Wow, now I'm hung up on Bilbo. But, why not? He is, after all, the title character (being the only Hobbit in the Company of Thorin Oakenshield).
But, in case you're wondering, I still have a major crush on Thorin!
Back to our friend Bilbo.
As I sat here, slaving away at my homework, my mind began to wander, and I began to think about some Hobbit/LOTR fan art I really like. Here are a few of the images that came to mind:
These stood out to me not just because little Frodo is so adorable, but because I noticed the tenderness they portray. This is a moment we don't actually see in The Hobbit or LOTR. In fact, some might say they're inaccurate to the actual story as Frodo wasn't adopted until he was almost twenty (still a teenager by Hobbit standards). But, even so, these images evoke a certain emotion that we, as fans, readers, and viewers, can imagine and believe, even though we don't actually get to see moments like these in the story itself.
First of all, the above images depict a closeness between Bilbo and Frodo. Frodo has, at this point, lost his family (his parents died in a terrible boating accident). After their deaths, he lived with his Brandybuck relations over in Buckland, and he is later taken in by Bilbo.
As a side note, Frodo's adoption is never flaunted. It's only mentioned in passing at the beginning of the Fellowship (book) as an explanation for how Frodo got there in the first place (as it is presumed that Bilbo never married). Frodo never says anything about it, Bilbo doesn't say anything about it, and it isn't brought up or used as a trigger point toward Frodo by anyone throughout Middle Earth. In fact, the only people who really make a big deal about it are Bilbo's notably obnoxious relatives, the Sackville-Bagginses. "You don't belong here," Lobelia Sackville-Baggins tells Frodo in the Fellowship, "you're no Baggins - you — you're a Brandybuck". Which isn't entirely true since Frodo's father was also a Baggins. And, even if it hadn't been, Frodo would have inherited the Baggins name when he was adopted by Bilbo. And the only reason they make a big deal out of it is that, if Frodo hadn't been adopted, they would have inherited Bag End when Bilbo [eventually] kicked the bucket.
Second, the above images portray a certain tender side of Bilbo we haven't seen before in either LOTR or the Hobbit (books and movies). It's a sort of fatherly affection which we can only image Bilbo could possess, but we never actually see it (partially because we come into their relationship so late in the game by the time the Fellowship begins). In these images, I can tell Bilbo genuinely cares about Frodo, and Gandalf even states that Bilbo would never give Frodo anything he thought might harm him (in reference to the Ring). This is the tender hearted, selfless side of Bilbo, who takes a potentially high-energy young Hobbit into his home just because Frodo needed a home.
Granted, of course, Frodo had a home in Buckland, but his adoption by Bilbo seems to have been more official.
It is noted in the Fellowship that Frodo was Bilbo's favorite cousin, so we can safely assume that they already knew each other very well, and had already formed a closeness that neither shared with any of their other Hobbit relations. Whether or not this was an actual father/son relationship is never clearly stated in the books (or the movies).
But, as I continued to slave away at my homework, I began to wonder about this father/son relationship between Bilbo and Frodo respectively. More specifically, would the Mr. Bilbo Baggins we met at the beginning of An Unexpected Journey have been this selfless? Would Bilbo have been a good father figure for Frodo if he hadn't gone on his quest and had all of his adventures with Thorin and Company?
Taking into consideration the kind of guy Bilbo was when we first met, I'd be inclined to say no.
Why?
Bilbo isn't up for anything that might interrupt his very delicate routine (adventures were out of the question). As we prepare to welcome my stepmom into our family, I realized that I will be an Aunt in a week. I've already met my future niece, who is three years old. Not only this, but I've worked with children ranging in age from infants to four years. Children, though adorable, are a lot of work. I can't imagine the "old" Bilbo Baggins even considering taking on the responsibility of raising a child (even if said child was almost twenty), even more so if we're talking about a young child (as depicted in the above images).
I think the pre-adventures Bilbo would not have had the patience to deal with Frodo, especially if we imagine that Frodo was a little kid at the time of his adoption. Even if Frodo was an older kid (Hobbit equivalent teenager), I don't think Bilbo would have agreed to take him in, or would have done so with great reluctance. Having another person (or Hobbit) in the house would have disrupted his schedule and routine. Adopting a younger Hobbit kid would have been completely out of the question.
Another thing to think about: Bilbo, as far as I can tell from the books, became popular with the younger Hobbits because of his stories about his adventures. While all the grown-up Hobbits waved his tales off as "uncanny", the children flocked to him, and listened in wide-eyed fascination to his accounts of his experience with Thorin and Company. If not for Gandalf sending Bilbo on the quest with the Dwarves, Bilbo would have been just another adult Hobbit who was very sensible, neat, and organized, the kind of Hobbit who thought that children should be seen and not heard, and who frowned upon stories of dragons and elves as "uncanny" and ridiculous, and therefore not worth the time. I think it is safe to assume that Bilbo would not have been a favorite among the younger Hobbits if he'd lived a normal Hobbit life. In fact, there would be no need to tell his story, as nothing unexpected would ever happen (save for the occasional marriage invitation or burnt muffin). Not much as a story there, at all.
And if there's no story, then there's no book. And if there's no Hobbit book, then there's no Lord of the Rings.
Luckily, Tolkien had others plans. Because Bilbo did go on his adventures, and he did find a magic Ring in a cave in the mountains, and he did become very popular with the kids because of his stories, and he did adopt Frodo (however old Frodo was).
But, it is my opinion that Bilbo would not have even been open to the idea of adopting Frodo if he hadn't gone on his adventures with Thorin and Company. Even bigger than his character journey where the Ring is concerned and how the Ring changed him, the Quest for Erebor in and of itself changed him in many ways as well. To be specific, he became more selfless during his adventures.
Evidence?
When the Dwarves are kidnapped by the spiders, he could have left them. He could have disregarded anything Gandalf had already said or might say, and escaped the situation with his life. But, he didn't. He stayed behind and risked his life to save his friends.
When the Dwarves are captured by the Elves of Mirkwood and thrown in prison, Bilbo could have stayed behind and let them be taken. He could have let the Elves lead him out of the forest, and left the Dwarves to rot in prison. But, he didn't. He snuck into the Elven palace, and hangs around for months as he tries to devise a way to help his friends escape. He's the one who finds all of their thirteen cells, and he's the one who figures out that Thorin is also a prison of Thranduil (in the book, Thorin was captured beforehand, and the other Dwarves don't know what happened to him). And, in the end, he's the one who gets them out of Mirkwood, and doesn't even considering getting out himself until the very, very last minute (the one glitch in his brilliant escape plan).
And thus, Mr. Bilbo Baggins's character journey isn't just one controlled by a circular piece of shiny gold metal. It is one that changes Bilbo's life in ways I doubt even he expected. He doesn't just come back as the richest Hobbit in the Shire and the Bearer of the One Ring, but also as a humble and selfless one.
Bilbo came back from his adventures with a bigger heart. The adventures made him more open to doing things that might upset his routine. When Frodo's parents die, he's the one who says, "Well, you better come live with me, Frodo, my lad." And he takes Frodo in willingly, not out of obligation or because he really doesn't want the Sackville-Bagginses to inherit Bag End. It's a genuine, selfless love, and one that wasn't there before his adventures.
And, Frodo learns a lot from Bilbo's example. Frodo, himself, is generally selfless and popular with his younger cousins, notably Merry and Pippin, both of him later accompany him on his own Quest in LOTR. When faced with the reality that he'll now have to take the Ring to Mordor, Frodo can't bear to ask any of his friends (or cousins) to go with him. He knows, somehow, that this is a hopeless Quest, and that, even if the Ring is destroyed, Frodo himself still probably won't make it home again. By then, he's willing to sacrifice himself to save the world, and (even though he is afraid) he is willing to do it alone. It is only Sam's stubborn determination and loyalty that make Frodo finally agree to take him along.
Frodo may have had this selflessness already, but it is my opinion that it was nourished and fully matured by Bilbo's example, as Frodo observed Bilbo's own selflessness.
This tender, loving, fatherly side of Bilbo is one that was he may not have known about, himself, but it is one that is revealed by the selflessness he brought home as a result of his adventures. And, it is one that may never have come to light if he'd stayed home.
