Tom, Goldberry, and a Different Kind of River Dance

By my count, there are 34 references to water of one kind or another in the three chapters that make up the hobbits' encounter with Tom Bombadil and Goldberry in J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. I won't list them all here, but you can quickly call to mind the River Withywindle, water-lilies, the washing water in the penthouse, the falling water in Merry's dream and the rain-curtain in Frodo's, Goldberry's washing day, vessels at table, songs that conjure mental pictures of water, and even the very fog on the Barrow-downs. Water streams and flows through the entire episode.

As a great respecter of the hidden parts of Faërie, I am comfortable with the insoluble riddle of Tom and Goldberry's identities. That being said, I would dearly love to know why Professor Tolkien filled their chapters with such oceans of water.

It seems to me that something very special may be occurring when we are treated to the weaving dance of the River Daughter and old Forn around the table. There she is, in a gown as pure as water with shoes like fishes' mail. There he is, so brown and earthen - a being who dresses like flowers and crowns himself with leaves like a tree.

It is almost as if the feast seems to spring from the board like food from soil and rain. How profoundly elemental. Back to the basics of how the earth lades our tables and hosts our lives. The health of humanity might best be measured by whether all are included at the super-abundant feast of the world. We could measure by the merriment and song that would surely ensue with all guests welcomed, all bellies filled, all at ease.

With this painting, I hoped to honor what I sense in this scene of Professor Tolkien's reverence for lovely water and simple food. If we love the house of Tom Bombadil, we must perforce look askance at anyone turning these sources of all life into their "Precious".

What is freely given by nature belongs to all who dwell in Middle-earth. The refreshment experienced by the hobbits in leaving behind the conspiring Old Forest to sip and sing with their hosts is a refresher I would like to see our society imbibe. Perhaps this is something you will think of, too, as you enjoy this video short: