Fearing Fear Most of All (WAS: Voldemort's Immortality Goal)

[erisedstraeh2002]

No: HPFGUIDX 46501

Risti wrote:

> I'd first of all like to say that what Phyllis said really got me 
> thinking, and not just because Voldemort's search for immortality 
> is a favorite topic of mine.  <huge snip> Ultimately, as Phyllis 
> said, it is the fear and fascination of death that brings together 
> all of mankind.

Now me:

I'm glad I got you thinking (and I certainly can't take credit for 
how elegantly you summed up my initial post)!  I've been thinking 
some more on this as well, and the following interchange between 
Harry and Lupin in Ch. 8 of PoA (when Harry tells Lupin he thought 
the boggart would turn into a dementor while Lupin was expecting a 
boggart Voldemort to appear) has always intrigued me:

"'Well, well...I'm impressed.'  He [Lupin] smiled slightly at the 
look of surprise on Harry's face.  'That suggests that what you fear 
most of all is - fear.  Very wise, Harry.'" 

At this point in the series, I don't quite know what to make of 
Lupin's comment (and I feel as if I'm in good company, since "Harry 
didn't know what to say to that...").  I've always thought that this 
comment would make sense by the end of the series, however, and now 
I'm thinking that I might have a potential explanation.  Perhaps this 
is what Lupin meant - Harry is only afraid of the *emotion* of fear 
rather than the *manifestation* of fear.  So, while Voldemort, who is 
afraid of dying, needs to become immortal to eliminate the basis for 
his fear, Harry only needs to overcome his own emotions to conquer 
his fear.  Thus, it is much more likely that Harry will be able to 
conquer his fear (since all he has to do is control his own inner 
emotions) than it is that Voldemort will be able to conquer his fear 
(since becoming immortal is a fairly tall order).

I think Harry demonstrated at the end of GoF that he is able to 
control his inner emotions and thus conquer his fear - how else can 
we explain his springing from behind the gravestone and hurling 
an "Expelliarmus" at Voldemort when he knew he was facing an AK in 
return?  This suggests that Harry has a huge advantage on Voldemort - 
he has shown that he can conquer fear, while Voldemort is still 
mortal and thus still lives in fear of dying.  Quite an 
accomplishment at the tender age of 14!

~Phyllis