Esty, I'm afraid I have to disagree with you and agree with
jallanite that Thorin did not place a curse on the Arkenstone. He in fact claimed it specifically as his, and promised vengence on anyone who took it and withheld it from him.
Bilbo, however, could be said to be unaffected; because we've read that Thorin earlier promised him that he could pick and choose his own fourteenth share of the treasure; and Bilbo picked the Arkenstone as that share,
before Thorin stated his claim.
I find this chapter nearly as interesting as the one before; because Bilbo is doing everything here legally and legitimately. As he correctly says, he is an
honest burglar.
First, he took the Arkenstone as his fourteenth share of the treasure promised by Thorin; so it is his to give. Second, he was originally hired as an independent contractor, to help the dwarves get back the treasure, not as their employee. Bilbo has now fulfilled his contract, having taken his payment; and because, unlike the dwarves, he has no ties of allegiance to Thorin, he is both legally and morally free to make his agreement with Bard and the Elvenking. (When the elves referred to him as the 'servant' (i.e. employee) of the dwarves, he got quite indignant.)
Like
jallanite, I like the conversation between Bilbo and Bard and the Elvenking, with
Bilbo speaking informally in modern idiom and the other two responding in high and formal and somewhat staid translation talk.
However, I would say that Bilbo and the two leaders fully understand each other, despite this apparent difference. Bilbo produces his original contract, in which he was promised up to a fourteenth share of the profits, later altered to a fourteenth share. Bard is the leader of a group of Lake-men, a people whose existence depends on trade and commerce; so commercial contracts would be familiar to him. The Elvenking also involves his kingdom in trade with outsiders, including Lake-town; so he would also be familiar with such things. Both, I feel, fully understand what Bilbo is talking about.
The title of the chapter comes from the New Testament of the King James translation of the Bible, from the First Letter of St. Paul to the Thessalonians:
But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. (1 Thessalonians, 5: 1-5) (Emphasis is mine)
St. Paul was saying here that when Jesus returns, in the Second Coming, it will be sudden and unexpected, like a robber breaking into a dwelling at night. This coming will be terrible for the ungodly, but happy for the righteous. The meatphor 'thief in the night' later became a general one for an unexpected event that has tragic consequences.
In this context, what Bilbo did in this chapter was certainly unexpected, for both the dwarves and their enemies. In terms of tragic consequences, they will be seen in the next chapter...
