Ladies of LOTR: Goldberry

The OG Cottage Core Girly!

As you know by now, the theme of my substack is women and what there is to learn about gender through novels and stories that feature female characters. As we begin to study Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings for the remainder of the semester, I am running into a problem that Tolkien’s readership is likely well familiar with: there is a lack of female characters to discuss! Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings focuses on an unlikely group of adventures that are solely male, the villains they fight are male, and even many of the creatures (I’m looking at you, Gwaihir!) are male! However, there are a few female characters and Tolkien’s thorough language and characterization manages to make them into deep characters worthy of study despite their status as minor characters.

One of the most interesting female characters that has remained in my head since I first read the books is Goldberry. My favorite part of the entire first book is the encounter with Tom Bombadil and his wife, Goldberry. She is one (if not my absolute) of my favorite LOTR characters, and to me, embodies the cottage core aesthetic. To this day, I am pissed that Peter Jackson could not fit them into the movie adaptations despite each movie being twelve hours long. Anyways, back to Goldberry. Tolkien paints her introduction in The Fellowship of the Ring as one of beauty and sweetness. Tolkien states, “Her long hair rippled down her shoulders; her gown was green, green as young reeds, shot with silver like beads of dew; and her belt was of gold, shaped like a chain of flag-lilies set with the pale blue eyes of forget-me-nots. About her feet in wide vessels of green and brown earthenware, white water-lilies were floating, so that she seemed to be enthroned in the midst of a pool” (Tolkien 121). Any reader of Tolkien knows of his talent of imagery, he clearly uses it here to create such a beautiful character. These early descriptions of Goldberry are immortalized in my memory. 

As the novel continues, the hobbits receive Goldberry’s welcome and are invited inside where Goldberry presents them with a marvelous feast. Tolkien depicts this by writing, “Here’s my Goldberry clothed all in silver-green with flowers in her girdle! Is the table laden? I see yellow cream and honeycomb, and white bread, and butter, and milk, cheese, green herbs and ripe berries gathered” (Tolkien 122). This description highlights her status as a hostess, where she welcomes all of the guests and awaits her husband’s return to their home. 

Up until this point one could argue that Tolkien positions Goldberry merely as a figure of hospitality and beauty, but a deeper dive into the creation of her character reveals something more interesting. In our scholarship for this week, T.A. Shippey’s J.R.R. Tolkien: Author of the Century, Shippey discusses Goldberry and the creation of her character. He writes, “Meanwhile Goldberry is the ‘Riverwoman’s daughter,’ beautiful and charming herself, but connected with the hag who lurks like Grendel’s mother in her ‘deep, weedy pool’” (Shippey 62). Shippey’s comment is interesting because it shows that Tolkien had a deeper purpose and understanding in the creation of Goldberry’s character. Goldberry is Tolkien’s twist of a traditional water hag. The water hag are characters of Medieval mythology; they are known for living under the water, being hideous creatures, and terrorizing or killing people. As a medievalist, Tolkien was well aware of the associations of having a sole female come from a river or natural pool of water. While this origin story would suggest that Goldberry be a creature of terror, Tolkien creates the opposite. Goldberry is incredibly beautiful and a wonderful hostess. She also possesses a husband–this detail sets her apart from water hags, such as Grendel’s mother. She embodies the opposite characteristics of a traditional water hag and from this it is clear that Tolkien sought to play with traditional medieval tropes and mythologies. Even in the most minor characters, like Goldberry, there is much to be discussed about how her character relates to Medieval mythology and Tolkien’s ability to use this established lore to deepen her character. 

My latte (cinnamon roll with oat) is finished and god willing, I will be back next week with another woman centric LOTR post!