Bombadil and the Flame Imperishable (was: ID of Bombadil)

Author:    Steuard Jensen
Email:     sjensen -aaatt- hmc -daht- edu
Date:      1997/12/01
Forums:    rec.arts.books.tolkien
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kashamoo -aaatt- aol -daht- com (Kashamoo) wrote:
> Douglas R. Williams writes re: Tom Bombadil
> >Most of the speculation I've read indicates he's one of the Maiar. Tolkein
> himself never cleared this up. He liked the idea that some mysteries would
> >remain in his world, even to him. In that case it's possible he's neither
> >Maiar nor Elf nor Man, but something else entirely. He was certainly around
> >before the Elves. So that rules out Elves and Men.
> >
> >I lean toward believing he's one of the Maiar, and so is Goldberry.
>
> David Day in his book, A Tolkien Bestiary (sorry I can't figure out how to
> italicize book titles here), writes the following regarding Tom Bombadil:
<snip>
> Day seems to be leaning towards Maiar, yet won't commit himself.  I know this
> doesn't answer the question, but it is more food for thought.

My newsserver has not yet deigned to show me all of the posts in this
thread (not even the first!), so forgive me if I repeat others'
comments and arguments.

First of all, I would comment that I found nothing new in David Day's
comments (snipped above).  He seems to have simply summarized what
little we learn of Bombadil from the books and added a few
intensifying comments. (For example, the quote "Chief of these [other
spirits], in the tales of Middle-earth, is he whom the Grey-elves
named Iarwain Ben-adar..."  seems to be no more than an inflated (and
slightly misleading) way of saying that he's the only one we actually
hear much about).  Personally, I am more interested in the opinions of
those who are actually involved in this discussion than those of
others.

At any rate, I have come to a conclusion about Bombadil's nature that
I find extremely intriguing.  However, it requires more than a little
background and a moderate amount of extrapolation of the texts.  I
cannot claim that my extrapolation is canonical, but I find it both
consistent with the texts and convincing in its own right.  My theory
on Bombadil rests on a direct link between the "Flame Imperishable"
(which appears several times in the Silmarillion) and sentience or
personal thought, which I will explain and support below.

First of all, in the Ainulindale, Iluvatar tells the Ainur "Since I
have kindled you with the Flame Imperishable, ye shall show forth your
powers in adorning this theme, each with his own thoughts and devices,
if he will."  Now, the phrasing of this statement (in context, at
least) directly suggests that being kindled with the Flame
Imperishable implies the presence of one's "own thoughts and devices."
I find it reasonable to take this one step further and interpret it to
mean that the "Flame Imperishable" is in some sense the essence of
sentience.

The Flame Imperishable is also connected intimately with the creation
of new and independent Being, as Melkor is said to have "gone often
alone into the void places seeking the Imperishable Flame; for desire
grew hot within him to bring into Being things of his own."  I mention
this as background for another argument connecting the Flame
Imperishible and sentience, taken from the narritive of Aule's
creation of the Dwarves in the Silmarillion.  Immediately after
granting the Dwarves their independent existence, Iluvatar tells Aule

"Dost thou not see that these things have now a life of their own, and
speak with their own voices? ... Even as I gave being to the thoughts
of the Ainur at the beginning of the world, so now I have taken up
your desire and given it a place therein."

While the text does not explicitly mention the Flame Imperishable
here, it does connect sentience to independent Being.  Also, and
perhaps most importantly, it likens the act of bestowing sentience
upon the Dwarves with the giving of Being to the world, which was
accomplished when Iluvatar sent "forth into the Void the Flame
Imperishable."  While I cannot claim that these arguments prove that
the Flame Imperishable is a necessary and sufficient condition for
sentience, I believe that the case is quite strong, and that it fits
well with the overall mythology in general.

Having established that connection (or at least, following it to its
conclusion), we must look again at the creation of Ea itself.  I will
quote this section in full, beginning immediately after the vision of
the history of Middle-earth granted to the Ainur:

"Then there was unrest among the Ainur; but Iluvatar called to them,
and said: 'I know the desire of your minds that what ye have seen
should verily be, not only in your thought, but even as ye yourselves
are, and yet other.  Therefore I say: Ea! Let these things Be!  And I
will send forth into the Void the Flame Imperishable, and it shall be
at the heart of the World, and the World shall Be; and those of you
that will may go down into it'"

So, the question is, if the Flame Imperishible is inseperable from
individual existence and independent thought, what does it mean that
it is at the heart of the world?  Where or what is the personal nature
of the world made manifest?  This brings us to Bombadil.  Every time
we see Bombadil or a reference to him, he is intimately connected with
the very fabric of the world ("Power to defy our Enemy is not in him,
unless such power is in the earth itself," says Galdor at the Council
of Elrond).  Bombadil claims to be the Eldest, that he was "here
before the river and the trees", that he "remembers the first raindrop
and the first acorn."  He even says that he "knew the dark under the
stars when it was fearless -- before the Dark Lord came from Outside."

As I read it, at least, all of this implies that Bombadil was in the
world _even before the Ainur came and gave it form_.  What is he?
Putting these pieces together, I come to a single conclusion: Tom
Bombadil embodies the Flame Imperishable within the world.  Through
him, the world can give voice to its sentience, to its individual,
_personal_ awareness and thought.  I will not go into details or quote
any more than I already have, but I have yet to see any aspect of
Bombadil's character or actions which are inconsistant with this
interpretation.  (It also fits very well with Tolkien's comment that
Bombadil was "the spirit of the (vanishing) Oxford and Berkshire
countryside" (Letters, #19) ).  Some aspects are of course a puzzle
(why would he confine himself to one little corner of the world, for
example?), but those are open questions and not direct contradictions.

At any rate, that's my take on Tom Bombadil.  I'd be happy to hear
any commentary or criticism.

                                                Steuard Jensen