Impenitent wrote:
I loved the succintness of this statement. Old Tom is there deliberately, Tolkien chose to retain him as the symbolic ultimate pacifist, a counterpoint to those who are still embedded in the eternal interchange and flow of power.
And Tolkien makes a point of emphasizing that this is Tom's ongoing choice, not a choice he made way back in some mysterious past but in a cintinuing way - that he makes the pacifist choice again when faced with the stark truth that "...ultimately only the victory of the West will allow Bombadil to continue."
Tom was important to Tolkien, he left him in because he had a function - and that makes me happy because I love Tom.
It is a subtle but important point, isn't it? I have friends who are Quakers, and I lean toward/empathize with their views, but there comes a time when one has to face harsh realities facing greater humankind (as in WWII, for example). Endless wars/conflict are not the answer either. It would be so much easier if the 'other side' were all evil Orcs, wouldn't it?