Tolkien's Real Life Inspiration for Tom Bombadil

[@ZephyrOptional]

Spot on analysis here!! All interested in Tolkien need to read letter 153 to the Catholic book seller Peter Hastings who provided a private Catholic criticism of LOTR. Tolkien never sent the letter, likely to not offend, but that in it self provides a very unique and honest look at how Tolkien felt about many critical themes. From Treebeard’s questionable wisdom to how he thinks God feels about reincarnation, to the meaning of Tom, Orc souls, and clarifies that if you’re looking for Christian allegory in everything you’re talking his story “too serious” and “in the wrong direction”.

[@davidparsons9914]

Bombadil reminds me of Melkizadek in the Bible, he comes out of nowhere and makes the world feel bigger and more mysterious.

[@gexity223]

such an amazing video. keep it up!!!!

[@aldrichunfaithful3589]

i think a lot of people get mixed up between something contributing to the story compared to contributing to the book itself. tom has almost nothing to do with anything significant that happened in middle earth, and all of the chapters involving him could easily not without changing the plot, he's just there to add a little mystery and fun to the world which are the two most important things in a fantasy story that's meant for entertainment. the only deeper meaning i could think of for tom and goldberry is that they're a representation of how life should be, they only care about eachother, nature and having a good time, and they're generous with strangers and help when they're needed. life doesn't need to be more complicated than that and neither do the characters

[@jachyra9]

"i think a lot of people get mixed up between something contributing to the story compared to contributing to the book itself." Making a distinction between the two is fine, but they are not mutually exclusive. "tom has almost nothing to do with anything significant that happened in middle earth, and all of the chapters involving him could easily not without changing the plot," Really? coughEowyncouldnothavekilledtheWitchKingwithoutTomcough "he's just there to add a little mystery and fun to the world which are the two most important things in a fantasy story" You heard it here first, folks. "life doesn't need to be more complicated than that and neither do the characters" Yet life, like the art that imitates it, is more complicated than that.

[@ZephyrOptional]

I get exactly what you’re saying. In Letter 153 he says he’s just an embodiment of “pure (real) natural science” and “does not need philosophizing about and is not improved by it.” He makes an fascinating statement clarifying “pure (real) natural science” as “zoology and Botany, not cattle breading and agriculture” 💖

[@aldrichunfaithful3589]

@@jachyra9 the plot is just one aspect of a book, there are many others that contribute significantly and while they're usually connected to the plot they don't have to be. tom as a person was completely disconnected from the events of middle earth, he refused to leave his home, didn't care about the ring and was perfectly content to just live his life without worrying about anything, and similarly as a character he was largely disconnected from the rest of the story. tom obviously found the knife that merry stabbed the witch king with and saved the hobbits from the wight, but the fact that it was him who did that is largely irrelevant. it wasn't an important moment for his character and the hobbits' stories would be pretty much unchanged if someone else did those things and yes those are the most important things in a fantasy book. the sense of mystery is the most defining trait of the genre, and like any book lotr is meant to be enjoyable to read. and while life is complicated, the point i was making is that it doesn't need to be, which tolkien definitely agreed with. commercialism, politics, corruption, industrialisation, etc have made life needlessly complicated and it would be a lot more enjoyable without them

[@jachyra9]

@@aldrichunfaithful3589 - "the plot is just one aspect of a book," Yes. So is story, character, theme and subtext. But all these things are interconnected. "tom obviously found the knife that merry stabbed the witch king with and saved the hobbits from the wight, but the fact that it was him who did that is largely irrelevant." But the fact that it was him makes it relevant. Do you really not grasp how causation works? " it wasn't an important moment for his character and the hobbits' stories would be pretty much unchanged if someone else did those things" Someone else didn't do those things. He did. "and yes those are the most important things in a fantasy book." According to you. "the sense of mystery is the most defining trait of the genre," According to you. " the point i was making is that it doesn't need to be, which tolkien definitely agreed with." Did he? Can you provide a citation? "commercialism, politics, corruption, industrialisation, etc have made life needlessly complicated and it would be a lot more enjoyable without them" And yet all of these things are aspects of reality that Tolkien experienced and lived with, like everyone else. This is what the Shire is all about. What seems like a utopia on paper is not, and can be corrupted, sullied and turned into something truly inhospitable. Which makes preventing that so important.

[@aldrichunfaithful3589]

@@jachyra9 look i really don't mind if you disagree with me, i was pointing out my own perspective and you're entitled to your own, but if you're gonna be unpleasant then i'm not interested in a debate so i'm not replying again. but if you want my source then watch more videos from this channel, there's a lot of in depth discussion about tolkien's views and how they influenced the book

[@jgbizarro2726]

Hey! Come merry dol!

[@johntitor_ibm5100]

Derry dol my darling!

[@TurtleTrackin]

Dr. Keith Matheson has speculated that TB is loosely based on St. Francis of Assisi.

[@MatthewCaunsfield]

To think Tom wouldn't have existed were it not for some classic sibling angst...

[@BaritoneUkeBeast4Life]

I understand that Tom Bombadil's APPEARANCE may have been inspired by the doll but I don't at all agree that the personality and what he represents had anything to do with the doll. Tolkien may not have specifically said who or what Tom is, but it is obvious to me, and I can see it plain as day. There is no doubt in my mind that as Tolkien was a scholar of mythology and it was one of his favorite subjects, Tom must represent the Green Man of Celtic Mythology and shares many if not all of the Green Mans attributes. He is like Cernunnos who is the male embodiment of Nature, a Father Nature if you will. The fact that his language and power is song itself, shows his celestial ties to Eru Iluvatar and the Valar, since music is the language of creation and everything is connected to it. Tom is not as high level of course as the Gods of the heavens, but he is a living God of this planet. He was the first but like Tolkien has made clear many times in the past, there is no specific allegory here and no religious undertones or influence either, so Tom and Goldberry are not Adam or Eve counterparts. However the Green Man is from mythology so I believe Tolkien would not take issue having a Green Man counterpart in Middle Earth. I also feel that the character Goldberry may have been heavily inspired by the Lady of the Lake within Arthurian legend.

[@ChristineNeilson]

Goldenberry must have dirt in her eyes