I think Tolkien wrote about this in his original story on ol' Tom how he came upon Goldberry by the river. I'm not sure if I have it right but he persued her and she fled into the river because her mother was the River Spirit. His persistance won Goldberry's heart and she elected to go with him. If this isn't the extact way it went I Glorfindel, Mouth of Sauron, Bear, lomoduin or someone will correct it.
Filli's question about Tom Bombadil's relationship with Goldberry; "What about his girlfriend?" could be answered with an abrupt statement;"She is past the age of consent so what do you care?" But the fact is Filli probes deeper going on with; "But what about Goldberry...lady of the river "me ol' merry ol' dol"and she's "dum de dum." Any ideas on Goldberry and why she shacked up with merry ol' dol Tom ?" There may be room (beneath its comic shell) for a more serious and elaborate answer to his question.
Why and how did Tom Bombadil end up with such a beautiful lady as Goldberry? In Tolkien's The Adventures of Tom Bombadil the first poem tells the tale of her "capture" by Tom Bombadil. He pursued her and she fled into the river because her mother was the River Spirit. His persistence won Goldberry's heart and she elected to go with him. (Right on Anorlas!!!) According to Tom Bombadil, in The Lord of the Rings, he found her long ago by the pool where he gathers water-lilies from the Withywindle river. Goldberry is said to be the daughter of the River-woman. Her voice is beautiful, "as young and as ancient as spring, like the song of a glad water flowing down into the night from a bright morning in the hills." Goldberry is, as a nature-spirit, closely connected to the weather of the Old Forest. She is the rain and snows that arise from the waters and replenish them again. Tom Bombadil describes the rain as Goldberry's washing day and her autumn cleaning. With some powers of a nature -spirit himself, Tom and Goldberry compliment each other, coming together as guardians of the Old Forest.. Goldberry as a feminist figure is portrayed and visible in the cooperative and reciprocal relationship with Tom. They share both their domestic life and their divine responsibilities evenly, reciprocally respected and pleasantly Goldberry, with the smooth and kind way she relates to her odd husband Tom Bombadil and through her elegance, accomplishment, and connection to the natural world, brings much needed balance. "The character of Goldberry combines elements of natural and domestic. She is a woodland goddess, loving wife, and devoted daughter..." (Hesser, Katherine. author "Goldberry", J.R.R. Tolkien Encyclopedia. , Michael Drout editor, Scholarship & Critical Assessment ed. 2007, pg.244)
We meet Goldberry because her husband, Tom Bombadil, has rescued the hobbits from Old Man Willow and has brought the hobbits with him to his home. "At Tom's home, the hobbits are introduced to Bombadil's wife, Goldberry, the 'River -daughter'. Goldberry is golden-haired, slender, and exquisitely beautiful, but she is more "natural", less ethereal than many of Tolkien's other female characters. Goldberry is, in fact, mythologically similar to a water nymph or a dryad. Her clothing, like her husband's, suggests a link with nature for instance, in one scene, Goldberry "was clothed all in silver with a white girdle, and her shoes were like fishes' mail".(The Lord of the Rings, Fellowship of the Ring, Book I, Chapter VII - "In the House of Tom Bombadil", pg 123).(with apologies to Jane Chance and the others as the source of this quote. I lost the source in a computer crash.) We see her appearing to the hobbits as goddess, nurturer, and manager of domestic responsibilities. Seeing Goldberry, the hobbits experience a kind of awe, abashed at her beauty and appreciative of her kindness. The hobbits first see her sitting, wearing shimmering clothes as the enter the house with Tom: "In a chair, at the far side of the room facing the outer door, sat a woman. Her long yellow hair rippled down her shoulders; her gown was green, green as young reeds, shot with silver like beads of dew; and her belt was of gold, shaped like a chain of flag-lilies set with pale-blue eyes of forget-me-nots. About her feet in wide vessels of green and brown earthenware, white water-lilies were floating, so that she seemed to be enthroned in the midst of a pool." (The Lord of the Rings, Fellowship of the Ring, Book I, Chapter VII - "In the House of Tom Bombadil" , pg 118)
Goldberry's character has many facets that reach out from an ecological, feminist, mythological, and poetic vein Because of these dimensions in Tolkien's works, especially The Adventures of Tom Bombadil and The Fellowship of the Rings, are enriched and given greater depth.
Tom's lady is also unique in her own unselfish and non-self serving way. "She seeks nothing, longs for nothing, yet appreciates and nurtures everything and everyone around her. She is the only female character in The Lord of the Rings without a personal agenda. She is not looking to earn battle glory like Eowyn; to satiate her hunger , as Shelob is; to take residence in Bag-End, as Lobelia Sackville-Baggins; to defy her father for the sake of love, like Arwen; and she is in no danger of being influenced by the Ring as Galadriel fears she might be. Goldberry provides a feminine figure who is pure, content, significant to the world around her, and wise." (Hesser, Katherine. author "Goldberry", J.R.R. Tolkien Encyclopedia. , Michael Drout editor, Scholarship & Critical Assessment ed. 2007, pg. 246)
Goldberry is more than Tom Bombadil's main squeeze.
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Vocatus atque non vocatus, Deus aderit Called or uncalled, God is present
Of course I don't think we will ever have a definitive answer on the subject, as we do not with Tom Bombadil, who was purposely made an enigma. But a nature spirit is definitely a possible origin him if we were to speculate, all the same. Mind you, stuff in The Adventures of Tom Bombadil has to be taken with a pinch of salt, as they are child-like poems, all the same.
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Utúlie'n aurë! Aiya Eldalië ar Atanatári, utúlie'n aurë! Auta i lómë! Aurë entuluva!
On the tail end of Glorfindel's thought and posing another. Gandalf and Galadriel fought with the thought of posessing the ring. Tom did not nor Goldberry. Of more earthly substance the hobbits did well. Is there an underlying trend with the purity of naturalist and their resiliece against coruptness and evil?
It would seem to me anyway that Tom was a naturalist. The Ring could not tempt him, nor would he be counted on to help distroy it nor keep it hidden. He might very well forget about it or just throw it away. As for his pursuit of Golden Berry, if I remember right, he almost drown and she saved him. Some one else may know the truth of this. Anyway, she stayed with him by choice. She seemed to love him, and he loved her. He kept her near to water and her beloved water lillies. She didn't seem to be a prisoner.
Anorlas, Accurate and a good observation. I think your insight on Tom and Goldberry's relationship is perfect! Tom was a lucky fellow! Nice insight and research, Hugs, Bear
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Vocatus atque non vocatus, Deus aderit Called or uncalled, God is present
And Saruman. A naturalist who abandons the earth for metal and gears. A sad commentary I suppose but I see it all around and am guilty of it too a bit. I don't hunt with a bow and arrow at any rate. The string always pops my forearm, I get mad, break it over my knee and pull out my rifle. lol
