Mother's Eyes/Lily Potter

[b_drey at yahoo.com]

Original Yahoo! HPFG Header:
No: HPFGUIDX C1626
From: b_drey
Subject: Re: Mother's Eyes/Lily Potter
Reply To: [Yahoo! #1625] Mother's Eyes/Lily Potter
Date: 6/3/00 12:19 pm  (ET)

Penny - good idea to read all the books - since I just finished doing
that!

I thought the Harry/Snape thing was because the "gang of four" almost
killed Snape in a practical joke and James--whom Snape hated and was
jealous of--saved him (POA).

Also, I don't think we should intellectualize the Dursley/child abuse
thing too much - after all, these are (or started as) children's books and
a lot of fairy tales have that Cinderella aspect of a bad life magically
becoming a good life. I know that I, as a child and as an adult, love that
theme. My mother's favorite book as a child was the one about the little
princess living in poverty in the school tower because they thought she
was poor and abandoned.

Finally (and then I'll shut up), Harry's bad childhood is mentioned,
but mostly not "lived" in the books - I think the Dursleys are meant
to be sort of comic relief (??) and to give that Cinderella feeling to
the story.

Barbara