Hagrid, Keeper of the Keys

[naamagatus]

No: HPFGUIDX 36746

<snip>

David:

Hagrid is introduced in PS as the Keeper of the Keys at Hogwarts, and 
that is the title of the relevant chapter. In practical terms, we 
never see him exercise this role in the first four books. In 
*symbolic* terms, however, he does this a great deal both for Harry 
and the reader. If we think of him as introducing Harry to new 
themes and places, he is constantly popping up.

Me:
Yes! I've thought of this before and completely agree as to his "key" 
role regarding Harry (and reader).

David:

He introduces Harry to the Dursleys, and then to the magical world. 
He introduces all new students to Hogwarts - this is emphasised as 
there is no practical reason for them not using the carriages like 
the older students.

Me:

The whole first year boat trip always reads to me like a 
concretesized rite of passage (traveling over water, ducking under 
the ivy curtain, etc) – culminating with the sorting ceremony.

David:

He is the first to tell Harry of Voldemort. He is instrumental in 
Harry's first Hogwarts meeting with Voldemort, in the Forbidden 
Forest. Indeed he introduces Harry to the FF itself, a metaphor for 
the unconscious if ever I saw one: dark, secret, forbidden, full of 
mysteries and monsters. (I will try to address the implications of 
meeting V first there another time.)

Me:

Yes. Very Jungian. Particularly as it's choke full of mythological 
creatures.

<snip other examples>

David:
 
He goes to Azkaban late in COS, introducing a key theme for POA.

In POA he goes to London to get Buckbeak off, and is treated 
unjustly, foreshadowing the Pensieve scenes (which I see as central 
to GOF).

His function can be used for bad as well as good: he is the key for 
Quirrell to get to the stone.

There are some interesting consequences of this. Fifty years 
earlier, Riddle framed him, and Dumbledore intervened to keep him at 
Hogwarts. In other words, right from before the start of the series, 
there was an attempt to damage this role.

Me:

I think that these instances don't belong to the Hagrid-as-Key-Keeper 
category. 
JKR uses foreshadowing a lot in the books. It's not specifically 
Hagrid who is used for this. It was Molly Weasley who introduced us 
to the Accio spell at the beginning of GoF, for instance. Draco is 
the first to mention Azkaban (in CoS), Amos Diggory introduces us to 
the Priori Incantatum notion, Ollivander tells us that the wands 
share a core, etc.
I also don't think that he is the *key* to Quirrell getting the 
stone. Fluffy was one obstacle in the way and Quirrell had to pass 
all of them. I didn't get the sense that Fluffy was supposed to be a 
more important obstacle than the others, did you?

David:

Three times he has introduced Harry to dragons: at Gringotts, with 
Norbert, and then the Horntail. I would therefore expect dragons to 
play a crucial role in a future book. (People have already pointed 
out that dragons guard Gringotts, one Weasley works there and another 
works with dragons suggesting a future plot tie-in.)

At the end of GOF he is sent on a mission by Dumbledore, with 
Maxime. That signals to me that Harry will go on a mission, most 
probably in the next book, and likely accompanied by a companion, 
outside Hogwarts. I will pick this up in a future post about Harry 
and the feminine.

Most portentously of all, one of his guises in PS is as a ferryman in 
charge of a three-headed dog, suggesting to me that he is 
foreshadowing the full arc of Harry's life and death. To emphasise 
this properly, he ought by rights to die himself, either just before 
Harry, or as foreshadowing at the end of Book 6.


Me:

Again, since I don't see Hagrid as *the* foreshadower, I don't think 
that all these things are necessarily foreshadows. I certainly don't 
see why it follows that if Hagrid is sent on a mission then Harry 
must be sent on one as well (and I really really really hope that 
Hagrid isn't going to die. He's my favorite character. Why are you so 
sure that Harry will die, by the way? Did you explain this in the 
predictions post you mentioned before?)

David:

What of his bumbling and drinking? I believe this is related to 
Voldemort's early attack on him. The Keeper of the Keys is damaged, 
and functions defectively, still mostly but not always for good.

Me:

I interpret this differently. 
Hagrid is an "inbetween" kind of figure (and this also makes him 
a "doorway" figure). Think of all the "inbetweeness" that he 
embodies: 
Half giant, half human
Half wizard (because of being expelled)
In a way, also a grown up who has not quite grown up (he constantly 
functions as a doorway between the children and the grown up world)
He lives on and guards the border between the human world (Hogwarts) 
and the animal world (Forest). It is also the border between the 
civilised and the untame and dangerous (known and unknown).
He belongs to the Hogwarts staff but lives outside the school 
building (part of his civlised-wilderness inbetweeness)
He is keeper of the grounds, but is the main doorway through which 
dangerous creatures enter the school (dragons, skrewts, Fluffy)

There are probably more, but it's all I can think of right now.

I see the "the bumbling and drinking" as part of his inbetweeness. I 
don't see them as being an indication of damage, and I don't think he 
was damaged (as far as his symbolic function goes). Yes, he is 
untamed, not quite predictable, given to emotional excesses, not 
fully efficient, but these qualities are part of his nature, not the 
result of some damage inflicted on him. They are part of what makes 
him an inbetween figure. Kind of fuzzy aroung the edges, if you know 
what I mean. For me, it's also what makes him so endearing. 

Did I mention already that he is my favorite character? :-)


Naama