Tolkien/HP comparison: Willows

[jenbe_me]

No: HPFGUIDX 31626

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., "lucky_kari" <lucky_kari at y...> wrote:
> --- In HPforGrownups at y..., "jenbe_me" <jenbea at s...> wrote:
> > 
> >   Just thought I'd throw this in here:
> > 
> >   A major tree that plays a part in both series of books, Harry 
> > Potter and Lord of the Rings is a willow. 

<snip willow comparisons>

> >   What I find most interesting is that both authors chose 
willows, 
> > normally a sign of peace in most cultures, for trees with such 
> > violent aspects! Interesting. Any ideas why?
> 
> I have a very prosaic explanation. Tolkien used to take his family 
on 
> a certain walk near his home that went by a willow with a crack 
large 
> enough for a kid to crawl into it. Of course, his kids did. "Dad! 
The 
> willows eating me! Help!" And, thus, Old Man Willow. And, then, 
some 
> years later, a young woman by the name of Joanne Rowling reads the 
> Lord of the Rings and then never reads them again. (According to 
JKR, 
> this is what happened.) That situation is probably the best for 
> producing a parallel. (My own pathetic attempts at writing seem to, 
> upon review, rely most heavily on old, half-forgotten stories of my 
> childhood, rather than the books I read the most, as literary 
> antecedents.)
> 
> Eileen

  
  Eileen,  

  Both your prosaic explanation combined with Mahoney's research into 
cultural meanings provide a lot of explanation. I think both can be 
integrated into an answer that helps illustrate how both authors got 
their inspiration. I mean, Tolkien may have been visually inspired by 
his child climbing into the base of a willow tree, but the cultural 
background is there for a sort of sleepy, deadly, tricky character 
such as Old Man Willow in LOTR. Whereas JKR, when (and if) inspired 
by the character, or perhaps seeing a willow's branches whipping 
around in a wind storm gave a lot of inspiration for the Whomping 
Willow. And certainly what Mahoney said about willows traditionally 
being a place for guarding secrets applies. 

jenbea