What happens to Tom Bombadil?

[Turin]

I was wondering after the LotR what happens to Tom Bombadil I might have missed it in the book. Thanks

 

[Maeglin]

I think the general concensus throughout the forum is that Bombadil was indeed Arda itself, sort of like a spirit that was there from the beginning, watching over all of Middle-Earth and in essence himself. So I think that he stays until the very end of Middle-Earth, at witch point I guess he might fight in the last war or just let it happen, and "die"(I'm not sure if thats the right word to use) with the rest of Middle-Earth and all that dwells within it.

 

[BlackCaptain]

Eru>Ainu/Valar>Mai>Regular People


Eru=Illuvitar
Ainu/Valar=Manwe, Ulmo, Yavanna, Melkor, ect...
Mai=Balrogs, Saruon, Gandalf, Radagast, Sauraman, and Tom Bombadil.
Regular people=Elves, Men, Dwarfs, Hobbits.

Tom bombadil is the same "Being" that Gandalf, and even Sauron is. Bombadil looks after the wilderness of middle earth, and makes his home in the Old Forrest. Nothing ever is said about him, except in Homeward Bound, one of the last chapters in ROTK.

Frodo says he'd like to visit him again, but Gandalf says that their paths do not take them into the old forrest. But Gandalf says, he has much to talk to Bombadil about. And it seems that he despretly needs to talk to him, not despret, but would reaaalllly like to

So its much more than safe to assume that when Gandalf leaves Frodo and Sam before they enter the Shire, he goes to speak with Bombadil.

So the only info we have is:

Frodo never gets to talk to him after the ring is destroyed, and if he does its not told in any book. Gandalf talks to Bombadil when he leaves Sam and Frodo.

I think that Bombadil must stay in middle earth, because all Mai have duties. The wizards went to middle earth to promote peace, and when Sauron was destroyed, there was peace. So Gandalf says stuff like "My timem is over" and stuff, and leaves. Tom Bombadill, however is the guardian of the wilderness in middle earth, so as long as middle earth exists, he must stay. Perhaps that is what Gandalf was telling him at their last meeting?

 

[Maeglin]

I really don't think so, because Radagast failed his mission for nature, he was in love with it and only cared for it, so they still had Radagast to take care of all of that stuff, and Bombadil usually doesn't care about much at all, but he does seem to have a power over nature(remember old man willow?), and Radagast doesn't, he just makes friends, so I think that Bombadil is something greater than a Maia such as Radagast.

 

[BlackCaptain]

"So i think Bombadil is something greater than a Mai such as radagast"

No, Bombadil is a Mai, i forget were i read it, but i know he is. And i never knew radagast failed his mission.

Then maybey Gandalf was telling Bombadill that he must stay, because since Radagast failed his mission, Middle Earth absoulutely needs someone like that...

I don't know, thats the best i could put it into words...

 

[Maeglin]

Morgulking you misunderstand me. Radagasts mission was the same as Gandalf's and Saruman's and the Ithryn Luin's(Blue Wizards): to unite men and elves against Sauron. The Ithryn Luin went far into the east and south and never returned, so we assume they failed, it also says so in Unfinished Tales. Saruman failed by turning to evil. Radagast failed in a much different way, he fell in love with nature, the beasts and the birds, so now he looks after them, thats why I was saying that Bombadil wouldn't be needed so much if Radagast was still there.

 

[Beorn]

Tom Bombadil is not a Maia. I'll give you $10 (all I have at the moment) if you find me (and I can find too) a quote where it explicitly says Tom B is a Maia.

Gandalf was a Maia, and he couldn't see Bilbo or Frodo with the ring on (see A Long Expected Party. At the end, Gandalf comes into Bag End and says to Bilbo 'Nice to see you visible again'.) Tom B could see Frodo...in short, read this entire thread before you consider any conclusions.

 

[Maeglin]

Beorn if that was directed towards me...1. that thread is wayyyy too long to read. And 2. I wasn't jumping to conclusions, I never said he was a Maia and I never thought he was, but I really had no desire to start a whole new debate about it, there must be at least 50 existing already.

 

[Lantarion]

Ah, but Beorn, how do you know he isn't a Maia??
I have re-evaluated Tom's position in the fates of Arda, and I have come to the conclusion that although it may seem too scientific for Tolkien's world, all creatures and things are categorized. Whether an Ainu, a Man, an Elf, a Hobbit, a fish, or whatever; everything falls into some category. In some cases, like Tom Bombadil or the steeds of the Nazgûl in the LotR, this categorization is not as easy as it would seem, because the background and history of the character is insufficient, and therefore left up to the readre to evaluate.
But I personally now believe that Tom might have been one of the original Ainur to have been created by Ilúvatar; and I also think that, although it is not stated in the Silmarillion as such, that Tom descended upon Arda some time before the Valar themselves, which is why he could not be counted as one. The way I see it is that he is a secret agent sent by Eru himself to ensure that things are in control in the Little Kingdom.
So, to conclude my little hypothesis and to actually answer the question of this thread, I'd say that as Tom is the unofficial Guardian of Arda, he will not leave at all.


PS: by the way MorgulKing, welcome to the forum! And the actual terms are Maia for singular and Maiar for plural.

 

[Aulë]

Hmmm, but why was Tom not effected by the powers of the ring?
All the other Maia are tempted by it...

 

[Calimehtar]

by "steeds of the Nazgul" if you mean their horses, theres nothing mysterious about them... they are just horses stolen from Rohan. Now, if you mean their flying 'steeds' then I guess no one ever said wha they were exactly, but I have always seen them as dragons... just a different breed than Smaug and some of the others.

 

[Maeglin]

Wow Lantarion I had almost those exact same thoughts, but I posted them in a debate I'm trying to get started in the TolkienDebates site, I'm just waitin for Beorn to evaluate it. But anyway I'll post some of my thoughts(there were a lot of them) about what I think Bombadil really is later on (I have to look up everything I wrote down)