Tom Bombadil ↨ The Eternal Thing

In one of his letters, Tolkien said, "I don't think Tom needs philosophizing about, and is not improved by it." And, indeed, since the character is so enigmatic, probably 95% or better of the novel's readers invest little or no energy in formulating some definitive conclusion about the "meaning" of Tom Bombadil; and it seems to have absolutely no effect on their enjoyment of either the book or the character. Still, it is probably fair to say that Bombadil represents the Eternal. That is to say: within the context of Middle-earth, ages may come and ages may go; Rings may be forged and entire populations may be annihilated in the struggle to control them, but Tom Bombadil will always Be, and will always be disinterested in those relatively insignificant details (that is to say, insignificant in the grand scheme of things). For Tolkien, such a presence in any story would be important, but especially in one of such seeming darkness as that of the War of the Ring.

Tom Bombadil vs. Peter Jackson --The Lord Of The Rings --Hollywood Jesus

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