It seems to me that the mother dying adds a bit of drama to the story. It's a literary device. In my humble opinion it is overused. Though like others have stated in this thread the idea of an orphan is always more compelling than a regular average guy. Take a look at some others the list dosn't end there Luke and Leia from star wars.
Oliver twist, snow white, the hardy boys if I'm not mistaken, countless computer games, the list goes on.
I think that the mother dying is used as a cutch by many authors (not tolkein) to beef up their stories. It has become a "cheap thrill' so to speak. I think many authors don't have the skill to write enough drama in their stories. So they give the standard mother dies complex to the character. As I see it in Tolkein he uses it simply as a reason for Frodo to be living with Bilbo, not as added drama.
Well, I must be off I will try to post more later.
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