Canon, Ron's Comfort, Harry's Edge, James's Age

[Amy Z]

No: HPFGUIDX 39235

Milz asked:

>So what is the official HP for GrownUps policy statement regarding cannon?

I don't actually know, but I'm so psyched to have you back that I had to 
make something up <g>.  Welcome home!

Let's see.  The Lexicon admits movie references, I believe on the logic that 
JKR had a lot of input into the minutiae of the movie.

OTOH, movie discussion is prohibited here (though occasional references to 
The-Celluloid-That-Must-Not-Be-Named will usually squeak through) and 
quoting as canonical fact something that occurred in TCTMNBN but not the 
book, e.g. Harry wreaking havoc in Ollivander's, will usually get one a curt 
"that didn't happen in the book."  In practice, in other words, there is a 
presumption that the books win out over the movie for canon purity.

The CTMNBN has a bit more pull vis-a-vis interviews; e.g. some think that 
JKR's statement in an interview that James was a Chaser is outweighed by the 
movie's claim that he was a Seeker, reasoning that JKR might have spoken off 
the top of her head for an online chat but wouldn't have approved that cup 
if James weren't Seeker.  Canon has become complicated.  Books, interviews, 
movies--all have some canonical status, but some canon is more equal than 
others.

Laura wrote re: Ron:

>And I very rarely see him giving comfort.  His idea of 
> >comforting/defending/supporting someone is to *fight* for them

Very true.  It *is* comforting, though, in an adolescent-boy kind of way.  
If I were Neville, I'd find it very heartwarming that Ron shuts up a suit of 
armor that's laughing at me (it makes me feel very warmly towards Ron just 
reading it).  It isn't a very touchy-feely way of showing sympathy, but it 
has feeling behind it.  It's a subtlety about JKR's characterization of Ron 
that I like.

I would have said that Ron doesn't stimulate the Hurt/Comfort Response, 
except that it seems I feel driven to say something nice about him whenever 
he's criticized on the list.  Hmm.

and re: Harry:

>Harry..how perfect is that kid?

Ah, I dunno.  He *is* kind and sensitive and brave, but he also has Edge.  
He's a smartassed little thing even at his most downtrodden (see PS/SS 
pre-Hagrid).  He has moods.  He procrastinates dangerously
(just when WAS he planning to order a new broom?  He gets his Firebolt back 
two days before the Ravenclaw match).  He isn't good at everything he tries 
his hand at.  And then there's his inveterate lying and rulebreaking, 
sometimes in a good cause, sometimes in the cause of More Fun for Harry or 
Getting Harry Out of Trouble.  JKR has said in some interview or other (if I 
may reference quasi-canon <g>) that he isn't perfect, and I think he'd be 
hard to take if he were.

Jamie wrote:

>James was in his early twenties when he died (someone please refresh >me on 
>why this is canon)

Dear me, we must once again rely on interviews.  In 2000 JKR was asked how 
old Snape was, and she said "35 or 36."  We know James and Snape were close 
contemporaries (not necessarily the same year, depending on how you read the 
"we" in Lupin's "we were the same year"--does it mean Lupin and Snape, or 
Lupin and Snape and James and Sirius and Peter?).  If they were the same 
year, and JKR meant "35 or 36 as of GoF," then James was 21 or 22 when Harry 
was born.

Amy Z


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