Deus ex Machina

[frantyck at yahoo.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 27140

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., caliburncy at y... wrote:
> Reviewing Possible Instances of "Deus Ex Machina": The Luke Verdict
> 
> with your host, Professor . . . Luke
> 
>                                 *****
<snip>
> 1) The hero must be in a situation of Immediate, Impending Doom 
(tm).<snip>

> 2) The hero must not be able to save himself from the 
aforementioned 
> Immediate, Impending Doom (tm), because the situation he has found 
> himself in is so dire, that it would be beyond his maximum capacity 
to > do so.
> 
> 3) The salvation must ultimately come by an external force or third 
> party that, up until the moment of intervention, was in no way 
> involved in the immediate conflict.


Pee Aitch Dee Luke, that was a memorable post. Spluttered into my 
tea. Spotty keyboard.

Still, I have to take issue, mildly, with the rigidity of your 
definition. Even though the Encyclopaedia Britannica basically agrees 
with you ("a person or thing that appears or is introduced into a 
situation suddenly and unexpectedly and provides an artificial or 
contrived solution to an apparently insoluble difficulty."), it does 
not stress Immediate, Impending Doom (tm).

I can't claim that the Britannica is the ultimate arbiter and The 
Last Word (tm), but what's noteworthy is the *balance* of its 
definition. What's most important in a case of "deus ex machina," it 
seems to me, is the artificiality of the solution, not the immediacy 
of (whatever) doom. After all, the term itself refers to the 
intervention rather than to the preceding circumstances.

Looking at it this way does not change the Luke Verdicts on each 
case, but it does affect the reasons for arriving at them.

For instance, you said:


> Case 1--The centaur's rescue of Harry from the Forbidden Forest.
> 
> Criterion 1: Not fulfilled. <snip>
> 
> Criterion 2: Neither fulfilled nor cleanly debunked. <snip again>

> Summation of Criteria 1 and 2: There was, as yet, no direct 
conflict 
> in existence between Harry and Quirrel/Voldemort, though one would 
> soon have resulted.
> 
> Criterion 3: Fulfilled, but immaterial as criteria 1 and 2 are not 
> met.
> 
> The Luke Verdict: Not a "deus ex machina" case.


I'd say this was not a case of deus ex machina because the centaur's 
intervention was not an awkward, artificial insert in the storyline. 
The centaurs were nearby, they were aware, even if they normally 
choose to leave humans to their own devices. They know of Harry's 
particular importance (as we do not, not yet) in a struggle that 
really is a shared struggle. Firenze's save isn't an end to the 
episode either, because he is scolded for carrying a human, and we 
can see the indecision, the collision of tradition, conscience and 
fear among the centaurs. It lacks a clear sense of closure and it 
points to something in the future.

The point I'm making shows up clearest in the two most significant 
examples of deus ex machina, the ones you tackle next.


> Case 2--Dumbledore's rescue of Harry from Quirrel/Voldemort at the 
end 
> of PS/SS
> 
> Criterion 1: Fulfilled. <snip>
> 
> Criterion 2: Fulfilled. <snip>

> Criterion 3: Fulfilled.  Though Dumbledore is of course engaged in 
> conflict with Voldemort in a grander scale throughout the series, 
he 
> was not part of that particular instance of conflict between Harry 
and 
> Quirrel/Voldemort up until the time of his intervention.
> 
> The Luke Verdict: A reasonable case of "deus ex machina", at least 
in 
> the more modern sense of the term.


True, and what makes it worse is that there is no explanation of how 
Dumbledore dealt with Voldemort (and forget the old question about 
how he zoomed straight past all the puzzle-obstacles that had 
hindered HRH). Dumbledore is very much like the god who appears to 
fix things in the original Greek plays, and indeed is more 
inscrutable than a Greek god.


> Case 3--The Flying Ford Anglia's rescue of Harry, Ron and Fang from 
> the acromantulae
> 
> Criterion 1: Fulfilled. <snip>
> 
> Criterion 2: Fulfilled. <thnip>
> 
> Criterion 3: Fulfilled with honors!  The Flying Ford Anglia was not 
> only previously a non-factor in the conflict, but in fact has no 
> credible explanation for popping up out of nowhere.  Hence this 
case 
> gets extra credit for appealing to criterion 3 above and beyond the 
> call of duty.
> 
> The Luke Verdict: A very good case of "deus ex machina" to my mind, 
in 
> its clear devotion to fulfilling criterion 3 to such a stunning 
degree 
> that it strikes the reader as particularly contrived, solely to 
save 
> the hero from an unwinnable situation by use of an otherwise rather 
> irrelevant "character".


There you go! I totally agree, but there *is* one faintly "credible 
explanation" for the FF Anglia's appearance. When Harry, Ron and Fang 
are seized by the acromantulae, they are in the very glare of the 
Anglia's headlights, and the car "sees," or is present at, their 
capture. I would guess that it trundled after them and stepped in at 
the last moment. Like a dog, a comparison which Rowling does draw.


> Case 4--Fawkes to the rescue of Harry at the end of COS
> <snip subcases>
> 
> The Grander Scheme (What You've All Been Waiting For)--The 
cumulative 
> efforts of Fawkes at the end of COS
> 
> The Luke Verdict: The fact that the two main conflicts here (Harry 
vs. 
> Riddle and Harry vs. the basilisk) were ultimately solved by Harry 
> himself means that, regardless of whatever Fawkes may have done to 
> help, the entire scenario on the whole cannot be viewed as a case 
of 
> "deus ex machina", regardless of how you view each particular 
> sub-case.


This entire episode hinges on one quality of phoenixes (phoenices??) 
that Rowling is careful to stress: that they are highly faithful 
pets. Thus, when Harry shows "exceptional loyalty" to Dumbledore 
in the Chamber, the stage is set for Fawkes to turn up and help. 
This, in my opinion, saves this episode from being a case of deus ex 
machina, but barely. Just barely.

Rowling has tried this before, setting up a tenuous connection with 
the story in PS/SS to make the ending less implausible. When 
Dumbledore is tricked out of Hogwarts, only to realise that he's not 
where he ought to be. Owls crossed in mid-air or some such thing. 
That doesn't seem to work, really. And the tenuous connection that 
allows the FF Anglia to save the day is also ho-hum, not good enough.


> (obnoxious electronic bell clangs loudly)
> 
> Alright, class, that's sufficient for today (and the rest of your 
> lives, no doubt).  Be sure to have your essays on "your least 
favorite 
> way that Luke's posts are excessively verbose and exceedingly 
> pointless" on my desk at 10 A.M. tomorrow!
> 
> -Luke


Here's my essay, Professor, sorry it's late. Do I get bumped down a 
letter grade?