Neville: Memory, History, Legacy, Power (LONG!) (Was:: Still Life)

[abigailnus]

No: HPFGUIDX 38412


Damn, Elkins, we do not deserve you.

I can't really believe I'm going to try and follow this up.  Here goes.

Elkins wrote:
> Neville, on the other hand, I tend to read as a representation
> of the opposing archetype: the prince renunciate, the abdicator or 
> the apostate.  Neville has always known that he is (or that he is 
> "supposed to be") a wizard.  He has always known that his family 
> is old and proud and well-respected, that they are "pureblood."  
> He has always known that his father was a kind of a war hero, albeit 
> a martyred one.  And he has always been aware -- far too well 
> aware, I'd say -- of the role that he is expected to play within 
> his society.
> 
> And he's running away from it just as fast as he can.  His 
> story, the coming of age story that accompanies Neville's type, 
> is one of renunciation, rather than of acceptance, of "coming 
> into ones own" by finding the strength to *reject* the legacy 
> and to forge instead a new destiny of ones own choosing.  

Dave already mentioned this, but I feel bound to say that I think 
you're confusing rejecting the past with hiding from it.  Whether or 
not his memory has been modified, Neville's memory issues, his 
inability to face up with his legacy as you call it, is not a choice, it is 
the result of fear.  He hasn't made any choice, either to embrace 
the role his family has set out for him or to reject it, because in order 
to do so he would first have to be aware that such a choice exists.  
In this context Neville represents neither memory nor forgetfullness 
(that is, the choice to forget something, as you say the wizarding 
community has collectively chosen to do) but a complete unawareness 
that the past even exists.   In much the same way that children are 
unable to conceive of a world that existed before their birth.

I think Dumbledore says it best, actually, at the end of GoF.  I'm without 
my copy, but his words are to the effect that he must hear what Harry 
has to tell him about Voldemort's resurrection, and when Sirius objects, 
claiming that Harry has been through enough, Dumbledore tells him that 
by burying Harry's memories he will be hurting him more.  Only by 
examining the past and accepting it can Harry be healed.  I see this scene 
as emblematic of one of the main themes that tie into the whole memory
/history thing - these kids aren't just coming into their own, they are 
coming of age.  Growing up.  Dumbledore tells Harry that if he thought 
he could help him by putting him into a dreamless sleep, he would do so, 
but he has already recognized that this solution befits a child, and Harry 
is no longer that.  Sirius, who hasn't grasped this yet, tries to protect the 
child, whereas Dumbledore realizes he is dealing with the young man, and 
acts accordingly.

Harry and his peers are entering a difficult age, one in which they have 
to actively choose to put away childish things - including Neville's 
reluctance to face his own past.  Case in point:

The House 
> Cup is nothing but a trophy.  It confers no actual benefit to the 
> members of the House which possesses it.  It is a pure expression of 
> winning for the sake of winning.  And yet the entire student body 
> would seem to be terribly invested in its attainment.  They are 
> willing to allow their desire for this empty symbol to motivate their 
> actions to a degree that at times seems quite ludicrous.
> 
> (Are *none* of these otherwise seemingly bright students capable of 
> realizing that the Cup is nothing but a chimera? I always find myself
> wondering, not without a certain degree of irritation.  Can't *any* 
> of them see through that particular ploy? Or is it just that we never 
> meet any of those students, because they were all sorted into 
> Ravenclaw?)

OK, see, I'm convinced that at some point, maybe more than once, 
Harry has expressed the opinion that ultimately, the House Cup and 
the winning and losing of points are meaningless, but as hard as I try 
the best I can come with is pretty vague.  At the end of PS, Harry 
blows up at Ron and Hermione, who are afraid that going after Quirrel 
will make them lose more points for Gryffindor.  True, Harry doesn't 
exactly say that this is more important than points (or does he?  I don't 
remember) but the core of that attitude is there (but even this watered 
down version should count for a lot as it's in the very first book and 
Harry is only 11.)  I expect that, as the kids start growing up, as the 
magnitude of what's happening (or will be happening) around them 
becomes clear, the inter house competitions will seem less and less 
important - downright silly, even.  

> People who believe that Neville has a memory charm often speculate 
> that this charm will eventually be removed, and that when it does, 
> Neville will "come into his own."  He will be able to access 
> previously-suppressed reservoirs of magical power; he will gain self-
> confidence; he will become SUPER-Neville.  He will go out and kick DE 
> butt.  He will bring honor to the family name; he will exhibit Proper 
> Pure-blooded Wizarding Pride.  He will become at last a True Warrior-
> Spirited Gryffindor.
> 
> I lie awake sometimes at night, fearing that something like this 
> might indeed be the author's intent.  Because if it is, then I won't 
> view it as a triumph for the forces of Good at all.  I will view it 
> as a horrible horrible tragedy. 

But see, I don't see Neville coming into his own and Neville rejecting 
the expectations of his family to be mutually exclusive.  If we accept 
that Neville hasn't yet made a concious choice either way, and that 
in order to make that choice he has to first get over his memory block, 
whatever is causing it, then for him to be the prince renunciate he 
*must* stop forgetting.  He has to look back at whatever it is he doen't 
want to see and actively say "No, I don't want to do that."  And wasn't 
it you, Elkins, who said that Neville's problems with magic have nothing 
to do with power and everything to do with control?  Coming into his 
own might mean, in that context, taking control not only of the direction 
his life is taking but of his own abilities, and not necessarily choosing to 
use them to prod DE buttock.  

And I think it's a foregone conclusion that, whatever makes Neville so 
forgetfull, we will eventually see a reversal in his situation.  There has to 
be a payoff.  I just don't equate becoming powerful with using that power
 - just knowing that you could use it is enough.  This is the kind of vibe 
that people get from Lupin.  In an entire book he never raises his voice, 
never loses his temper except once at the shrieking shack and even then 
he's trying to be reasonable by pointing out to Snape that he is letting a 
schoolboy grudge decide a man's fate.  And yet, he's a werewolf, he's a 
highly qualified DADA teacher, and he just exudes power.  Wouldn't that 
be a neat twist?  In our heart of hearts we're all wondering if Neville isn't 
following in Peter's footsteps - JKR makes the allusion herself - wouldn't 
it be great if he turned out to be the new Lupin?

And finally, rejecting your society's warrior ethos and choosing to walk 
your own path are all well and good in times of peace, but do any of us 
really want Neville to be unable or unwilling, when the time comes, to 
protect himself and his friends?  Or for that matter, is it desirable that he 
not take any part in the battle that is surely coming?  That he never attack 
his enemy?  I'm not talking about revenge here, about hunting down Mrs. 
Lestrange and going "Hello.  My name is Neville Longbottom.  You Crucio'd 
my parents.  Prepare to die."  but about actively trying to free the world 
from tyranny and ending the dark lord's rule.  These are things worth fighting 
for, a warrior ethos that I for one can get behind.  There's a difference 
between taking revenge and  fighting your enemy, and I think that both 
Neville and Harry would do well to find their place somewhere between the two.

> 
> Or, as Gulplum quite succinctly put it:
> 
> > The ability to forget is as important to the health of the human 
> > psyche as the ability to remember.
> 
> Yes.
> 

That sounds like something we read in synagogue every year on Yom Kippur.  
It's by Martin Buber, the German philosopher and one of the fathers of 
Reform Judaism.  What he says basically is that the two greatest powers 
granted to the human race are the ability to remember and the ability to forget.

Abigail