LogFAQs > #968216549

Not entirely. The Morgul-blade turns those poisoned by it into wraiths and Frodo succumbing to it and slowly becoming closer to the dark "world" of Sauron made it all worse. He was eventually healed in Rivendell, but not fully. Frodo would fall ill on the anniversaries of his stabbing until he went into the west so it was a very awful thing to happen to him. The ring itself is a strong corrupting agent and only the inherent toughness of Hobbits against "magic" and such made it bearable for such a long time for them.

And Tom Bombadil's little story is so weird and out of place, but I still enjoy it. I think he's just there for world building and to make Middle Earth seem more fantastical and mysterious. Some say he's Eru/god, but I think Tolkien said he wasn't. He can't just be an ordinary Maia because they can be corrupted by the ring. No matter what Tolkien said, he has to be Eru, one of the Valar in disguise, or one of the many unexplained "spirits" like Ungoliant. He's almost a personification of Arda itself.