The Trickster in LotR

[Evisse the Blue]

Indeed the similarities with Tom Bombadil are striking. The parts that do not fit may be because we know this character too little, or they haven't had a chance to manifest themselves in the given situations.
Even the part about him not having control over impulses being a subject of his passions (notice that it says 'at times'). And impulses and passions don't necessarily have an evil connotation, so I can see Tom Bombadil behaving impulsively.

The only problem I see is that Tom appears too little in the story so that he could be perfectly equivalent to the Trickster character. Tricksters usually play a predominant role, and their actions lead to major events. While Bombadil just prefers to be out of the way and is unconcerned with 'greater matters' such as the Ring.
So I agree with Garen on this one:

Originally Posted by Garen LiLorian

In the context of LotR as a myth, Gollum has a pretty good hold on a trickster archtype.

In any case, it's strange how this very interesting quote could lead to comparing two so different characters such as Gollum and Tom Bombadil!