Here are some random thoughts about Tom Bombadil, a delightful character from The Lord of the Rings. There's a big part of me that wants to be him, but the more mature, recluctant part says otherwise.
Plenty of people ask what Tom's purpose in the story could be. He feels like a detour. A side quest. A random, meaningless, and (for some) annoying interlude. Well, I have at least two incomplete, non-authoritative answers for that, and they both might give us some light in dark times.
Tom's first story purpose is to give Frodo et al a bit of hope. They encounter him shortly after leaving the Shire, which is also after a run in with the ring wraiths, and some time with traveling elves. The hobbits are really geting a sense for how much danger they’re in, and it’s not just the ring that threatens them. By the time they meet Tom, even some of the trees bear them malice, and act against them.
Given how great the peril is, it might seem odd that before even meeting Aragorn, their guide, they encounter this strange being who seems to be utterly unfazed by the power and significance of the ring. Not only can Tom see Frodo when Frodo slips on the ring to turn invisible, but Tom even puts on the ring himself without being affected. He plays with it, and laughs at it.
Their time with Tom and Goldberry (his wife) shows Frodo and company that evil isn’t all-powerful, and there are forces in the world that are not only untainted by it, but are largely impervious to it. This gives them some extra space to hope they can survive their quest.
But Tom also serves another purpose.
The quest to destroy the ring is symbolic of efforts to rid the world of evil. Not the everyday clash of competing interests, the fear born of ignorance that we are all often susceptible to, or the wickedness that arises in hardened, reactionary hearts that have not yet learned to feel, but the deep, malignant darkness that leads to reckless, implacable hatred.
In his story, Tolkien gives us several alternatives of evil. The Shire is the world as yet untouched by evil. It’s innocent. Immature. It hasn’t had to deal with all this nasty stuff yet. It’s the world of youth with its relatively untested simplicity, and its unknowing naïveté. This is the world the hobbits long for, as do all people who are forced to leave it before their time, and it’s the one they’re motivated to protect. Of course, Tolkien shows us that it cannot last. Innocence, in the Shire sense, is not enough to overcome evil.
The realms of elves, men, and dwarves are in various states of engagement with the enemy. Some are on the front lines, fending of daily attacks. Some are fortresses of strength from which forces may be called at need. Some are sources of rejuvenation and healing for a world in constant conflict, and some aren't fully committed to one side or the other. But all are watchful. All are aware of and prepared to engage in the larger conflict.
Tom, however, is neither innocent nor particularly watchful, at least not beyond his borders. He is “eldest.” He pre-dates anything else happening in middle earth. He’s familiar with all of it, keeps tabs, gives and receives news, but in many ways he is removed from it. He doesn't see the overall conflict as having much to do with him, even though Tolkien seems to place him mainly on the side of good. Evil exists within Tom's realm (Old Man Willow and the Barrow Wights, for example), but these aren't quite the nameless, elemental evil represented by the story’s main antagonist, and Tom is their master. He doesn’t control them, but he can command them. It’s interesting, by the way, that he does this, not by force of arms, but by force of will. Through his music, persuasion, and sheer personality. And he doesn't drive off the barrow wights until he's called on to do so by someone he's offered protection to, although he clearly has the power to do so whenever he wants.
At the Council of Elrond, the idea of leaving the ring with Tom comes up. It makes some sense. Tom doesn’t mind the ring and it can’t corrupt him. But Gandalf also warns the council that Tom wouldn’t understand the need to conceal the ring. Keeping prisoners and secret treasures or forbidden talismans is not in Tom’s nature. This would make him a most unsafe guardian.
While Sauron may not be able to master Tom Bombadil, neither is Tom the master of Sauron. Being eldest doesn’t make him greatest. And so, in the end, though Tom’s realm might be the last to fall to Sauron’s forces, with all the weight of the rest of the world turned against it, it would still fall. And even if not, the price of keeping the ring safe with Tom would be the destruction of the rest of middle earth.
This gets to the Tom's other contribution to the story's themes. His presence points out that, just as the blind innocence of the Shire can’t defend against evil, self-contained removal from the world can’t withstand it. Not forever. Because it’s an illusion.
In the face of hatred and aggression that threaten to overwhelm the rest of the world, it’s tempting to try to be Bombadils—to shut ourselves into a bubble of safety. We want to build a wall, or a dig a bunker, or make a completely self-sufficient homestead, or an independent economy. As long as we and our loved ones/community/nation feel safe, we think we can outlast whatever may come. And so we try to create a sanctuary so well prepared against evil that it cannot be penetrated.
It’s not that we’re unaware or uncaring of others. It’s that we limit our active care to our immediate surroundings, or our closest circles. We think that if we can only create a well-ordered realm of relative peace and safety, no matter how small, it will be enough to let us live peacefully, singing our songs, loving our families, caring for the land, and occasionally feeding a group of travelers or reprimanding an unruly willow. In short, building whatever kind of life we most believe in and feeling grateful for our abundance while the rest of the world scrambles for its survival.
But as the council decides, and as Frodo and his friends must learn, Tom’s kind of safety is most unsafe, not only because it’s temporary, but because it’s deceptive. It doesn’t solve the threat, and it ignores the interconnectedness of the larger world. So it can’t last.
It’s hard to fault people for defending their own realms against evil before they extend a helping hand to others, especially when those realms are small. But that’s not what Tom is doing, and not what he would do if he had the ring. He takes no part in the larger events of the story, except to offer temporary refuge and a bit of advice to some wandering halflings.
So maybe this is part of what we can get from Tom Bombadil: innocence is not enough. There is no safety in removing ourselves from the world. The only thing to do with evil is to fight it. And along the way, we can find help, and hope.
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