’s been so long since I did a proper read-through of the Lord of the Rings that I had forgotten a number of the details in this chapter, such as Tom waving off the rain and Goldberry’s voice coming down from above – something that makes me suspect that at that moment, she may not be in the form the hobbits have seen her in, or perhaps not fully corporeal at all; it made me wonder to what extent Tom and Goldberry have always been incarnate as the hobbits see them, or whether they have “put on raiment,” like the Ainur, to assume their current forms and lifestyle.
I was struck by the discussion of Goldberry representing the seasonal changes (and perhaps changing with them); while I have only dabbled a little in creative writing, it made me want to try writing a poem, or perhaps a short story, describing Goldberry (or, more likely, a Goldberry-like figure) during each of the four seasons.
On a semi-related note, when Tom, in talking about himself, says that he “knew the darkness under the stars when it was fearless – before the Dark Lord came from Outside,” my immediate reaction was somewhat different: it made me think of Arda as it was first created by Iluvatar, before the Valar descended and entered it. (Looking at the article on Tom on the Tolkien Gateway website, I see that it mentions the same idea.) In this interpretation, Tom could be some kind of spirit that is part of the world, and was created along with it; in this case, his original form could well have been entirely different from the one he has when we encounter him.
Thanks, Glenn! I love the idea of a poem about a Goldberry-like figure changing through the seasons. I’m reminded of Tolkien’s poem “The Trees of Kortirion,” which shows the changes in the trees of Warwick over the seasons.
As for your last paragraph, all I can say is: stay tuned for Episode 121 when we come up with some final thoughts on exactly what Tom is! I think you’ll enjoy the discussion.