[HPforGrownups] Re: Sadness in LoTR and HP

[Katze]

No: HPFGUIDX 32993

Mary Shearer wrote:
> 
> --- brewpub44 <brewpub44 at earthlink.net> wrote:
> 
> > So what's next? I suspect that the next thing he
> > will have to face is
> > his own failure. I suspect that he will screw up big
> > time in the near
> > future. That too is an incredible barrier: to
> > confront your own
> > mistakes.
> Snip> The big
> > point: JKR is throwing
> > tragedies at Harry to see how Harry can overcome
> > them and move on.
> 
> Oh wow!  I hadn't thought at all of that possibility.
> What would that do to our young man?  His sense of
> responsibility over Cedric's death (something he could
> not control) was nearly his undoing. His quietly
> hysterical refusal to let go of Cedric after returning
> to the school grounds was, IMO, one of the most
> dramatic scenes thus far; and his anguish in the
> hospital, despite Molly's reassurance that it was not
> his fault, was heartbreaking. (stopping now to raise a
> glass to JKR's masterful handling of these events)
> Harry has been changed irrevocably by this experience,
> and is a sadder but wiser young man now.  If, in the
> future, he is directly responsible for some large,
> un-named tragedy, WILL he be able to move on? It seems
> to me that it would shatter his already fragile
> confidence in himself, and one of two things could
> happen: it could leave him bereft and more vulnerable
> than ever (making room for the important people in his
> life to get closer to him) or unfortunately make him
> throw up more walls around himself. JKR has frequently
> hinted that the emotional stakes will go higher, but
> this would be a scenario that would pack a real
> emotional wallop and produce some pretty dramatic
> fall-out! I would dearly love to see more of the kind
> of high drama there was in GoF, but not at the expense
> of Harry's luminous soul. If he can come through
> something like that with his sweet and sensitive
> nature intact, I'm all for it.  But if he turns
> bitter, I don't think I could bear it!
> 
> -Mary, who loves a good cry, and was a gleefully soggy
> mess at the end of GoF.

I have to agree with Marry, that the heartache in GoF was really
emotional and satisfying in a weird way (should I say that?). 

I've been thinking...
We know that some more deaths happens and one of not a few will be major
characters. What if Harry's big mistake is something that actually
causes the death of this person? Wouldn't that just be awful? He
certainly would have to examine death in a closer way, and also
re-evaluate pretty much everything about himself to find his center
again. I think Ron and Hermione's friendship and support will be even
more important, because I think Harry would truly recede into the
woodwork. Just some speculation...

-Katze (who was right along beside Mary at the end of GoF)