Tolkien Denied That This Lord Of The Rings Character Is God

J.R.R. Tolkien never wrote throwaway characters. It’s hard to find an individual in «The Lord of the Rings,» «The Hobbit,» or any of the author’s works who doesn’t possess some kind of backstory to justify their existence in the plot. In the case of Tom Bombadil, Tolkien’s biographer, Humphrey Carpenter, explains that he was «a well-known figure in the Tolkien family, for the character was based on a Dutch doll that belonged to [Tolkien’s son] Michael.» Michael disliked the doll and disposed of it, only for his father to save it and turn it into a hero in a one-off poem he wrote before composing «The Lord of the Rings.»

When Tolkien wrote that monumental story, he included Bombadil because he already had developed him outside of Middle-earth and wanted to get him in the mix as a way to spice up the Hobbits’ earlier adventures. Tolkien said as much in another letter in 1954. Even then, Tolkien pointed out that he retained the character despite the odd disruption Bombadil provides, writing, «But I kept him in, and as he was, because he represents certain things otherwise left out.» He went on to explain that Tom is, in many ways, unexplainable. He interestingly referred to him as an example of «pure (real) natural science,» comparing him to zoology and botany rather than cattle breeding or agriculture. Tom is a collector of knowledge, but he doesn’t seek to put that knowledge into action. He’s a knower, not a doer; an observer, not a participant.

Despite Bombadil’s random insertion as a character with an existence and a purpose largely «outside of» the primary story, he isn’t random or useless. On the contrary, his literary creator appears to have given him a lot of thought.