Ch. 12 Bilbo's changes

[Desi Baggins]

In this chapter the narrator mentions that Bilbo is not the same...What did you notice about Bilbo in this chapter that is different?

[Andorinha]

The Final Source of Bilbo's Personality Changes?

The greatest change in Bilbo -- that I see revealed in this chapter -- is his apparent belief in himself. All the way on the outward trek he has been subjected to a series of tests that gradually re-shape his character. Everything he has been through (ridicule, storms, short rations, Trolls, Goblins, dark passages, the ring, Gollum, more Goblins, wargs and fires, eagles and Man-bears, spiders, grumpy Elves, grumpy Dwarves, etc) has prepared him for this final master-burglar's adventure, facing the dragon in his lair.

At the outset of this greatest venture, the one for which he was originally chosen, Bilbo starts down the tunnel toward Smaug while remarking on the differences he himself can clearly see between his old character and his new persona. He is now enthused with self-confidence. On the surface of the story, I can see that JRRT may be trying to tell his readers that experience (successful ventures concluded) will breed confidence in one's own abilities to meet further challenges with equal success.

But is this (experience) the source that Bilbo himself finds for his new courage? Bilbo does not attribute his bolder nature to his experiences directly, he does not seem conscious of just how his past success rate with adventures has pre-conditioned his mind to expect a similar success with the dragon. In fact, rather than taking credit for his own boldness, he externalizes it and attributes it to a belief in his "luck*." Bilbo is not primarily confident because he knows he is a better burglar, an experienced adventurer -- but because he feels he is going to be "lucky" enough to complete this task and to survive it:

"Perhaps I have begun to trust my luck more than I used to in the old days" (Hobbit, chpt 12, p. 203, 1980 BB, PB edition).

Personally, this "luck" business bothers me. What is Tolkien trying to convey here? JRRT has a perfectly good, didactic mechanism available for explaining Bilbo's new, more courageous personality (learning through his experiences) so why does he suddenly introduce the element of "luck" as being the "real" fountain of Bilbo's boldness?

Then, at the very end of the book, we have another alteration. Bilbo, we are told, does not win in his adventure because he grows into a truly heroic creature from his experiences, nor is the element of his astounding "good luck" the cause of his success, rather, "fate and destiny" have shaped Bilbo as a tool in the fulfilling of a series of Middle-earth prophecies:

"'Then all the prophecies of the old songs have turned out to be true, after a fashion!' said Bilbo"

To which Gandalf replies:

"Of course! ... And why should not they prove true? ... You don't really suppose, do you, that all your adventures and escapes were managed by mere luck, just for your sole benefit?" (Hobbit, p. 286)

I suppose there is a compromise here. When viewed from the outside, we could say that Bilbo's personality changes are simply the positive effect of his growth into heroic stature as he passes successfully through a series of testing, character building experiences.

But, viewed from his own perspective, Bilbo simply feels that he is now able to put more trust in his personal system of "luck." He has been "lucky" so far, why not venture one more peril?

From Gandalf's wider perspective, and perhaps his mystical knowledge as a wizard, Bilbo's good fortune was a fated thing. Bilbo was destined to go through many perils that quickened his wits, hardened his muscles, deepened his resolve and bolstered his self-confidence so that he could fulfill the fated prophecies of Middle-earth.

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*The term "luck" shows up associated with Bilbo quite frequently throughout "The Hobbit." How much of this "luck" comes with the ring itself? "Ringwinner and Luckwearer," (Hobbit, 1980 PB BB, p. 213) Bilbo calls himself, as he engages the dragon in some riddling talk. I have always assumed that the "luck" he is wearing, is the ring he won. Did Tolkien mean us to see Bilbo's "luck" as being radically enhanced by the ring itself? Keep in mind that at the time "The Hobbit" was written, Gollum's ring was not yet the Evil Ruling Ring, just a "lucky," magic ring...

[Desi Baggins]

excellent points about Bilbo's personality and him just thinking he is lucky. It seems to me that since Bilbo got the Ring he did rely on it. Even when he was talking to Smaug he had it on and it made him more comfortable so his intelligence shown through instead of fear. I believe Bilbo was a smart Hobbit before his adventure and I think other Hobbits looked up to him too. So maybe Bilbo's personality didn't change that much?

[Andorinha]

RE: Desi -- "I believe Bilbo was a smart Hobbit before his adventure and I think other Hobbits looked up to him too. So maybe Bilbo's personality didn't change that much?"

Yeah, it is good, periodically, to look at the "flip-side" of things. Maybe it depends on our emphasis? Instead of just looking at how Bilbo is altered by his adventures, we should also ask, in what ways does he remain the same -- change AND continuity!

In the early chapters, I got the feeling that Bilbo was looked up to, was respected by his fellow hobbits because he was born into a wealthy, conservative family, and he submerged his adventurous, "Tookish" side. So long as he did nothing, just ate, chatted, smoked and lived a quiet life, he was respected by the great mass of the quiet, do-nothing hobbitry. But didn't he lose this "respectability" once he returned as a more worldy, pro-active, individual, an Elf-friend, a consorter with Wizards and Dwarves?

Still, he was smart, before and after his escapades, he was a good, kindly individual, before and after, so his basic persona seems not to have altered -- but his expressive flair, his reputation for boldness, and "queerness" and his absolute lack of care regarding his "lost respectability," all marked him out as a greatly changed hobbit, I think!

[Stormrider]

I think Bilbo did gain more confidence in himself on this "adventure". Before he found the Ring, he fumbled through his character building trials and tribulations by making some mistakes and getting the group into more trouble (trying to pinch the talking purse, for example). Although he does show very good reasoning skills to prove he is already smart.

The "luck ring" did give him even more confidence when he had to deal with the other bad events the group encountered. There is that word "luck" again! I never felt that Bilbo had been acting due to luck. I think he used his brains, Sting, and the Ring as needed to get themselves out of trouble. Granted it was "lucky" he found the Ring and ended up cheating Gollum out of it. And, of course, fate has also been attributed to Bilbo's finding and getting the Ring once LOTR was tied in to The Hobbit.

But I think because of everything Bilbo had gone through and the Ring helped give him concealment when he needed it, he did gain confidence as he approached Smaug. But, I think he may have become over-confident when he met that dragon!