(Silly) Who is Farmer Maggot?

[Dimcairien Luiniel]

The newest theory to come out of the discord.

@Moriel @Rivvy Elf @Menolly

[Rivvy Elf]

I brought up the theory first in the discord so if any of ya have some strong beef with this...

[Chrysophylax Dives]

It is quite obvious to me, although i have no evidence for this whatsoever, that Farmer Maggot is a representation of H.M. Chadwick, Tolkien's older but opposite Anglo-Saxon Professor at Cambridge. I base this on: (i) he lives in the flat Marish, the Shire version of the Cambridge fens, and (ii) Tolkien's widely different representations of Maggot seem to me to span the range of feelings he likely he had for Chadwick - in the drafts Maggot goes from a Baggins-hating tyrant through a relative of Tom Bombadil to the farmer we know from the published story.

And if that does not change your mind then nothing will!

[Rivvy Elf]

must’ve been a quite an intimidating professor to shoo away a black rider

[Chrysophylax Dives]

yup. and he was the ring-leader in the group of friends who pushed over a tower looking over the sea.

[Dorwiniondil]

He used to stand on the bridge at Bletchley station and drop rocks from the tower onto Tolkien''s train.

[Troelsfo]

There are some interesting comments in John Garth's new book also on the origins and sources for Farmer Maggot ... (hint-hint ... get the book ... you feel sleepy ... you will buy John Garth's new book ... you cannot live without The Worlds of J.R.R. Tolkien ... )

[Dimcairien Luiniel]

FYI, this is in jest because conspiracy lore is fun, right @Menolly and @Rivvy Elf? :D

But I figured it was time to pull together all the randomness that happened that night into a post just because. Also, we also could use something amusing/ridiculous on here to laugh over right now.

There are a variety of reasons why Farmer Maggot is a likely candidate for Melkor reincarnate.
1. Had a habit of arguing with strangers
2. Was able to tell a Death Eater off - and he and his dogs lived
3. Has some very scary looking dogs
4. Ok with going out in somewhat dangerous country after dark.

Melkor
1. Hated everybody
2. Had a very scary looking wolf
3. Loves the dark

Quoted from Tolkien Gateway citing Return of the Shadow "When J.R.R. Tolkien came to write about Tom Bombadil he toyed with the idea of making Farmer Maggot some other creature than a hobbit, possibly akin to Tom himself.[4] As this notion brewed a line was given to Frodo Took stating that Maggot was "not a hobbit – not a pure hobbit anyway" and that he had hair under his chin.[5]"

While the exact origins of Tom Bombadil are hazy (considering how long the peeling the onion thread got), it is possible to assume that Maggot could have very hazy origins as well.

So, to sum up, Farmer Maggot's origins are just fishy enough to make one wonder how much of a real hobbit he is or if he's a fallen Maia masquerading as an odd hobbit.

[Rivvy Elf]

H.M. Chadwick when he was younger also seems like a candidate for a Melkor.

[Boromir88]

I'm not quite sure about Farmer Maggot being Melkor, but I will say, he's always struck me as an immovable force. :smiley10: For instance, he clearly was not going to be pushed off his land, even by the Nazgul, which could terrify the boldest men.

His name itself has strong earth symbolism. "Farmer" and "Maggot", he is grounded and has deep roots in the earth. Much like Bombadil and Old Man Willow. Frodo is restless and unsettled in The Shire, where Maggot has laid down his roots and he aint moving.

There seems to be a certain power one gets in putting down roots. For example again Bombadil and Old Man Willow within their own borders they are powerful forces and influences on their "land." However, by grounding yourself and becoming immovable, outside your self-imposed borders you make yourself weak and rather powerless.

In the same way, within the Marish, Farmer Maggot is a significant, seemingly immovable force. Outside of his self-imposed borders though, it could be he's powerless. I don't recall for sure, but I'm pretty sure Farmer Maggot was not involved in defeating Sharkey and his ruffians. Which actually suggests, he wouldn't be Melkor or Sauron. Since the great Dark Lords like to expand their "borders," expand their influence in an attempt to corrupt and rot everything that they possibly can. Maggot stays fixed in the Marish and no one is pushing him off his land.

[Rivvy Elf]

It would be a Melkor thing to do, however, to have a farm just infested with mushrooms. Mushrooms are a sign of decay, after all. So if everywhere is mushrooms, everywhere there's decay!

[Mojo]

Fun fact: all mushrooms are edible, but some mushrooms are only edible once.