[HPforGrownups] Happiness of HP Characters

[Neil Ward]

No: HPFGUIDX 26492

 Tabouli wrote:

<< "As for the happiness of the characters, there's plenty of room for
speculation there: is Dumbledore happy?  Is Hermione?  Dudley?  The Weasley
twins?" >>

Ebony said:

<< What an interesting question.  As I began to think about it, I  realized
that NONE of the characters are really very happy in the truest sense of the
word. >>

This is very true and it's part of the huge appeal these characters have:
for all their antics in a magical alternative world, it's the darker, weaker
humanity in them that draw us in.

On the face of it, there are many stereotypes and they help to paint a
dramatic picture for younger readers.  Older readers, meanwhile are able to
take on the issues under the surface and speculate on the flaws, the
troubles, the secrets.  Some of the best fanfiction, I believe, brings these
subcutaneous elements to the surface and explores them.  I can see the canon
moving in this direction...

Unhappiness and darkness are much more weighty tools for the development of
plot and character than their opposites.  Happiness is generally defined by
comedic or light moments rather than a perception of happiness in the
characters.  All the characters seem to be dealing with demons - some small,
some large -  and, imo, it's that delicate balance between comedy and
tragedy that gives depth to characters like Fred and George, Hagrid,
Dobby... or even the Dursleys [spit!!].  They all seem, at first read, like
cartoons, but there's a whole cauldron of issues bubbling under the surface.

What fascinates me about Harry is the fact that he is rather inscrutable for
a chief protagonist.  We know a lot about him and his thoughts, but not so
much about *him* and his potential, if that makes any sense.  He learns so
much about himself from other characters that he comes across as rather
shielded, even slightly autistic, in his lack of curiosity.  This has been
discussed at length before, but this may be due in part to an emotional wall
he built to help cope with the Dursleys' domestic evil. He is gradually
coming to the surface and entering adulthood, so I think we can expect to
read a very different Harry in the next three books and, in particular, at
the very end of his story.

Snape and Dumbledore are also well-described, major players shrouded in
mystery.  I like them both, their unwritten relationship, and the fact that
Snape is so beholden to Dumbledore.  So many possibilities there.  It's no
wonder to me that Snape is such a popular character; he's an enigma who
coats all his emotions in bile.  Nastiness always gets my blood tingling.

Back to happiness, we really have to think of quite peripheral characters
before we can imagine anyone being truly h.a.p.p.y., and experience suggests
that even someone like the affable Doris Crockford will turn out to have a
tragic back story in Book 6.

Neil
_____________________
Flying Ford Anglia