Goldberry

Goldberry, the River-daughter, is a figure of spring-like grace and elemental power who dwells with Tom Bombadil in a house nestled under the hill near the Withywindle. She is first heard as a voice of silver clarity, singing in answer to Tom's nonsense-song, and when the hobbits cross her threshold they find her enthroned among floating water-lilies, her long yellow hair rippling, her green gown shot with silver like dew. She is both a queen of this small, enchanted realm and a being intimately bound to the water and the land: she calls herself "daughter of the River," and her movements are compared to the wind in flowering river-borders. Her presence immediately dispels the hobbits' fear of the dark forest, and she bids them shut out the night, promising that nothing passes door or window save moonlight, starlight, and the wind off the hill-top.

Identity and Role

Goldberry is defined by her relationship to the natural world and to Tom Bombadil. She is not a ruler but a presence: when Frodo asks if all the strange land belongs to Tom, she corrects him gently, saying that the trees and grasses belong to themselves, and that Tom is the Master—not a lord of property but one who has no fear and walks freely through wood, water, and hill. She herself is the River-daughter, a figure of the living stream, and her song is a rain-song that tells the tale of a river from the highlands to the Sea. Her beauty is of a different order from that of the Elves: Frodo feels that the spell she lays on him is "less keen and lofty" than elven-enchantment, but "deeper and nearer to mortal heart." She is marvellous yet not strange, a figure who belongs wholly to the world of the Withywindle and its seasons.

The Hobbits' Hostess

Goldberry's role in the narrative is primarily that of a hostess and healer. She welcomes the four hobbits into Tom's house, seating them in low rush-seated chairs and setting the table with yellow cream, honeycomb, white bread, and butter. She sings songs that begin merrily in the hills and fall softly into silence, and in those silences the hobbits see in their minds pools and waters wider than any they have known. She wishes them each good night with a candle, and her footsteps sound like a stream falling gently away downhill over cool stones. Her presence is a source of peace and restoration: after a night of strange dreams, the hobbits wake refreshed, and Goldberry's rain-song, heard from above, blesses the weather that delays their departure, giving them another day of rest and story-telling.

Farewell and Significance

Goldberry's farewell is the most poignant moment of the hobbits' stay. She appears on the hill-brow, her hair flying loose and catching the sun, and beckons them to the summit. There she bids them look out over the lands under the morning—the Forest, the Brandywine valley, the Barrow-downs, and the distant Mountains—and then she speaks her final words: "Speed now, fair guests! And hold to your purpose! North with the wind in the left eye and a blessing on your footsteps! Make haste while the Sun shines!" To Frodo she says, "Farewell, Elf-friend, it was a merry meeting!" He finds no words to answer, and as he rides away he looks back to see her standing still, small and slender like a sunlit flower against the sky, her hands stretched out towards them. Then she gives a clear call, lifts her hand, and vanishes behind the hill. She is never seen again in the story, and her departure marks the end of the hobbits' last true refuge before they descend into the dangers of the Barrow-downs and the long road east.