Where True Powers Dwelt: Tolkien's Mystery Element

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While some intellectuals recognized British author John Ronald Reuel Tolkien as a distinguished philologist and a respectable professor of Anglo-Saxon at Oxford, the world acknowledges the efficacious impact on fictional works caused by Tolkien's powerful writing. Almost all of Tolkien's classical works concerned Middle-Earth, a parallel representation of what this world would have been if inhabited by Halflings, Elves, Wizards, Orcs, Ents and many more mythical creatures. It was a fantasy most critics of Tolkien's time scorned as childish escapist tales. Despite the negative feedback from critics, Middle-Earth remained popular throughout the generations.


The battle of symbols and words that depicted Middle-Earth commenced with The Hobbit, Tolkien's first novel. The Hobbit appealed to children more than to adults, for it had been of a lighter nature than the rest of Tolkien's novels. Regardless of the range of Tolkien's audience, The Hobbit prepared the readers and set the situation for a waging of war. Tolkien's works enchanted the imagination because of its basis in our chaotic world. Instead of escaping from reality, Tolkien artfully delineated the tragic boundaries of our realities as he described the old stereotypes and grudges as well as friendship and fellowship between the races. He sorrowfully lamented of hostilities and wrongs committed by those who should have been united. The Hobbit preluded to The Lord of the Rings, an epic novel for which Tolkien was renowned. The Lord of the Rings, consisted of three volumes The Fellowship of the Rings , The Two Towers, and The Return of the King, captivated the fancies of international readers of every age and size.


The heroes in Tolkien's stories do not seek adventure or fame or a magic sword. An illustration of realistic heroes are found in his Fellowship of the Rings novel: when an evil tyrant known as Sauron sought to wield his powerful ring, Tolkien chose the most unlikely, placid, race out of Middle-Earth to bear the burden of ultimately destroying Sauron's weapon. Tolkien, instead of sending Middle-Earth another warrior such as Beowulf, developed Hobbits - Halfing who only wanted a peace of mind and to live in harmony at the elusive Shire. They were not wise like the high Elves, nor strong like the Dwarves, righteous like the proud race of Men, or mystical like the Wizards. As they bumbled through their journey, the hobbits were not glorified heroes because of their expertise in War. Yet it was hobbits who discovered the Master Ring and unwillingly became Sauron's bane. They rid Middle-Earth of the Ring, and in doing so, defeated Sauron. they were sung of for their valour when their services were needed. This reflects reality because real heroes are often borne out of necessity in order to rectify something.


Many readers deemed The Lord of the Rings a symbolic portrayal of World War II. Sauron was compared to Adolf Hitler; ruthless Dark Lords with malice, setting evil forces at play. However, Tolkien dissuaded this notion by writing in his foreword to The Fellowship, "As for any inner meaning or 'message', it has in intention of the author none. It is neither allegorical nor topical". Though the randomness of Tolkien's art is certainly admirable; his humble but complex characters in The Lord of the Rings accentuated many realistic themes that the reader relates to.

Nature of Man In Regard to his Fellows

First of all, there was acknowledgment that people are not omnipotent in their judgment of others. In a conversation between Ring-bearer Frodo and Gandalf the Wizard, Gandalf talked about how the halfling Bilbo was compelled by his pity in sparing the life of Gollum - the betrayer - the The Fellowship of the Rings1:

many that lives deserve death. And some that die deserve life. can you give it to them? Then do not be too eager to deal out death in judgment. For even the very wise cannot see all ends [...]. My heart tells me that he has some part to play yet, for good or ill, before the end; and when that comes, the pity of Bilbo may rule the fate of many - yours not the least.

Gollum entered more completely when he met up with Frodo in The Two Towers, where he was portrayed a grotty creature. Tolkien displayed Gollum as wretched and tormented by his desire for the ring of power, who unexpectedly sacrificed his life and completed Frodo's task of destroying the very Ring he sought to possess in the end. Is Gollum, then, not a miserable creature, not to be pitied? For he who dabbled in evil and good was but a model of how complex humans are. Tolkien showed that the impetus which brought about the victory of complicated characters who overcame dangers and prevailed was by humane qualities such as mercy, hope, forgiveness, pity, greed, jealousy and desperation in an obsession.


Another example of mercy is displayed in the third book, The Return of the King2, when Frodo pardoned and liberated his enemy Saruman in hope that the Wizard would find a deviation from his evil path. The transformation might not occur, but Frodo's faith - and what's more, pity - proved devastating to Saruman, who tried to stab the hobbit in the back. Deprived of a valid excuse/reason for his hatred of Frodo, Saruman tried to spite the kindness and enrage Frodo:

Yes, you have grown very much. You are wise, and cruel. You have robbed my revenge of sweetness, and now I must go hence in bitterness, in debt to your mercy. I hate it and you! Well, I go and I will trouble you no more. But do not expect me to wish you health and long life. You will have neither. But that is not my doing, I merely foretell

But the fellowship of friends had grown indeed in wisdom and its fellows long learned to accept life. People must embrace the risks as well to reap the rewards, the consequence of our choices. When Frodo decided to leave the Shire for the last time, he said to his dearest companion Samwise: "I tried to save the Shire, and it has been saved, but not for me. It must often be so, Sam, when things are in danger: some one has to give them up, lose them, so that others may keep them. But you are my heir: all that I had and might have I leave to you"3. Frodo understood the harsh price4 of his sacrifice, and yet was not afraid to protect his home when needed, because he chose to do so in order to preserve the Shire. Samwise Gamgee was glancing upon the visage of courage when he and his master parted.


J.R.R. Tolkien demonstrated that forgiveness and bravery, instead of self-righteousness and bloodlust, was more triumphant. He conveyed a faith that we were all sinners, and only God could judge us: "it is useless to meet revenge with revenge: it will heal nothing" 5. As every writer would inevitably, unintentionally, express his or her belief, Tolkien was no exception to this rule.


Tolkien was religious and believed in resurrection. Before King Aragorn of the fellowship passed away, the man claimed "But let us not be overthrown at the final test, who of old renounced the Shadow and the Ring. In sorrow we must go, but not in despair. Behold! we are not bound forever to the circles of the world, and beyond them, is more than memory, Farewell6!" Memories exceed the mortality span. The essence of our humanity left tracks upon the lives of others not so different from the trail of autumn leaves on the red soil in that they disintegrate into fertilizer and re-appear once more into the cycle of life. Arwen's burial came shortly after: "She laid herself to rest upon Cerin Amroth; and there is her green grave, until the world is changed, and all the days of her life are utterly forgotten by men that come after, and the elanor and niphredil bloom no more east of the Sea" 7. Some attributed Tolkien's hope and faith - in God's provided future after the mortal coils are shed - to the King and Queen's death.

Enigma and the Want of Definition


Many Lord of the Rings readers were shocked and confused by the unanticipated significance - or rather, the blatant lack thereof significance - of Tom Bombadil's abrupt appearance interrupting an extremely serious scene where the hobbits were being attacked in a Forest:
Hel dol! merry do! ring a dong dillo!
Ring a dong! hop along! fal lal the willow!
Tom Bom, jolly Tom, Tom Bombadillio!
While the rest of the epic fantacy lapsed more downcast and grave in its dark narrative of Sauron's wandering eye, long-reaching arm, and ironfist reign, Tom Bombadil was such a merry character always full of laughing rhymes and ditties that he seemed out of sync with the grim tone the novel is set in. Many readers and critics alike regarded Tom as ridiculous or silly and thought Tolkien only presented the outlandish character to fill up chapters six through eight in The Fellowship, akin to one of William Shakespeare's literary 'comic relief' characters8 preceding a heavy scene in the valley of Withywindle, or the Old Forest, according to the hobbits.
Though having trivial plot roles in the storyline, Tom Bombadil served much more purposes thematically than a red herring technique. He was the most indispensible and secret element in Tolkien's writing, for Tom Bombadil represented - oddly enough - Tolkien's reality the best out of all The Lord of the Rings characters. Which is saying something, since portrayal of reality in fictional characters was what rendered Tolkien's works so popular and credible that he was often pelted by ardent readers' "Is Sauron really Hitler?" questions?


There are many controversies concerning Tom Bombadil. One is his identity. As elusive as the Dark Lord Sauron the Great remained, Tom was the most mysterious of The Lord of the Rings characters. Bombadil, also called Forn, Iarwain, and Ben-adar by the Elves, was unique in his aloofness; for whereas all the other characters in the books had been detailed and described down to the very last inch on their furry feet, Tolkien had neglected to specify who or what was Tom Bombadil. He was only described in The Fellowship as too tall for a Hobbit, too short as a Man, old, merry with bright blue coat that matches his eyes, and brown beard sprouting out of an apple-cheeked9 red face.

Theories about Bombadil

Some thought that Tom's riddling songs comes either from being a nature nymph or a Maia 10. Others preferred to regard him as a forest sprite or a wood elf, arguing that he harboured a strange reluctance to leave the Old Forest. Tom himself provided this counter-proof to these points of view:

Tell me, who are you, alone and nameless? But you are young and I am old. Eldest, that's what I am. Mark my words, my friends: Tom was here before the river and the trees; Tom remembers the first raindrop and the first acorn. He made paths before the Big People, and saw the little People arriving. He was here before the Kings and the graves and the Barrow-Wrights. When the Elves passed westward, Tom was here already, before the seas were bent. He knew the dark beneath the stars when it was fearless - before the Dark Lord came from the outside 11.

The fact that Tom came before the trees, of course, eliminated the possibilities of the nature nymph or forest sprite. And he could not be any sort of Elf, because he was on the Middle-Earth before the Elves settled there. The Maiar 12 came after the Elves, therefore Tom was not a Maia. Since Tolkien specified in his Silmarillion that the Elves passed westward Six Ages before the War of the Rings, Tom's great age rather disproved the speculation of him belonging to the races with mortal lifespan, of Men or of Dwarves. Tolkien dropped hints in his letters about Tom Bombadil: "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". Tom was the only character unaffected by the pull of the Master Ring; he felt no urge to use or keep the power when he gave it back to Frodo with a smile. That Tom was unswayed by the Ring's invisibility effect suggested that he could neither be corrupted nor blinded by power. The most mainstream theory was that Tom was one of the Valar13, since he alone was unaffected by the power of the Ring. Tom's lady, Goldberry added to this theory by telling the Hobbits: "He is the Master of wood, water, and hill"14.

Yet at the Rivendell Council of War, Gandalf the Wizard countered the solution of handing the Ring over to Bombadil: "He is his own master. But he cannot alter the Ring itself, nor break its powers over others." Then the Elf Lord Glorfindal remarked: "Could that power be defied by Bombadil alone? [...] if all else is conquered, Bombadil will fall, Last as he was First; and then Night will come" Followed by the High Elf Galdor's agreement: "Power to defy our enemy is not in him, unless such power is in the earth itself" 15. If Tom was so omnipotent as a Valar, then he could have the power to both alter the Ring and defeat Sauron. By the same quote however, an interesting speculation had been brought up that the reader of the book might be the power in the earth, uninfluenced by any ploy of the Master Ring. This theory could also be backed up that Tom addressed the reader when Frodo and the other hobbits were wondering about Bombadil's identity, "Tell me, who are you, alone, yourself and nameless?" This riddle could be key to Tolkien's literary success, because it draws and invites the reader into the reality of his story with a definite challenge.


There were some unlikely suggestions made by readers of Tolkien's Lost Tales that Tom was a pixie, brownie, or a strange mischief-maker copied from another God. Tolkien was most displeased by this, and responded16:

As for Wayland Smith 17 being a Pan-type18, or being reflected both in Bombadil and Gollum: this is sufficient example of the silly methods and nonsensical conclusions of Dr. O[hmarks].
Tolkien also said that God exists that took no other form or manifestation, therefore Tom Bombadil could not fit as God.

In Conclusion

Overall, it was best to keep Tom Bombadil as a mystery element in Tolkien's stories. In 1961, Tolkien actually published a poetry collection entitled The Adventures of Tom Bombadil. Though unidentified, readers came to love Tom ardently, if not more, as they did The Lord of the Rings:

Hey! Come derry dol! Hop along, my hearties!
Hobbits! Ponies, all! We are fond of parties!
Now let the fun began! Let us sing together!
19
In his letters to curious readers, Tolkien wrote that he never intended Tom Bombadil to be anything but an enigma. He, however, admitted that Tom was one of a kind. Tom was meant to represent a party not participating. Tolkien felt that all sides participating in the War of the Rings were seeking political power, and Bombadil in his immunity to the influences of Ring was not motivated by power.

Gandalf saw that clearest: "And now he is withdrawn into a little land, within the bounds that he has set, though none can see them, waiting perhaps for a change of days, and he will not step beyond them" 20. Bombadil never chose a side of power, thus found life much more enjoyable when he was his own Master. There was defining no good and evil, only what people would make of themselves.

And even in a mythical Age there must be some enigmas, as there always are. Tom Bombadil is one (intentionally) [...] he represents something that I feel important, though I would not be prepared to analyze the feelings precisely.
- J.R.R. Tolkien21
By bringing realistic characters to life with his own beliefs, J.R.R. Tolkien upgraded the quality of fictional writing to another level. The world received the imagined mysteries which hinted at familiarity as close as the drawing of the next breath, for Tolkien’s literature was no more dead from the world than the perpetual rush of readers, muses and creators. Heroes, emotions, beliefs, enigmas would not make a story without reality, and Tolkien recognized the world better through his works. People read these words which rang of truth, and honoured him.
Don't the great tales ever end?
Hobbit Samwise Gamgee

1Tolkien, pg 652Tolkien, pg 3693The Return of the King pg 382 4the wound the Ringwrath inflicted upon Frodo on Weathertop would not heal on Middle-Earth, so Frodo either has to remain in pain or leave, with granted permission, and go to the Havens. 5pg 369 6pg 4287pg 482 8such as the Porter in Shakespeare's play MacBeth9that'll make Orr in Heller's Catch-22 envious10Spirits lesser than the Valar, but mighty in their own fashion 11The Fellowship of the Rings pg 14912such as Sauron, Gandalf, Radagast, and Saruman, just to name a few13the Supreme Powers of the outside world14pg 14115pg 29816to Swedish Dr Ake Ohlmarks' introduction17Wayland Smith is a god of the Anglo-Saxons18Pan is of course Greek 19Tolkien pg 13720The Return of the King pg 29821The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, No 144, dated 1954

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