Stori3D Past
Member
Hi all. Still hopelessly behind, but still thinking deep Tolkien thoughts. 
As context, in the "Exploring" series I'm still at the point in the Hall of Fire where Bilbo asks to see the Ring, then seeing Frodo's reaction finally "gets it" and gives it up for good.
I've been reading Prof. Olsen's "Exploring The Hobbit," and a parallel just struck me.
Corey (p. 261 of the hardback) talks about the moment Bilbo gives up the Arkenstone, another of his most precious finds. This was something that he instantly fell in love with, saying "I think I would choose this if they took all the rest." And this isn't just talk. Smaug's poison has affected all of the treasure -- particularly treasure that was already magically alluring. Corey shows how the dragon-sickness has affected all the parties around the mountain -- Thorin, the Elvenking, and Bard. And Bilbo as well. And yet, at the mountain, Bilbo is willing to risk all of his claims to treasure & even his own life to give it up. Because of his empathy for Thorin and all of the "Good People" who were about to wage senseless war on each other.
This seems to be a driving force in all of Bilbo's life. He can succumb to desire and is perfectly willing & able to refashion the truth afterward to make himself look better. (See the story of the "birthday present" and even the story he tells himself when he first takes the Arkenstone). And on his own, he is perhaps never able or willing to change or even see it. (See Rivendell, where the *first* thing he does is ask to see the Ring, because he hasn't really listened to anything that any of the Wisest people in Middle-Earth have been trying to teach him for 18 years.)
BUT... when push comes to shove, and he sees that other people are suffering (Gollum, Thorin, Frodo), he breaks free & makes uniquely brave and noble choices. And he does this 100% of the time, almost without even hesitating. Beyond just pity, I think it's a deep empathy, which he may not even understand himself. And that empathy drives the most important choices he makes throughout his life and basically guarantees his "happily ever after" fairytale ending. He can't "turn bad," because when it comes to it, his empathy for others' struggles wins out over his own self-interest.
Question for Narnion: Does this sound right, and can we infer anything from it about how Tolkien himself saw the character (lowercase & uppercase) of Bilbo?
As context, in the "Exploring" series I'm still at the point in the Hall of Fire where Bilbo asks to see the Ring, then seeing Frodo's reaction finally "gets it" and gives it up for good.I've been reading Prof. Olsen's "Exploring The Hobbit," and a parallel just struck me.
Corey (p. 261 of the hardback) talks about the moment Bilbo gives up the Arkenstone, another of his most precious finds. This was something that he instantly fell in love with, saying "I think I would choose this if they took all the rest." And this isn't just talk. Smaug's poison has affected all of the treasure -- particularly treasure that was already magically alluring. Corey shows how the dragon-sickness has affected all the parties around the mountain -- Thorin, the Elvenking, and Bard. And Bilbo as well. And yet, at the mountain, Bilbo is willing to risk all of his claims to treasure & even his own life to give it up. Because of his empathy for Thorin and all of the "Good People" who were about to wage senseless war on each other.
This seems to be a driving force in all of Bilbo's life. He can succumb to desire and is perfectly willing & able to refashion the truth afterward to make himself look better. (See the story of the "birthday present" and even the story he tells himself when he first takes the Arkenstone). And on his own, he is perhaps never able or willing to change or even see it. (See Rivendell, where the *first* thing he does is ask to see the Ring, because he hasn't really listened to anything that any of the Wisest people in Middle-Earth have been trying to teach him for 18 years.)
BUT... when push comes to shove, and he sees that other people are suffering (Gollum, Thorin, Frodo), he breaks free & makes uniquely brave and noble choices. And he does this 100% of the time, almost without even hesitating. Beyond just pity, I think it's a deep empathy, which he may not even understand himself. And that empathy drives the most important choices he makes throughout his life and basically guarantees his "happily ever after" fairytale ending. He can't "turn bad," because when it comes to it, his empathy for others' struggles wins out over his own self-interest.
Question for Narnion: Does this sound right, and can we infer anything from it about how Tolkien himself saw the character (lowercase & uppercase) of Bilbo?
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