October 21, 2002

Re: Dave M. on Bombadil
Danny

It seems that interpetation is the variable we have differently here. Even if you decide Bombadil is not an isolationist character because Goldberry said something vague and completely open to interpetation, that doesn't change the fact that Bombadil is a striking contrast to Frodo. Bombadil is far more capable of the task but does not act. Frodo does. Bombadil stays where he is comfortable, Frodo does not. It is a literary foil.

I don't think that your interpetation of Bombadil is very clear, nor does it make much sense to me. I certainly am. That doesn't mean that I don't have choice, nor that I just do because I am. To say that something is, doesn't mean that it does not have choice, will or motivation. It is like saying something is a quadrilateral. That doesn't mean that it is a square. A square is a type of quadrilateral though. The point is that to be is a very vague statement and doesn't inherently cary a more specific variation of being. You can be, and be like a hill without choice or will, or you can be like a person and have the ability to act.

So you can interept Goldberry's words as you have and say that Bombadil is like a Hill or River, albeit a very active inteligent hill capable of far more complex actions than a hill, capable of happiness, laughter, and concern. So that seems like an unlikely way to interpet it because all that we see of Bombadil implies that he is much more than that. I chose to see Bombadil as one with the ability to act and chose for himself. That seems far far more consistent with his behavior. That being the case, yes I see him as an isolationist, and I always will.

I don't say that he is inherently evil for bing that. Literature is wonderful because you can make a character's behavior show the dangers of any extreme. Bombadil shows the dangers of being overly-isolationist. He continued to let others worry about the world even when he fully knew that the evil of the world threatened to overwhelm him and destroy the place he refused to leave. Fortunately he lucked out, and in the end survived the War of the Ring relatively unscathed.

Some have said that they feel Bombadil is an characterization of the US during WWII. Of course you have to buy into the whole LOTR paralell to WWII thing for that which I don't want to debate.