(What follows is post 3 of 11 exploring the mystery of Tom Bombadil)
Tom as One of the Valar?
The theory that Tom Bombadil is a Vala is a popular one that's has strength but as we shall see its weaknesses make it near impossible because it is inconsistent with what we know of both Tom and the Valar. The Valar are all accounted for in The Silmarillion (15-21), and of those, only one couple can even remotely fit with Tom and Goldberry: Aule and Yavanna. This is indeed the most popular Valar theory. Aule is the chief craftsman of the Vala; he made the dwarves and many of the great works in Middle Earth. Sauron was originally a Maia underneath Aule. Sauron learned much of his craftsmanship (ring making) from Aule. Aule's wife on the other hand is the Vala over everything that grows on Earth which is not a Child of Iluvatar (nature). Yavanna is the one who requests for the Ents to be made to help protect her creation from the Children of Iluvatar. While Goldberry and Yavanna do share some similarities Tom and Aule pose more of a challenge.[1]
One of the strengths of this theory is that it can possibly answer why the Ring has no hold over Tom. As Aule, Tom would be the master craftsmen, and thus he may have power over the Ring. This though assumes that power is the answer to not being under the influence of the Ring. This theory can also explain the age of Tom and him as “Fatherless” or “Eldest” being that Aule is a Vala. Unfortunately, this is where the strengths end.
The weaknesses of this theory are many and in my estimation irreconcilable.[2] First, Tom is described as nonsensical on several occasions in the Lord of the Rings and this is hardly an apt description of one of the mightiest of the Valar.[3] Second, while this theory adequately answers why Tom is not affected by the Ring it does not answer the reverse side of Tom's relationship with the Ring, his carelessness and disinterest. Surely Aule, the chief craftsman, would recognize the value and importance of the Ring and would never lose the Ring as Gandalf says, “He [Tom] would soon forget it [the Ring], or most likely throw it away. Such things have no hold on his mind” (FOTR, Council of Elrond, 348). Aule is the one who Sauron learned his craftsmanship from; so surely Aule would recognize the importance of the One Ring. The Ring is exactly the type of thing that Aule, the god of craftsmanship, would hold onto in his mind.
Tom's relationship with the Old Forest should also cause pause in accepting this theory. A brief read over the chapter Of Aule and Yavanna will show that Yavanna is indeed close with the forest but Aule is not, as evidenced by his character and the character of his children the Dwarves. Tom, in opposition to this, appears to have a close relationship with the Old Forest.
Another weakness found in this theory is the lack of power Tom would have to resist Sauron the Maia. Surely one of the most powerful of the Valar could resist Sauron, but the Elves say Tom could not defeat Sauron. This statement is made in context of Tom having the Ring and yet somehow Aule, with the Ring, could not defeat Sauron without the Ring? This simply cannot be. Saruman and Gandalf both operate under the belief that they could at least defeat Sauron with the Ring, surely a Vala could do the same. Also, Tom has said his knowledge fails out east, but that would not be true of one of the Ruling Valar.
Even if the argument that Tom as Aule adequately answers him as "Fatherless" it does not answer him as being "first" and as him being the last to fall in Middle Earth if Sauron wins. Of the Valar the first is most definitely Manwe, not Aule.
For these reasons it is simply unthinkable to suggest that Tom is a Valar for he is not powerful enough to be one. Indeed, Tolkien puts the nail in coffin in letter 144 where he writes of Tom, "Ultimately only the victory of the West will allow Bombadil to continue, or even to survive. Nothing would be left for him in the world of Sauron." If the West does not prevail Tom will cease to be, this could not be the case if Tom was Aule. Tom needs the West, but the Valar have withdrawn from Middle Earth to the Undying Lands. The Valar do not need the West to survive, but Tom on the other hand does.[4] It should be noted that even after his defeat, Morgoth still survived, being a Valar, he is just imprisoned not destroyed.
Also, any suggestion that Aule would not take the Ring seriously is pure nonsense. We read in the Book of Unfinished Tales that Aule is the one who chooses Saruman to be sent as one of the Istari to combat Sauron. Aule is thus established to be in the Undying Lands and Aule's care for the plight of Middle Earth and the damage Sauron has caused with his Ring is evident. Aule is very much concerned with the Ring, Tom is not. Moreover, Tom's relationship with the woods does not fit well with the character of Aule the craftsmen. This theory must be acknowledged as fatally flawed in reconciling what we know of Aule, the Valar, and Tom. It would be rather silly to hold to Tom as Aule knowing what we know of Tom’s relationship to the Ring and his potential matchup with the Ringless Sauron. So now that this theory has been carefully considered and found lacking we can move on to consider Tom as one of the Maiar.
P.S. I have written on how the Ring works which is essential to rightly answering the Tom question. Eventually, I will get around to working it into this paper more directly but for now you can read it here. The implications of what I have discovered about how the Ring of Power operates further proves Tom cannot be a Vala (nor a Maia).
[1] Yavanna cannot be Goldberry
for Yvanna is one of the Eight mighty Valar and her reign over plants and
wildlife is well known, yet Goldberry we are told is the “Riverwoman’s
daughter.” This description does not fit with Yavanna the Vala for she is no daughter of anything.
[2] For instance, Tom appears in the likeness of a
man, yet the Valar are said to appear in the likeness of the Elves.
[3] Aule is described as one of the
Eight of the mightiest Valar whose majesty is unmatched and who rule over the
other Valar and Maiar. Tom does not fit well with this description.
[4] Aule, as stated in footnote 3,
is one of the eight ruling Valar and his existence should not be tied to the
victory of the West over Sauron.
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ReplyDeleteI do agree with most of what you wrote, but the passage where you say that, if he were a Vala, Tom should be able to defeat Sauron (even without the ring) is, in my opinion,inconsistent, for the simple reason that they actually say that Tom will fall LAST. Which means that, when all Middle Earth had been conquered by Sauron, he will fall. It is nowhere stated that Sauron himself would ever be able to defeat Tom, it is said that ALL his troops,on the summit of their power, having defeated Gondor, Rivendell and the likes, including the Ring Wraiths and Sauron,would together and last defeat Tom. That's the only thing we can SURELY get from that is said to the book, we do not know how hard it would be for Sauron to do this, and, by means of disproving a theory, you should always consider the worst hypothesis. I do not believe that even Aule could defeat All the might of Sauron single-handed, though he could surely defeat Sauron himself. The Valar are powerful, but nowhere near invincible, Morgoth (once the mightiest of them all) was severely hurt by no more than an Elf (even though he was, of course, weakened from the crafing o Evil creatures). When Gandolf and Saruman work with the theory of them being able to defeat Sauron by controlling the Ring, they do not mean they could defeat all of his troops, only Sauron himself, or, maybe, they could power their troops with the power of the One Ring, and win THE WAR. As a matter of fact, I see no good reason to assume that any of them would go single-handed against Mordor and defeat the totality of Sauron's might, even with the Ring. Saruman plans to take the ring for himself, but he builds a great army all the same, this great army is what he would in the end use, combined with the power of the ring to try and defeat Sauron. The fact that Tom has no troops and, since the rest of the world would have alredy fallen, would fight alone, makes this whole statement false. That said, I really like all the rest of your text, and the music theory seems to me very plausible, so I must congratulate you for what seems to me to be the best work written on the interne over this particular subject.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that the context of Gandalf and Saruman taking the Ring and defeating Sauron would include them rallying armies to overthrow him. But there is also this sense that with the Ring totally in one's power they would be able to some of Sauron's forces to their own side. Saruman makes this clear to the Ringwraiths when they ask him if he has the Ring.
DeleteNonetheless, the context of Bombadil being the last to "fall" is to be interpreted in the light of him being "conquered" as that is in the immediate context and this is in their discussion of Tom taking the Ring. It is interesting that Tom is never considered as one who can wield Ring as you suggest. Elrond and Gandalf were considered but not Tom. Not fitting of a Vala. While I agree the Valar are in no way invincible, the idea that a Vala could not bend the Ring to his power is absurd. Remember Gandalf says that Tom has no power over the Ring, rather the Ring has no power over him and the Ring is not something that Tom's mind would hold onto. In other words, Tom does not fit the description of a Vala.
That one argument of mine may perhaps be weak in that I probably should flesh it out more as to what I mean by it, but none of that changes the impossibility of Tom being Aule or any other Vala.
I interpret "last to fall" as being, when all else is destroyed, what is there left for Tom? Nothing, so he would be last - with nothing left, everything destroyed or evil, there would be nothing for Tom and he'd go too. Like a mountain with no land or something he'd just give up or whatever and let go himself.
DeleteYou make one major mistake in your argument: you claim that the Valar are not invincible. They are not, of course, infallible, nor impervious to injury, but they very much are "invincible", as they are deathless. Even Morgoth, the Fallen One, could not be destroyed, but only imprisoned until the End of All Things. An invincible Valar, with the power to shape the world at will, whose power was drastically increased by the Ring of Power? Such a being would never fall to Sauron, who is a lesser and weaker class of being (a Maiar) and is weaker still due to his loss of the ring. All the mortal armies he could muster would be swept before such overwhelming power. And even if a "hero" arose among Sauron's servants who managed to injure that Valar, all the Valar would have to do is wait for that creature to die, as one is mortal and the other not. Your attempted counter crumbles under real inspection.
DeleteRachel-
DeleteThanks for the thoughts, but you import a meaning into "invincible" that I did not mean. Of course I know that Valar and Maiar do not ever cease to be (true of elves as well), even when defeated. But they are defeated. Sauron was not invincible, as he existed in a weakened form for quite sometime, but he was defeated. The above discussion has to do with making sense of Tom being the last conquered if he had the Ring. That is a strange statement, considering that Gandalf on several occasions says the only guarantee of defeating Sauron is if they use the RING! Using the Ring leads to victory, except for Tom. So either a very powerful elf, man, or Gandalf himself could defeat Sauron with the Ring. It follows the same would be true of any of the Vala, being greatest of the Ainur. The only thing which crumbles on closer inspection is your rebuttal, as you import a meaning of invincible that I did not intend and distort the argument.
I have been considering for a long time now that Tom is a Vala. Specifically, Tulkas. What do you think about it? Tulkas is nonsensical, and doesn't care much about anything, and fights Evil with music dancing. Ding, dong, dum. If I remember, he stayed behind in case Melkor ever escape and returned
ReplyDeletethe Tulkas theory bears many of the same problems as the Aule theory. You see, a Vala, with the Ring, should be able to defeat Sauron, indeed i would suggest that Tulkas even without the Ring would be able to defeat Sauron. Not to mention, Tulkas was always itching for a fight, Tom though is not.
Delete