From: nightsng@anarky.tch.org (Nightsong)
Newsgroups: alt.fan.tolkien
Subject: Re: Bombadil etc.
Keywords: Tom Bombadil
Date: Sat, 02 Jan 93 01:47:35 PST
Organization: The Canned Ham, San Jose, CA.

lewchuk@cs.UAlberta.CA (Michael Lewchuk) writes:

> 
> First of all, I'd like to ask why Galadriel was banned from Valinor and why
> her refusal of the Ring was her redemption.
> 
> Next, about Bombadil:  a few comments:
> 
> 1.  Bombadil's power seemed to be far greater than that of any mortal or
>     Istari.  It was debated whether Bombadil could resist even Sauron,
>     his combined army, and the One Ring.  Gandalf was sure that he, even
>     as the White could not have faced Sauron wielding the One, but Bombadil
>     might have been able to (although Gandalf and Elrond doubted it).
> 
> 2.  Bombadil's power was internal: he was not using a Ring of Power to
>     do or amplify the stuff he did.  Unlike Gandalf and Elrond, who used
>     the Rings to amplify their personal wisdom and power, Tom didn't have
>     a Ring to fall back on, but did really powerful stuff anyways (such as
>     signing Old Man Willow to sleep and banishing the undead).
> 
> 3.  Bombadil had NO FEAR.  Gandalf, Elrond, even Sauron were very afraid.
>     Goldberry herself showed no fear.
> 
> Personally I'd think that Bombadil was an Arda-Maia, if such a thing
> existed -- an elemental spirit (earth in his case, water for Goldberry)
> with allegiance not to the Valar but to Arda and the Vision of Illuvitar
> (and thus to Illuvitar).  In some sense, I'd say he was either an Exile
> (similar connotation to the term when applied to the Elves) or a Maiar
> who went not just into Ea per se, but directly into Arda, for the sake of
> Arda, not of Ea.  Perhaps Illuvitar got the notion that Arda needed a little
> monitoring here and there to mature, and thus placed a "gardener" or
> "caretaker" there along with the various Valar and Maiar?  Or maybe the
> Valar forgot to use birth control a few times...
> 
> The arguments for him being a Valar are few but cannot be ignored:
> 1.  His power was entirely internal and at least the equal of even the
>     greatest Maiar (Olorin (Gandalf) and Sauron).
> 2.  He had no fear and basically "ruled" an entire realm based on, well,
>     wisdom, fearlessness, and love.  Unlike Gandalf, Bombadil hemmed himself
>     into "his corner of the world" but could presumably challenge anything
>     there -- even Sauron.  His power was as great as Galadriel's, but she
>     was using the Elven Ring to maintain that power, while Bombadil was only
>     using his personal power.  His curing of the hobbits' death trance in
>     the Barrows and the casting out of the undead showed that he had real
>     power even in places and situations deemed to be evil.   Not even Elrond
>     seemed to have that amount of sheer personal power and Gandalf didn't
>     seem to have enough either to simply tell Sauron's minions to get lost.
> 3.  Unlike the Maiar, who used "flashy magic" -- the Balrog's fire and
>     spells, and Gandalf's spells, Bombadil only used will-force.  What
>     Bombadil sang basically happened.  He just commanded the barrow-wight
>     to leave and it left, no questions asked.  He probably could've done the
>     same to the Balrog.  I don't know whether he simply banished the undead
>     to Mordor or to the Void, but he had one heckuva knowledge of Ea --
>     his reference to "where gates stand forever shut 'til the world is mended
>     could mean either to Mordor (where the opening of the Gates indicates
>     that the War of the Ring comes to its conclusion) or the Void, where
>     creatures are banished until the world is reformed (the End?).
> 
> This presents an interesting hypothesis:
> Could Bombadil, who sings reality, be Illuvitar "gone native"?  That is,
> Illuvitar himself either went to Arda or created a persona by which he could
> in part exist as an Arda native and touch things up a bit?  Bombadil seems
> to have the same traits -- "singing" to produce "reality", and leaving all
> the work of the Great Wars to the Maiar and Valar while he sits back and
> continues with the Vision, only interfering as required.  Thus, instead of
> being a Maia of a Valar, or a Valar of a certain power, he seemed to be a
> Spirit of Illuvitar directly.  Either Maiar or Valar is possible.  Personally
> I think even a Maia of Illuvitar would have great power: having your "boss"
> be the creator of the Secret Fire rather than just its servant probably means
> you get taught real neat tricks on how to solve problems.
> 
> 					Michael Lewchuk
> 					lewchuk@cs.UAlberta.CA

Well whether what you suspect was right or not, the theory in the 
illustrated "encyclopaedia" was that Tom Bombadil was "probably a Maia 
spirit that came to Middle-Earth in the ages of starlight."  Whether what 
HE suspects is right or not, he still seemed to have absolute power there 
and was cheerful the entire time; not afraid.

-Nightsong
Newsgroups: alt.fan.tolkien