Is that the "...And Consciously So in the Revision" thread?
I had forgotten about the time frame and revision aspect of the UT quote. All of the versions given have Gandalf referring to another force directing his choice of Bilbo. But at the same time, since all are written as a narrative from Frodo after the destruction of the Ring, they are revised versions of the story from after the LOTR became the completion of The Hobbit.
So I guess the question is one of Tolkien's original intention when writing The Hobbit. I don't have a good answer to the question of the original process that went into the creation of Bilbo's story (especially not with a major exam Friday - I can't really research anything now). Then again, does the stated intention given in the revision supercede an initial purpose to write a story that did not involve Providence in Bilbo's selection?
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People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect. But actually, from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint, it's more like a big ball of wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey... stuff.
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