Another one of those debates that goes round and round in circles...

I like the "figment of Tolkien's imagination" theory, myself...


Once again, for reference purposes... http://tevildiel.proboards21.com/index. ... 1105935468

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lol! I started this thread on the old forum

I still don't really have an educated guess on this topic. Goldberry could be anything, all we know is that she's called the River Daughter. Reading about her in FotR, I always thought she was an Elf, until I went back over it one day and I realized that we didn't know exactly what she was. I believe that she is a Maia, much like Tom Bombadil. She might be some sort of river spirit, but anyone's guess is as good as mine.

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I know this is kind of out of nowhere, but I always thought of her as a dryad or nyad. Not that Tolkien ever stated that there were such beings in M-e, but she just has the kind of dryad look to her. She reminds me of how C.S. Lewis described the spirits of the trees in Narnia.

But, to go with Tolkien's actual world, I'd guess she was either a Maia or one of the sylvan Elves.

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Well, C.S Lewis and J.R.R Tolkien were really good friends. So it is possible that people might see some similarities in their work.

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Ahhhhhhhh........a question I don't think will ever be answered, but heres something I found on the Encyclopedia of Arda:

Like Tom himself, Goldberry is a mysterious being whose place in Tolkien's mythology isn't easy to establish. She seems to be some kind of river-spirit, though some have conjectured that both Tom and Goldberry belong to the order of the Maiar. For more on these possibilities, consult the entry for Tom Bombadil.

In literary terms, Tolkien seems to have intended her character to perform a symbolic role. In his Letters, he writes 'We are ... in real river-lands in autumn. Goldberry represents the actual seasonal changes in such lands' (The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, No 210, dated 1958). We can see this symbolism in Frodo's greeting, quoted above, which goes on 'O spring-time and summer-time, and spring again after!'

Wasn't she Bombadil's...spouse?

I also agree that she is a figment of Tolkien's imagination. I think there is one little detail we can't figure out...that one detail that would give us the anwer.

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you know what Arwen, she reminds me of a nyad too! She does seem like she could be a character in Narnia

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Yes, she was Tom's spouse. They lived in The Old Forest together. Also, yes Goldberry most likely is a Maia, but we still don't even really know what Tom is. It's assumed he's a Maia, but we don't really know anything. So the best guess I could come up with is that Goldberry is a Maia, or just a river-spirit with powers.

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I can only think that she must be one of the Maia- also a theory I hold with Tom Bombadil himself. He is a very magical creature, and has powers beyond some Elves...

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yeah i agree....though some people find him scary lol. not me although i was kinda mistified but that chapter some how relaxed me, sort of let me sink back into myself....if you see where im heading lol. not that i make sence usually anyways lol. i dunno i found him calming and goldberry too, i was almost sad when i finishedthat chapter lol.

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I think Tom Bombadil and Goldberry as Maiar makes the most sense, although Arwen's nyad/driad/whatever-ya-call-'ems theory really fits too.

Goldberry... yesh she was something quite special- what she is i dont know. I feel she has a human form and is quite pretty- but i think that she gets her uniqueness from having a mixed background... idk- i've never really put much thought into that

I...don't know what they are but nonetheless they SCARE me.

Especially Tom.



Yeah, definitely Tom.

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Haha, they don't scare me. Tom is like my favorite character in FotR.

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Tom is the one I never really liked... *hides from Evenstar*

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