Love in the Trees - Page 4
© Michael Martinez
But the emphasis should be put on man when Tolkien incorporates Bombadil into the world of Middle-earth. In The Road to Middle-earth, Tom Shippey dismisses Bombadil as a rather unimportant episode in the story, but then settles upon the most intriguing aspect about Bombadil: "The thing we would like to know about Bombadil is what he is, but this is never asked or answered directly. In chapter 7 Frodo raises the courage to ask who he is, only to receive the answers, from Goldberry, (1) 'He is', (2) 'He is, as you have seen him', (3) 'He is the Master of wood, water and hill', and from Tom himself (4) 'Don't you know my name yet? That's the only answer.'"
After recounting Bombadil's poetic origin and resurrection in the pages of Hobbit adventures, Shippey concludes his introduction to Bombadil by saying, "What he is may not be known, but what he does is dominate." And, indeed, that is precisely what Bombadil does, despite Tolkien's assertion that Tom has foresworn the domination of other wills.
Is Tolkien therefore lying, or is Bombadil not dominating wills? I don't think Tolkien ever intentionally seeks to mislead his readers. For example, notice that Goldberry doesn't claim Bombadil as her Master. He is "the Master of wood, water and hill". That is, Bombadil masters things without wills. But Goldberry points out that he does not rule even the things he has mastered. "That would indeed be a burden", she says. "No one has ever caught old Tom walking in the forest, wading in the water, leaping on the hill-tops under light and shadow," she tells Frodo.
In that respect, Tom is very manly. He is the ultimate woodsman, the true sportsman, if you will, because he always rises to a challenge and always wins, but having won he graciously releases his opponent. He is confident in himself, and that confidence is all he seeks. He exudes confidence and everyone who meets him expresses tremendous faith in him and his ability to resolve any situation. Many months later, just as Shelob is about to pounce on him and Frodo, Sam thinks wistfully of Bombadil:
'It's a trap!' said Sam, and he laid his hand upon the hilt of his sword; and as he did so, he thought of the darkness of the barrow whence it came. 'I wish old Tom was near us now!' he thought....How would Bombadil have fared against the Spider? We'll never know, of course, but most people would probably argue that Shelob would end up Spider Soup for Goldberry's next feast if she and Tom were ever to meet. He knows no fear, and only respects those boundaries he himself has set. And yet, Bombadil acknowledges his limitations. "Tom is not master of Riders from the Black Land far beyond his country," he admonishes the Hobbits when they ask for his continued help on their road. Maybe he is not master of giant spiders, either. Shelob, after all, had her own will -- as the Nazgul once did, even though they now moved under Sauron's will.
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