One Big, Happy Weasley Family

[moongirlk at yahoo.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 10888

Cassie,

The opposition to the happy family idea intrigues me, so I'm going to 
just let loose (now that I've rereleased my shippy, emotional side) 
and rant and ask all the questions I've been wondering about, and I've 
chosen to do so in response to your post, but please, don't take this 
as an attack or anything, I just really honestly don't understand the 
opposition, and I really want to see where this is going.  So here 
goes:

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., cassandraclaire at m... wrote:

> > Yes, the One Big Happy Weasley Family thing certainly would be 
warm 
> and fuzzy, but then it would also be warm and fuzzy to have Harry's 
> parents come on back from the dead. It would also invalidate all our 
> prior experience of the series. Not that the One Big Happy Weasley 
> family would go quite that far

Then why make the comparison?  I'm not asking for the natural laws of 
the universe to be broken, just for the poor kid to get a loving, 
supportive, happy place to be after it's all over.  Why is that so 
bad?  I admit it's not necessarily the most realistic, or the 
most likely thing to happen, but I can't for the life of me understand 
why people seem to feel it's a bad thing to wish for.  If there were 
an option for me in my life to get the happy family scenario, I 
certainly wouldn't pass it up to avoid being cliche. Would you?

, but I don't think I'd be alone in 
> finding it cloying. One of the most attractive aspects of the HP 
> books, and part of the reason I believe it appeals so much to 
adults, 
> is its bracing lack of sentimentality. When Harry finds out he has a 
> loving godfather, he * doesn't* get to go live with him and spend 
the 
> rest of his summers toasting marshmallows with Sirius on camping 
> trips. 

YET - you can't allow something like that to happen in book 3 of a 7 
book series that depends on pathos, but at the end, why not allow them 
to have that relationship?  

When he finds the Mirror that shows him his parents, he 
> doesn't get to keep it or look into it again. 

Because that wouldn't be good for him - a pleasant illusion that keeps 
him from living his life is a lot different from getting some degree 
of happy ever after in the end.  If he stayed staring forever in front 
of the mirror, what would the rest of the books be about?  Cobwebs, 
hunger and a really bad need to pee?

I always see JKR 
> choosing the less sentimental, less **pathos-driven narrative path 
and 
> I don't see why she'd change that when the series ends. 

Because happy endings requires unhappy beforehand?

Aside: **Pathos: an element in experience or in artistic 
representation evoking pity or compassion - isn't that what *is* 
driving it if he can't be with his godfather and must go back to the 
abusive home instead?

Unless she 
> really, really doesn't want anyone asking her to please write more 
> Harry books.

Are you saying that if there is some incarnation of the happy family 
theory in the end, you will think less of JKR and no longer 
respect her work?  I really do want to know - would it affect you that 
way?

Kimberly,
who doesn't mind cliches if they allow her heros to be happy