Tom Bombadil

[HieroGlyph]

Morning! Got up, made a coffee and decided to get through a little more 'back-log' upon these boards... Slightly bleary-eyed still, but I havent seen any mention of the 'sheer joy' within this character. Whats the matter folks? Does this fun and laughter evade you all so easily? He's such a jolly guy, I think thats reason enough for Prof. Tolkien to have included him. Then there is the mystery of him and his lovely wife -a prelude to those 'literary vistas' that I have mentioned elsewhere. I enjoy thinking of Tom. And that alone is reason enough for me to have come across him.
As an aside, I've often pondered if theres some connexion between Tom Bombadil and Tulkas.....? Mere conjecture, but allow us the wonders and wanders

'Ruddy complexion - laughter (even in battle) - unbeatable - simple...'

lol 3 edits, Im really bleary-eyed, indeed!

[Marky Lazer]

"And even in a mythical Age there must be some enigmas, as there always are. Tom Bombadil is one (intentionally)."
The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, No 144, dated 1954

[HieroGlyph]

And that mystery is a joy, of itself, too. Thanks, Marky.

[sanityassassin]

Tom was a great character for me mystical and magical a being of immense power tied to the love of the land to me tom and goldberry are like the father and mother of there own little part of middle earth plus the chapter with tom is a little bit of light relief from the heavy presence of the black riders

[direghost]

I had debated with friends for years and years about the nature of ol' Tom, with many of our theories similar to those mentioned above. But as a poster above alludes too, there's an article (which I conveniently can't find now) that talks about how it was a doll for his kids and he put it in there just as sort of a guest cameo. Sometimes a doll is just a doll, I guess.

[Marky Lazer]

Quick search on google: http://tolkien.cro.net/else/tombom.html