Refreshing Innocence of HP Preteens

[fourfuries at aol.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 24706

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., rainy_lilac at y... wrote:
> --- In HPforGrownups at y..., fourfuries at a... wrote:
> <snip>
> > Because sex is not important to the plot!
> 
> Well, one could say the Quidditch is not important to the plot if 
you 
> want to be really extreme.  {snip}And stop smiling!

Naturally, quidditch is central to the plot, as it defines much of 
the divergence between the muggle world an that of the wizards.  Sex 
and lust OTOH, are not central because they are so common to our 
world and our entertainment media.

> It might not be important to the main plot, but sexual feelings and 
> romantic longings are both important to the emotional depth and 
> growth of the characters. {snip} They are real and down-to-earth. 
> They have turbulent emotions just as we have.
> 
> There are already plenty of romantic subplots at work in JKR's
> books, and like it or not, the characters are growing up and 
>experiencing  all kinds of feelings, including sexual ones. What was 
>the point of the Yule Ball after all? JKR's treatment of these 
>subplots runs from the serious to the humorous, and it is all 
>important. It doesn't have to be graphic or "lurid" to be there.

 
We are very close to agreement.  All I am asking is that we 
distinguish between romantic inclinations that are natural to the 
growth of the characters, and explicitly contrived plot devices that 
explore sexuality without adding anything to the central issue: the 
battle between good and evil.

An excellent post suggested that a second theme is the loss of 
innocense, and I certainly see the progression of danger and of 
emotion from book to book.  I even expect that there will be some 
increase in shippiness, with RH strongly hinted at by JKR, and other 
possibilities.  But those involvements will be consistent with the 
growth of the central characters.

If you can't help but be friends as a result of defeating a 12 foot 
troll, someone is certainly going to get married after helping to 
defeat an Evil Overlord out to destroy the world.  But I do not need 
to know the particulars of the wedding night, nor do whether or not 
they "did it" before their wedding night, nor whether they had to 
face "yearnings" inconsistent with biological reproduction. I can 
turn on the TV if I want titillation.

I do not want to know about the lust of these underage heroes.  All I 
care about is whether they survive, and how the experience affects 
their commitment to the values that Dumbledore is trying to teach 
them.


4FR (resistant to the R-ratinazation and McDonaldizing of the world.)