My theory on Tom Bombadil, 🕷️Ungoliant, and Shelob

[BalrogRingDestroyer]

Though they don't purely seem to be this (two of them seem to have a certain power level as well that is on a par with Maia, if not higher) but I think Tom Bombadil is an embodiment of carefreeness and Ungoliant and her daughter Shelob are embodiments of gluttony.

I realize that Ungoliant had power enough to challenge Melkor himself (though presumably Shelob is much weaker than her mother) and Tom Bombadil had power enough to overcome Frodo's unwillingness to hand over the Ring (something that should have been a bit harder than it seemed, given that he was reluctant to throw it into the fire months earlier and now he just hands it away. He also can keep the Ring from vanishing him, can see Frodo with the Ring on, and can also vanish the Ring. He also has power over the Barrow-wights and Old Man Willow.)

Bombadil seems carefree to the extreme. He sings songs, sometimes nonsense, lives between two dangerous areas (the Withywindle Valley and the Barrow downs), and Goldberry says that Tom being in charge of anything (like the lands about) would be "too great a burden" and Gandalf says that Tom would be a poor guardian for the Ring as he'd likely just toss it away.

Ungoliant, on the other hand, seems to like devouring stuff, even wanting to eat the Simirals (a pity she didn't, as I recall one foul fiend eating a Simiral after biting off Beren's hand and then getting scalded very badly from the inside.) ) In the end, she ultimately is said to have devoured herself. Shelob is similar, though weaker, and her fate is left unknown.

Both Ungoliant and Bombadil seem to be First Age and likely even before it, and both have unknown origins and it's never really stated exactly what they are.

(As an aside, I wonder if Goldberry is a naiad.)

 

[Ent]

A poem:

Speculation is wonderful. It starts with "s" and ends with "n".
And of it Tolkien left us much of which we write with ink and pen.
Without it naught of Middle-earth would still exist for Elves and Men
to chase, discuss and ever seek an answer for in field and fen.

Imagine now a Middle-earth where every answer was at hand;
where not one questions lingered still with a solution to demand.
Would J.R.R. have given us then a story that was just bland,
without a reason to return to all his works and what he'd planned?

'Twas he himself who said to us he had no intent to provide
the 'one solution' to each thing; the 'final word' on all he'd hide.
He knew quite well his History was just like life and could abide
only in a timelessness sweeping ever on with its own tide.

Imagine where we all would be if every query answered was.
When no more challenge was ahead; no draw, as incompleteness does.
Imagine what we'd do the day we really removed all the fuzz.
We'd leave Tolkien and go elsewhere to find again that wanted buzz.


This is why the Great Halls of Speculation existed, folks - and why their contents were frequently checked out at the front desk for review - with an almost inevitable promise of return, as yet unresolved. And though the Halls burned down, yet the speculations were all freed in the inferno - remaining still to be located, grasped, inspected, discussed, and let go again until the next time they are brought within grasp of a new reviewer.

Let's face it folks... we're all a bit like Ungoliant in a way, gluttonous for the mystery - the search - the solution - being 'right' - temporary though it is, immediately replaced by the next puzzle if the one at hand is solved.

One of the greatest beauties of Tolkien's works is he purposed they could never be 'completed'. He provided the beginning...but the end is ever just out of reach, 'yet to come'. So it has been written. So it will always be.

 

[ZehnWaters]

Though they don't purely seem to be this (two of them seem to have a certain power level as well that is on a par with Maia, if not higher) but I think Tom Bombadil is an embodiment of carefreeness and Ungoliant and her daughter Shelob are embodiments of gluttony.

I realize that Ungoliant had power enough to challenge Melkor himself (though presumably Shelob is much weaker than her mother) and Tom Bombadil had power enough to overcome Frodo's unwillingness to hand over the Ring (something that should have been a bit harder than it seemed, given that he was reluctant to throw it into the fire months earlier and now he just hands it away. He also can keep the Ring from vanishing him, can see Frodo with the Ring on, and can also vanish the Ring. He also has power over the Barrow-wights and Old Man Willow.)

Bombadil seems carefree to the extreme. He sings songs, sometimes nonsense, lives between two dangerous areas (the Withywindle Valley and the Barrow downs), and Goldberry says that Tom being in charge of anything (like the lands about) would be "too great a burden" and Gandalf says that Tom would be a poor guardian for the Ring as he'd likely just toss it away.

Ungoliant, on the other hand, seems to like devouring stuff, even wanting to eat the Simirals (a pity she didn't, as I recall one foul fiend eating a Simiral after biting off Beren's hand and then getting scalded very badly from the inside.) ) In the end, she ultimately is said to have devoured herself. Shelob is similar, though weaker, and her fate is left unknown.

Both Ungoliant and Bombadil seem to be First Age and likely even before it, and both have unknown origins and it's never really stated exactly what they are.

(As an aside, I wonder if Goldberry is a naiad.)

A good enough concept. Both seem to be embodiments of concepts rather than Maiar or Valar. The Flame Imperishable was set at the heart of Eä so it's possible it simply spawned new creatures.

 

[Child of Varda]

To the best of my knowledge, the only three true "Enigmas" are Tom Bombadil, Goldberry, and Ungoliant. You could extend this to characters such as Beorn, but as it stands, he is still a mortal man. Feel free to mention any I missed. However, according to Tolkien, Bombadil represents the stability in nature and Goldberry the changeability in nature. So… they don't seem to be Maiar, as we can tell that Gandalf and Saruman could be affected by the Ring, I suspect because he is not really connected to the Unseen as they are—in other words, he is a spirit of Middle-Earth, not Valinor. So, I was wondering if Goldberry and Ungoliant are spirits of other aspects of nature, created by Illúvatar alongside Arda. Further, Ungoliant's ability to challenge Morgoth suggests that she was not akin to any of his creatures. So perhaps Ungoliant is a somewhat similar spirit in her own right. We know from Tolkien that all things were once good, and it was his own Catholic philosophy that evil cannot create but only corrupt and destroy. Therefore, I think it goes without saying that if Ungoliant is a being in any stretch, in some sense, she was once good. So, perhaps, if Bombadil is a spirit of nature or Middle-Earth, maybe Ungoliant was a spirit of light? It might explain why light is almost a paradox for her, as she feeds on light but also hates it, and why her weapon is unlight.

 

[Squint-eyed Southerner]

We've discussed these ideas frequently, including in several of Balrog's threads. Here's one:

Are 🕷️Ungoliant and Bombadil opposites of each other?

I'm still not sure what Bombadil is, but I now think it's possible that I've found his opposite, Ungoliant, a spider-like creature that appears to have come from the darkness and the Void itself. Bombadil, on the other hand, is possibly an essence of the Secret Fire itself or something...

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