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Originally Posted by Legate of Amon Lanc
And as for how I understood the present for Dora, I always imagined it like that when writing to Bilbo and Frodo, she may have produced also lots of "by-products" or badly written letters which she later decided to throw away. However Bilbo's intention may be interpretated otherwise, I certainly wouldn't even think of looking for any sarcasm from the author's part in it.
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Maybe you should think again
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For DORA BAGGINS in memory of a LONG correspondance, with love from Bilbo; on a large waste-paper basket. Dora was Drogo's sister and the eldest surviving female relative of Bilbo and Frodo; she was ninety-nine, and had written reams of good advice for more than half a century.
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To me this certainly is sarcasm both from Bilbo and the author. No doubt Bilbo was royally tired of being lectured about god knows what (likely how to be more respectable) and I imagine he also let Dora know as tactfully as he could that he had no need her "good" advice. She probably understood his wish for less junk-mail perfectly well too but ignored it completely. Thus, the large waste-basket symbolises what Bilbo thought of her advice and where her letters usually ended up. Rude? Yes I suppose so. Perhaps she deserved it.
Most of the presents Bilbo gave away (at least the mentioned ones) where attached with similar sarcastic puns and with, for the receiver, clear symbolic meaning. Lobelia gets silver spoons as a present (as opposed to the ones she had stolen earlier), Angelica gets a mirror (as she is all too fond of her reflected image) and Milo Burrows gets a golden pen and and ink bottle as he never responds to letters.
Hm. Actually there where other things I wanted to say but that will have to wait.