Who or What is Tom Bombadil?

[Bêthberry]

Originally Posted by Morsul the Dark

now had goldberry put on the ring and not disappeared surely we would have a dynamic duo of enigmas on our hands

Interesting that of all the female characters only Galadriel has her moment with the Ring. I wonder if, had Goldberry been allowed to stay after dinner with the fellows, she might have provided a surprising demonstration of her powers.

Originally Posted by Gurthang

Tom saves them, takes them in, tells them tales, wears the Ring in their view, gives them horses, and finally saves them again. Key among those is Tom putting on the Ring and being unaffected. I think these occurences make Tom overshadow Goldberry in a way.

True, yet adventure and action is not all that the story is about. Goldberry's affect on Frodo is important in terms of his learning elven ways while the nature of respite and sanctuary is an important element in the story and something she specifically provides. Without her, banner-weaving Arwen is harder to understand.