Interesting. I saw a change in the burden he carried, but not much of a change in his nature. Right from the start he was much more sober than his friends, and had a tendency to be rather pessimistic and gloomy. If anything, he seemed more tired and wounded by the end of the book (wonder how
that happened?
), and it really broke my heart in the last chapter when he left, but frankly, I can't help thinking that if someone like Sam or Pippin (or even Bilbo) had carried the Ring, he would not have been quite
that scarred. They just seemed to radiate that kind of energy. Frodo had strength, yes, but I feel it was diminished by his pessimism.