[HPforGrownups] Lily (& Harry) = Slytherin or Griffindor

[Edblanning at aol.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 41159

Amy Z, quoting me:

> > As I have stated more than once, I believe it is
> > impossible that either of 
> > Harry's parents are descended from Salazar
> > Slytherin. This is what canon 
> > tells us
> 
> Except that JKR has been very cagey about the mistake
> that isn't a mistake (ancestor/descendant).
> 

Perhaps. But as I pointed out when this was discussed recently, I don't find 
anything ambiguous about her 'deliberate error' statement. To me, it's simply 
an admission that she let a mistake through. Any caginess in that interview 
could be put down to embarassment. Similarly the 'it would be a bit Star 
Wars' comment doesn't sound very ambiguous to me. As far as I am concerned, 
the mistake *is* a mistake.
isn't that what she says?

>"Q: Is Voldemort the last remaining ancestor of Slytherin, or the last 
>remaining descendent of Slytherin? 

>JKR Ah, you spotted the deliberate error. Yes, it should 
>read "descendent." That's been changed in subsequent editions. (Keep 
>hold of the "ancestor" one, maybe it'll be valuable one day!)"
              
>The interview can be found at:
>www.scholastic.com/harrypotter/author/transcript2
(from David via Judy, back in June)

I wonder if it is just that I am English and thus interpret her speech codes 
differently. We (particularly women, I think) do have a habit of making 
definite statements in a less than definite manner. You know, saying 
something like. 'I don't suppose you'd mind terribly much moving your car 
just ever so slightly so that I can get out of this space?' when we actually 
mean, 'Move your car, you stupid idiot, you've blocked me in!'

Non-British-English speakers seem to concentrate on what they see as the 
ambiguity of what is merely a common British way of acknowledging a mistake, 
without taking on board the implications of the rest of the sentence. In 
fact, JKR seemed unaware that the mistake hadn't been rectified in *all* 
subsequent editions.

If she wanted the situation to be ambiguous, surely she would have made it 
properly so. I still don't think she can put a firm statement in the mouth of 
a character we (via Harry) are supposed to rely on and then simply contradict 
it later.

Of course, I might be wrong, but I'd like to see how it could be achieved in 
a way I wouldn't consider cheating.

Eloise


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