Comments | km_515: Oldest and Fatherless: The Terrible Secret of Tom Bombadil

km_515

Oldest and Fatherless: The Terrible Secret of Tom Bombadil

Feb 20, 2011 14:19

(This is another of my speculative pieces and nothing to do with Star Wars. This one is for an older trilogy.)Old Tom Bombadil. Possibly the least liked character in The Lord of the Rings. A childish figure so disliked by fans of the book that few object to his absence from all adaptations of the story. And yet, there is another way of looking at ( Read more... )

connections, tolkien

Comments 251

Wow! anonymous March 22 2011, 15:34:13 UTC

I almost like this more than the Star Wars post. Awesome job! What I would give to hear the conversation between Gandalf and Bombadil...

This is some brilliant stuff anonymous August 12 2011, 15:33:44 UTC

I am really taken-aback by your posts so far. You have managed to find some really original readings of narratives that are *very* closely studied by some really devoted fans. I am very impressed and hope that the rumors that you have more of these in your head is true.

oneiriad August 12 2011, 16:34:01 UTC

Hey. I just stumbled across this and I have to say, as one of the tiny minority who actually missed Tom Bombadil just a little bit in the movies, this is a deliciously dark interpretation of him. Very nice.

oneiriad February 3 2013, 21:41:20 UTC

I didn't even realize most fans hatted Tom. I just assumed everyone was as pissed off about him being cut out as I was.ut

aredridel January 3 2014, 06:13:33 UTC

Likewise!

Most intriguing... labyrinthman December 6 2011, 23:11:46 UTC

A very compelling argument indeed. I'll never read the story the same way again.

Re: Most intriguing... labyrinthman July 9 2012, 15:51:59 UTC

Nor will I...

The mermaid reference really got me

dashadowpanther December 7 2011, 00:09:14 UTC

Definitely didn't think of it that way before. How about this as additional speculation? In fairy tales, such as the ones you refer to, there is usually some sort of test of the Hero (or Heroes, as Mercedes Lackey would put it) that they must pass in order to get the "reward" (princess, riches, prizes, destruction of the Ring of Evil, what have you) at the end. This test is usually given by some sort of cunning creature (say, a Fox) who tests the Hero's smarts/character and determines if the Hero goes on or not. I wonder if Bombadil serves this purpose ( ... )