FF: Speculation - a matter of perspective; Perspective in the Potterverse

[Penny Linsenmayer]

No: HPFGUIDX 38816

Hi all --

Jo Serenadust, commenting on Heidi's theory of a Draco/Hermione romance possibility, said:

<<<<<I just don't see how you were able to do this without 
ignoring 4 volumes of careful character development by JKR.  I guess 
I'm just too literal-minded a reader to manage this leap.>>>>>>>

Hmmm.... so is this another case of "There's one way, and only one way, to interpret any given character in a work of literature?"  We've had this debate before, and I believe it may predate your joining the group, Jo.  Rather than re-hash everything that was said in the latest iteration of the debate, I thought I'd just give a link to a few of the messages that really addressed these issues before, as they were quite lengthy (this was April 2001):

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/16370
(Lexicon Steve arguing that fanfic changes a reader's perception of JKR's characters and that fanfic writers are circumventing JKR's authorial intent (and therefore fanfic readers are being exposed to interpretative views that don't square with JKR's intentions))

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/16381
(my response, which, in short, counters that authorial intent is not fully discernible unless JKR unequivocally confirms her intent in a chat or interview or by making her notes public)

I said in the above post:

<<< We all put our own spin on the characters. They're the same characters that JKR created. But, everyone looks at them in a different way.>>>>

I also said:

<<<< She's an author and doubtless would consider that there is more than one interpretation for everything in her books; there's even more than one path that she could have chosen
(having written myself, I can say that you sometimes weigh multiple valid courses of action but eventually must choose only one). Anyway, I'm completely opposed to the notion that there is only one JKR interpretation of these characters and books and I'm especially opposed to the notion that this one interpretation is discernible by people other than JKR herself.>>>>

Authorial intent is tricky business IMHO.   To say that Heidi is "ignoring" JKR's character development is basically equivalent to saying "Heidi, your interpretation is wrong and mine is correct."  The whole point of this discussion list is further *discussion.*  And, I might add, virtually everything we discuss here is speculation in some form.  Except for the rare occasion when someone needs reminding of an indisputable purely factual matter (i.e. Harry and Dudley are first cousins), all we've done for the last 2.5 yrs is speculate.  Whether the speculation takes the form of a straight narrative argument weighing the pros & cons of the proposition that Snape is a vampire, or is a TBAY post elaborating on the same topic or is a fanfic giving a backstory to Snape's vampirehood -- it's all speculation.  It just takes various forms.

More messages in this prior debate:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/16388

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/16432

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/16434
(strangely I can't find Steve's original message that I'm responding to here ... though it appears I quoted a good bit of his post)
(point of this one is to say that anyone who actively participates in HP4GU has their perceptions changed & challenged on a daily basis, whether they read fanfic or not)

I also found the following message and its replies, though it's more recent (December 2001):

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/31221
(Gwen discussing how fanfic can help a reader bolster his/her canon interpretations)

*****************

Jo serenadust continued:

<<<<<<<<My limited fanfic experience leads me to believe that the writers are going way, way beyond plausible different perspectives on canon.  It's more like they want to wrest the series from Rowlings grasp because they believe that *their* version is better!>>>>>

It sounds as though you've had a really terrible experience with fanfic and that's too bad.  There are a number of really great fics out there -- all ships, all genres (shipless & shipper-oriented).  It's entirely possible that you could read a dozen or so badly-written or poorly-plotted fics and completely give up on the experience.  Check out our Fanfic FAQ or FictionAlley though if you want to give it another whirl & want some recommendations.  

<<<<<<I really enjoy a lot of the wild theories, specs, and ships on the 
list as long as tongues are planted firmly in cheek ;--)>>>>>>>

There's alot of speculation on this list, that's true.  But, I think most people are actually reasonably serious about the theories they propose and/or defend.  We are an obsessed lot after all.  :--)

Switching to Pippin:

<<<Try to re-create the Potterverse from another character's point of view and you confront the fact that much of Rowling's world is not realistically rendered after  all. 
Certainly the Slytherins are not.  <large snip>

The moment I try to  conceive of them as morally complicated, however, their situation makes no sense. Are they Slytherins because the Hat recognizes that at the age of eleven they are 
"criminally incurable"? OTOH, if they aren't hard cases, why  treat them as if they were?>>>>

Er ... is having ambition regarded as rendering one "criminally incurable"?  <g>  Seriously, this notion that the Slytherins are all evil is very flawed in my mind.  They are ambitious.  Power-hungry.  Cunning.  Willing to use "any means to achieve their end."  But, not necessarily criminal.  Not necessarily Evil.  Not necessarily.  

<<<I don't think  Rowling can show us Dumbledore or Hermione or anyone else trying to redeem  the Slytherins. The Slytherins aren't there to be redeemed. They aren't real enough for that.>>>

Not yet perhaps.  I don't view this as set in stone, and in fact, quite the opposite.  I think the Slytherins will be particularly affected by current events when the new Hogwarts term commences.  How many of them will return to school?  How will they be received?  If one or both parents is "perceived" to be a Death Eater or otherwise allied with Voldemort, will this affect how the other students (and the faculty!) interact with that student?  So many questions; so much opportunity for further development.  Stress "opportunity" for further development.  Whether JKR will have the time or inclination to do so is another matter .... but I think this could be at least a subplot in OOP.    

<<<<Yet Slytherin is a House divided. At the end of PS/SS, Snape shakes McGonagall's hand while Draco sits fuming. At the end of GoF,  some  Slytherins stay seated while others rise. This 
division may take the place of the complexity which JKR cannot show us. Draco, for example, could change sides and *then* be developed as a complex character, just as Snape has been.>>>>

Snape may have "changed sides," but he is still allied with the Slytherin House.  Why can't Draco be developed as a complex Slytherin or am I misunderstanding your point?

Penny





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