The Hobbit, or, There and Back Again Chapter 19 Quotes

The Hobbit, or, There and Back Again Chapter 19 Quotes

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Quote 1

Indeed Bilbo found he had lost more than spoons – he had lost his reputation. It is true that for ever after he remained an elf-friend, and had the honour of dwarves, wizards, and all such folk as ever passed that way; but he was no longer quite respectable. He was in fact held by all the hobbits of the neighbourhood to be "queer" – except by his nephews and nieces on the Took side, but even they were not encouraged in their friendship by their elders.

I am sorry to say he did not mind. He was quite content; and the sound of the kettle on his hearth was ever after more musical than it had been even in the quiet days before the Unexpected Party. (19.27-8)

It almost seems like the whole point of Bilbo's trip is to make "the sound of the kettle on his hearth [...] ever after more musical than it had been [...] in the quiet days before the Unexpected Party." If you had gone an adventure like Bilbo's, would you be satisfied to just stay at home afterwards? Now that Bilbo has seen the wider world, how does he maintain his ties to people outside of Hobbiton?