The Fellowship of the Ring

Along with the maiden Goldberry, the River-daughter spirit, Tom Bombadil feeds and shelters the hobbits. Goldberry introduces Tom as “the Master of wood, water, and hill” (122), and Tom explains that Gildor asked him to watch over the hobbits’ journey. In the presence of Tom, the hobbits find themselves “singing merrily, as if it was easier and more natural than talking” (123). They eat sumptuous meals, sleep in luxurious beds, and the sense of time dissipates. As they fall asleep, Frodo, Pippin, and Merry have nightmares of Black Riders, laughing trees, and drowning, respectively. Each one awakes startled, but they are comforted by the safety of Tom’s abode and fall peacefully back to sleep. Only Sam sleeps through the entire evening without any nightmares.

The next day, as the hobbits rest in Tom’s house, Tom sings the tales of the Old Forest’s ancient history, of Old Man Willow’s wisdom and malice, and of the coming and passing of Men and their kingdoms, memorialized in the haunted burial mounds of the Barrow-downs. He sings tales “about the evil things and good things, things friendly and things unfriendly, cruel things and kind things” (127). His narratives puzzle the hobbits, and Frodo eventually cannot tell how many days they’ve stayed with Tom. When Frodo asks who he is, Tom responds, “Eldest, that’s what I am. […] Tom was here before the river and trees; […] When the Elves passed westward, Tom was here already, […] before the Dark Lord came from Outside” (129). Even further startling is when Tom asks to see the Ring, and the hobbits witness that it holds no power over him: Tom does not disappear when he wears it, and when Frodo puts on the Ring, Tom can see him.

On the eve of the hobbits’ departure, Tom advises them on how to reach the East Road and teaches them a song to chant should they ever need his help.

The replenished and invigorated hobbits begin their trek past the Barrow-downs, the area of burial mounds east of the forest, skirting its edges to avoid any encounters with the barrow-wights, evil spirits that haunt the graves. Under the heat and heavy air, the hobbits rest by a standing stone that remains cool despite the noon sun and fall under a sleeping spell. When they awake, a fog surrounds them, and Frodo loses his bearings and becomes separated from the group. He passes between two cairns, and a barrow-wight captures him. He loses consciousness.

Frodo awakens supine on a cold stone, and Sam, Merry, and Pippin lay unconscious on adjacent stones with a long sword across their necks. Their bodies are adorned with the robes, gold belts, and crowns of the dead, and they are surrounded by the weapons of past kings. Frodo fights the urge to abandon his friends and wear the Ring, and he quickly builds up his courage. As the wights sing an incantation and a spectral hand reaches for Sam, Frodo strikes at the hand with a sword and, recalling Tom’s song, begins to sing it. Tom arrives and sings a song that banishes the wight. He tells the hobbits to cast off the ornaments of the dead and “run naked on the grass” (140) as he retrieves their ponies and supplies. Tom gives the hobbits four daggers from the mound, informing them that the weapons were forged by the Men of Westernesse in their ancient battle against the Dark Lord and will protect them. To assure their safety, he accompanies them as far as the East Road and returns home to Goldberry.