Chapter 7: In the House of the Tom Bombadil Part 2

In the last post, I wrote about what I thought Tom Bombadil was and as importantly, what he is not.

This post will focus more on the events of the chapter and how Bombadil is actively affecting the narrative.

Bombadil and the Ring

First, as we've discussed in the last post, Tom does not have much interest in the Ring outside of it just being a curiosity.He simple laughs about it, slipping it on and off without much regard for its power and, more amazingly, not disappearing. So far, all characters we've seen have turned invisible under the power of the Ring but Bombadil does not. 

Well, Sauron was not invisible either. This goes back to an earlier discussion on the Ring and what it actually does. I think the Ring is a "Gateway" of sorts between the two worlds: the physical world of Middle Earth and the intangible shadow or spirit world. This is where the lands of Valinor are and why only men seeking the shores of Valinor like the Numenoreans did are unable to find it.

This "spirit" world still has much power and is very much real as evidenced by characters being able to traverse it with the Ring. Bombadil and Sauron do not disappear because they exist in both worlds at once. They are both a spirit and a physical entity. The Ringwraiths have become like this as well, having a physical body but appearing differently in the spirit world, even being able to see others in that world like they did atop Weathertop. Much like the Wraiths, Bombadil can see you even if you are wearing the Ring as Frodo finds out.

Bombadil's Stories

Tom shares an awful lot of history and stories, some of which is fairly cryptic and mysterious and most of which is not relayed to the reader by Tolkien. From what he does share, however, Tom talks about two important areas, the Old Forest where the Hobbits just were, and the Barrow-downs to the east where the Hobbits will be going.

Old Forest

The Old Forest is described as being ancient indeed, the remnants of a vast forest that once covered all of Eriador (western Middle-Earth). Another corner of this forest is Fangorn which we see later. Like Fangorn, the Old Forest is twisted and difference from other forests of Middle-Earth, infected by something darker and more primal than simply base nature.

Tom explains the Old Forest as an ancient forest where the "fathers of the fathers of the trees" live. Of course, he's referring to either Huorns or Ents here. Since Ents speak with the other races directly and Old Man Willow does not do this nor appear capable of doing this, he is probably a Huorn. But he wasn't the only Huorn in the Old Forest, as he is described as their strongest one, rotten with hate. Old Man Willow is also called a master of winds and song and through this he held dominion over nearly all the trees of the forest.  

What Tom is probably saying is that Old Man Willow is a great communicator among the Huorns and has swayed all of the others to his cause. Old Man Willow has seen the Old Forest shrink to its present size from the vast area of former ages, and without an Ent to watch over them and guide them towards peace, the Huorns have "fortified" the forest, singing Old Man Willow's songs to guide all intruders deep into the forest where he will kill them. It's certainly one way to preserve.

I think it's important to note that this is another example of the power of voice. Willow is described as a master of winds and song, pulling others to his side with his speech and slaying his foes with his peaceful "aura" which is really his song that the Hobbits can't understand. We'll be coming back to the power of voice again and again.

Barrow-downs

Tom does not have as much to say about the lands to the immediate east, the Barrow-downs except that it's a pretty desolate place. He describes the Downs as tombs of ancient kings and princes until a Shadow came over them and the dead rose again as wights.The Hobbits are frightened because they have heard the tales of the far-away Barrow-downs and the dead that live there but no Hobbit had ever seen proof. Of course, Tom doesn't go into this detail but the shadow that is described here is most likely the Witch King of Angmar's doing. Angmar was the chief rival of the northern kingdom of Arnor and the Witch King was and is one of Sauron's most powerful servants. The phrase "Shadows of Angmar" occurs several times throughout the series and the idea of Sauron's influence being a "shadow" is common as well.

Tom also described the area as a place where "kings of little kingdoms fought little battles" and just continues on. These are pretty major kings and pretty major battles in the history of men and Middle-Earth and Tom just doesn't care about it. Life goes on. The kingdoms crumbled and the kings are dead. New towns and leaders rose, but forest and nature remains, ever present.

Dreaming in the House of Tom Bombadil

That night, the Hobbits have some wicked dreams. First Frodo dreams of a man atop a tall tower flying away on an eagle. So how does Frodo dream of Gandalf escaping Isengard (which happens at this time)? Is it the magic of Bombadil? Is Gandalf using a previously unseen power? Is Frodo special?

My money is on a mix of 1 and 2. Bombadil's house probably is a spring of natural "energy" or "magic" in a sense. Gandalf also is incredibly powerful, much more so than we ever see in the books (directly at least) and certainly more than is shown on the big screen. Gandalf is worried about being late to meet Frodo and his desire to get back to Frodo might be picked up by Frodo who is sleeping in a magic antenna of sorts. This is all conjecture, but there aren't many visions in Tolkien so it's hard to dismiss out of hand as unrelated.

But after this vision, each Hobbit has some horrible dreams. Frodo dreams of the Riders and fears that they are outside the house, ready to get him..  Pippen dreams of the willows scraping the windows and mocking him, as if saying that as soon as he leaves Old Man Willow will grab them again. Merry dreams of a rising flood getting in the house despite efforts to repel it which only recedes after finding solid foothold.  Sam dreams of nothing.

What does this mean?

My thought is that each Hobbit dreams of what they currently fear most and by waking up safe and sound, its representing putting aside fears and pushing on because the fears can't stop you.

Frodo definitely fears the Black Riders, and Pippen was just trapped within the body of Old Man Willow so the willow trees are a frightening prospect right now. Merry's is a little more difficult to determine but my current thought is that he is concerned with the Shire more broadly and it being swept away in the coming problems. Merry grew up on the banks of the Brandywine River so a flood metaphor is probably common from his past and it seems so far that Merry has a bit broader view on things than some of the other Hobbits. 

Sam? He's not really that fearful of anything right now. The Riders are scary and he doesn't know what to expect outside of the Shire, but he has already faced the Riders (remember when he pushed Frodo down and jumped in front of him when Merry approached them at Buckleberry Ferry and they thought it was a Rider?) and he has swallowed his fear of being away from home already by crossing the river and going into the Forest. Sam might have his own fears (he certainly does) but he has already confronted them and pushed them down in his own mind. What a boss.

That was a long post. What are your thoughts? Do you think the Hobbits dreams mean anything else? Did I miss something important?

Chapter 6: The Old Forest

Chapter 6 is really the first chapter where no one is really comfortable or knows what to expect.

Merry does a fine job of leading the party as best as he can through the trails of the Old Forest and using what knowledge he has to be a suitable guide. However, it seems like even a Hobbit who spent all his years next to the brooding and forlorn Old Forest is unable to navigate it successfully.

The Old Forest is a really fascinating area, so close to the Shire, yet impossibly strange and old. Living next door for centuries and the Hobbits still don't know very much about it and don't venture in for fear of the Forest. This fear is both a physical fear (remember the story about the trees rising up and attacking Buckland that is told in the previous chapter?) and a mental one (I probably wouldn't handle living next to violent trees very well either).

The Willow Man is Tamed by Ted Nasmith

Old Forest is remnant of the ancient forest that also included Fangorn. This is more obvious and apparent in the next chapter but it's good to remember up front. Merry describes how trees seem to talk to each other and move and there is an ever-present sense of always being watched.

Again, I come back to the story of the trees attacking the Hedge and the Hobbits that cut down hundreds of these trees and burned them in a gigantic clearing that can still be found at the edge of the Forest. This is one of Tolkien's early and very strong examples of the struggle between nature and people. Really, the entire series can be seen as a story of this struggle but this is a pretty obvious case. I think that through this lesson of Hobbits co-existing with the Forest, Tolkien is really saying something like, "sometimes nature is weird and wild but balance is needed between destroy it all and let it dominate." The Hobbits have learned to live in peace in the shadow of the Forest and just because there is a mystery, does not mean they need to destroy it all.

I also like to view this chapter as an extension of the Shire chapters where I discussed the theme of a "Children's book" that progressively gets darker. Parts of this chapter feel very much like a classic fairy tale with the Hobbits getting lost in the woods as if they were children in a generic Brothers Grimm story.

The Forest actively pushes the Hobbits deeper into the woods and towards the Withywindle River which Merry had wanted to avoid at all cost. Instead, they end up at the river and rest under the branches of a gigantic willow tree. Again, Tolkien is showing the power of nature here, but this time, commenting how even something good can be despoiled and twisted. In this case, evil has pervaded the Forest and has twisted the once pure nature into something with malice and hate.

Old Man Willow, who will be discussed more in the next chapter, is a sentient tree (remind you of anyone?) and lulls the Hobbits to sleep. Hope is almost lost and the Hobbits nearly perish but Sam resists the allure of Old Man Willow and knows something is wrong. He rescues Frodo from drowning, the FIRST TIME HE SAVES FRODO'S LIFE! Cool point of trivia.

Finally, Merry and Pippen are rescued by the oddest of Tolkien's characters and the focus of the next chapter, Tom Bombadil. I'll just save that discussion for that post because it will be a doozy!