I'm re-reading the LOTR books for the first time in about 20 years, and I was struck by the change of tone in this chapter. We've just had several heavy chapters of death and destruction and this chapter seems to be a farce.
We have fussy matrons that don't shut up, and the same with herb lore masters we even have Aragorn joking and acting up.
The tone seems distinctly different from what comes before and after. Is there any indication that this is a deliberate decision by Tolkien to lighten the mood after several heavy going chapters?