Coherence II

[pippin_999]

No: HPFGUIDX 39053

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., "davewitley" <dfrankiswork at n...> 
wrote:

> Aha, now that is an interesting subject.  IMO, JKR doesn't really 
> obey the rules as I understand them (not surprising as one 
can regard HP as subversive of the other genres it draws on).<<

The most subversive thing about HP as a mystery series is that 
our detective NEVER correctly solves the main mystery. So far, 
the villain always turns out to be someone Harry never 
suspected and is unmasked by someone other than Harry 
himself. 

Book One --Quirrell reveals himself (I suppose we ought to be 
grateful he hadn't polyjuiced himself into Snape!)
Book Two --Riddle reveals himself -"I am Lord Voldemort." 
Dobby fingers Lucius Malfoy.
Book Three-- Sirius reveals himself and outs Pettigrew. 
Hermione outs Lupin, but he's *not* the villain
Book Four --  Dumbledore reveals Crouch Jr.

David:
>>> My understanding of detective stories is that the clues given 
are  unambiguous once you understand them right.  <<<

Since Harry himself never works out the right answer, the author 
is under no obligation to supply the reader with unambiguous 
clues, IMO.

<snip comments about why Mrs. Figg's cabbage smell is not a 
mystery>>

JKR is  fond of introducing details that seem to be insignificant 
but turn out to be mysterious. I always  wondered why she had 
Scabbers bite Goyle, but now that we know that Goyle's father 
was a DE, I expect further revelations.

But you want obvious clues to a mystery given in one book that 
aren't resolved until a later book, right?

There's an example in GoF. We've been so busy debating the 
identity of the  Fourth Man that we seem to have forgotten that the 
Third Man and the Second Man (who is a woman, mirabile dictu)  
are unidentified in the Pensieve scene. 

We don't *know* that they are the Lestranges, that's just a guess 
of ours, based on *clues*. Sirius tells us the Lestranges were at 
school with Snape but never that they were the ones who were 
caught with Barty. Voldemort only says that they were faithful, that 
they went to Azkaban rather than renounce him. 

 The solution is not given in GoF and therefore I submit it is a 
cross-book mystery by your definition.

Pippin