After all the clues are found and all the riddles answered, we can at last see, perhaps, that the naked truth about Tom Bombadil is that he reminds us that there is a power beyond that of the Ring and beyond that of the Dark Lord who made it. He is a glimpse of the innocence that is beyond the power of sin, the hope that is beyond the power of despair, and the light that is beyond the power of darkness.
