Certainly one of the more discussed characters in the Tolkien realms, Tom Bombadil. This from the Middle Earth Portal on Wikipedia, emphasis mine:
In reference to Bombadil, Tolkien himself said that some things should remain mysterious in any narrative, hidden even to its inventor. Tom Bombadil is not the only being whose nature is unexplained. While passing Caradhras in Book II of The Fellowship of the Ring Aragorn mentions beings more ancient even than Sauron.[4] In Book III of The Two Towers, when describing his fall in the pits of Moria, Gandalf mentions dark creatures who gnaw the world. In addition, Tolkien placed the fate of the Entwives in this enigmatic category, as well as the Cats of Queen Berúthiel
I think this is just great because I don’t think we can always know everything about what we create. Sometimes it’s just there and comes out and we might not understand all the details or much about it in general.
I always enjoy the parts of the LoTR with Tom – and am always left wondering – Who is that guy? I’ve certainly wondered if he is a creator-type figure. I can make that work while I’m reading it but to just happen to stroll into his neighborhood and then have him help you out… hmmmm. I also enjoy the Ents. And I’m always left wondering where did the entwives go? Could someone find them if they put their minds to it? For first time readers of course, these sort of questions keep you on the look out as the stories go on, looking for hints and more info or storyline about these mysterious characters. Long-time re-readers probably have part of their brain off creating the side-tales to fill in the gaps.
This is very much why I don’t like to tell folks much about my quilts but I love it when they tell me what they think it’s about. Almost everyone has a slightly different take and I just love to hear about all of them.
