Sadness in books (was Tolkien vs. Rowling)

[Elizabeth Dalton]

No: HPFGUIDX 32222

"Ealasaid A. Haas" wrote:
> 

<some stuff about characterization in Tolkien and Rowling which I partly agree
with>

and

> I adore LotR, but it is such a *sad* book that I cannot bear to read it
> more than once every couple of years.  HP, on the other hand, is NOT sad
> in that deep, helpless, bone-aching way.  GoF comes close at times,
> particularly near the end, but there is always that sense of hope behind
> it all - whereas in LotR, if you are LUCKY, you die quickly and knowing
> that you have done something worthwhile.  If you are unlucky, you live -
> like Frodo of the Nine Fingers, who fights to save the Shire but cannot
> live there himself when all is done because he is too damaged.  He loses
> everything - friends, home, family, health, and peace of mind - in order
> to save the world.  But even so, he doesn't save it perfectly - the
> Third Age is ending, the Elves are leaving, and Middle-Earth will
> survive, but in a much less magical form, and there is *nothing* anyone
> can do about that.
> 

Well, this is my problem at the moment. I was thinking of posting about this
anyway, after reading the descriptions of a "grisly end" to a "beloved
character," but I'd been reluctant to be a wet blanket among such ardent fans.
But this really put the finger on the sore spot, so to speak.

The first three books were pretty upbeat, overall. Certainly, there were dire
things afoot, and grim things in the past, but one had the sense in every book
that good would triumph over evil -- that "sense of hope" that Ealasaid
mentions. The kids would somehow protect the Stone. Ginny would somehow be saved
from the basilisk. The scene in the Shrieking Shack is so wonderful partly
*because* after making us really worry about Harry & co., Sirius and Remus turn
out to be good guys after all. I know I wasn't the only one hoping that somehow
Sirius Black would turn out good, and after Remus Lupin had been so kind, I
*really* didn't want to believe he was a villain. And I was right! My belief in
the ultimate good of these people was upheld. The Dementors were defeated. Not
everything is perfectly happy -- Harry doesn't get to leave the Dursleys to live
with Sirius -- but at least now he *has* Sirius. Even though Pettigrew is a real
threat, he is not an immediate one. And Dumbledore is able to reassure Harry
that his good deed toward the miscreant Pettigrew may be rewarded some day.
Again, good is shown to be stronger than evil, in important ways.

GoF changed all that. From the Muggle-tormenting crowd at the World Cup, who go
uncaught and unpunished, to the exposure of Hagrid, to the death of Cedric and
the betrayal of Moody/Crouch, to the stupidity (or malice) of Fudge, stuff goes
seriously wrong, and it doesn't get better by the end of the book. Some of it,
like Cedric dying, can't ever get better. Cedric doesn't even die for a
worthwhile cause -- he's just in the wrong place at the wrong time. 

And the seamy underside in the fabric of the wizarding world is much more on
display than in previous books. Rita Skeeter is able to print malicious lies
without any kind of accountability. The house elves are still enslaved (at
least, in many households-- Dumbledore might be trying to encourage them with
Dobby and Winky, but that will be a slow project at best). Arthur Weasley is
sidelined at the Ministry of Magic because he has actually dared to propose laws
to protect the non-wizard population. There is widespread prejudice against
giants and werewolves, even among "good" families like the Weasleys. To me, the
descriptions of the trials (and lack thereof) of the Ministry of Magic were
particularly chilling.

Realistic? Sure. So is the six-o'clock news. And dead depressing.

Rowling has said that she's writing the books as she feels the story needs to
go, and I admire her artistic integrity. But I'm very much afraid that the story
is heading in a pretty sad direction. Generally I *don't* draw comparisons
between HP and LotR, because I don't think they're similar (as I wrote in a
previous post), but I think in this respect they might be: I am very much afraid
that Rowling is headed for an ending in which Harry, if still alive, will be
just as maimed as Frodo was (emotionally, if not physically), and possibly even
the magical world that Rowling has created will have to come to an end, to keep
Voldemort or someone like him from returning. I am afraid that that is *why* she
is exposing the less pleasant aspects of the wizard world-- to prepare us for
its end. I am not encouraged by the fact that she so positively states that
there will be no more books set in this "universe" after the seventh.

I love Tolkien's work, but, like Ealasaid, I don't re-read it often. There is so
much sadness in real life already. I need a reminder of what's good about real
life-- friendship, courage, hope, kindness, and justice. Pain is too easy to
remember already. I hope I'm wrong about where Rowling is headed with the HP
series. If, in the end, I'm right, it will be hard for me to even re-read the
earlier books, knowing where the story is headed. This series will become
another that I re-read once every 10-15 years or so, rather than one I pick up
when I need a pick-up, so to speak. Brilliant, but too sad to read more often.
And I would regret that.

Elizabeth
(who would like to think this is all just post-holiday blahs, and some clever
list members will convince her not to worry....)