| Goldberry | |
|---|---|
| Tolkien's legendarium character | |
| Aliases | River-woman's daughter |
| Book(s) | The Fellowship of the Ring (1954), The Adventures of Tom Bombadil (1962) |
Goldberry is a supporting character from J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. Also known as the "River-woman's daughter," she is the wife of Tom Bombadil. Goldberry is described as a beautiful and (seemingly) young maiden with golden hair.
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In The Fellowship of the Ring, the first book of The Lord of the Rings, Frodo Baggins and his companions Sam, Merry, and Pippin encounter Goldberry and Tom in the Old Forest near Buckland. The couple gives them shelter in their cottage after the Hobbits are rescued from Old Man Willow. Their stay is brief but puzzling, for Tom and Goldberry are clearly more than they seem.
Although Goldberry's origins are uncertain, Bombadil clearly identifies her as having been found by him in the river and her title "River-woman's daughter" strongly suggests that she is not a mortal human being, but rather a spirit of the river Withywindle in the Old Forest of Tolkien's Middle-earth. This is similar to the many named river spirits of traditional English folklore such as Peg Powler of the River Tees, although Goldberry is noticeably gentler. Otherwise, she and Bombadil are enigmas in Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium; not fitting easily into any of his definitions of sentient beings in his imagined world. An explanation offered up for her, which is consistent with some other stories, is that she is a resident low echelon Maia, an elemental spirit who has bound herself to the river, perhaps somewhat like Melian binding herself to Elu Thingol and the forest of Neldoreth.[1] Others have speculated that she may even be Yavanna herself, but this is not widely accepted. Some have also speculated that she is an Elf.
In Tolkien's The Adventures of Tom Bombadil the first poem tells the tale of her "capture" by Tom Bombadil.
Goldberry and Tom are notably absent from most media adaptations of The Lord of the Rings. Filmmakers Ralph Bakshi and Peter Jackson omitted the characters from their films, as their scenes do little to advance the main storyline of Frodo and the Hobbits' journey.
Goldberry appears in the massively multiplayer online role-playing game The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar. She can be found in "Goldberry's Glade" in the Old Forest. Her race is referred to as "River-maid." The game also features another member of this race, Goldberry's sister Naruhel, known as the Red Maid, who is of a darker and crueler nature. This is an original character not featured in Tolkien's writings.
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