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Originally Posted by davem
I certainly think that the original version of RitD is much more in keeping with the style of the rest of TH up to that point, & that the later, darker, version we're all used to is out of place.
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Speaking as someone who had never read or really paid much heed to the original version of the chapter until the other one was entirely solidified in my mind, I never found it out of place.
Rather, I found it to be the turning point of the story, where we first see Bilbo "grow up" a little, and take a little control of his own destiny (also there in the original chapter). Naturally it marks a change in the story, and seems different from the previous chapters.
But, at the same time, it also felt to me to be quite in keeping with the later chapters. In particular, any "heavy" air about it seems reminiscent of the last chapters of the books, such as the Battle of the Five Armies.
And yes, yes I know that that part of the book was written after the early chapters by quite a span of time. All the same, it was a part of the original edition as well, and it also predated the
Lord of the Rings.
In summary, my opinion has always been that the "true" version of the chapter has always fit well with the rest of the book.