Of Socks and Spiders and Celebrity

Sat Oct 5 13:11:30 UTC 2002

No: HPFGUIDX 45000

I went back through the archives and couldn't find any
posts that shared my particular slant on this topic.
If, however, I've overlooked a message that hits on
the same ideas I am about to, you have my full
permission to track me down and hit *me*

BTW, I have a feeling this ones gonna be a doozy, so
if youre in it for the long haul, Id suggest finding
a comfortable chair.

Some of my ideas are kind of sketchy. Im going off of
clues from the HP books and some research on
symbolism. Hopefully Ill be able to get my point
across in a semi-coherent manner.

Okaythe matter of the socks ties in with many of the
themes in the series: the downside of
celebrity/pre-judgment, freedom through individuality,
the love and acceptance of family and those who know
you best, and the harm of underestimating the value of
these things.

I believe Dobbys liberation in CoS best illustrates
the basic meaning of the socks. Harrys gift of the
sock, not only sets him free from his service to the
Malfoys, it symbolizes Harrys recognition of Dobby as
an autonomous being with a distinct identity that is
separate from his masters. In doing so, Harry grants
Dobby the right to exert control and choice over his
life. He sets him free to go out in the world and
create his own destiny. In this way, the sock is the
perfect concrete symbol for socks are warm and protect
our feet from cold and rain. They offer us protection
as we make our way in the world.

Similarly, there is a symbolic significance to Harrys
removal of a spider from one of his socks at the
beginning of SS/PS. Ive checked a couple sources on
symbolism and found that the spider encompasses a
great many ideas across the world. The one I found to
be most fitting with the HP books is the spider as a
messenger of fate (I dont have that completely mapped
out with all the other books -- Im still trying to
flesh that one out a bit more). Thus, the spider on
Harrys sock indicates to him that he will be given
the same freedom Dobby is given. And, indeed, Harry
does get that freedom. He is taken from an existence
where he not only doesn't know his real identity, but
is really discouraged from having any identity
whatsoever (besides that, perhaps, of whipping boy 
not much better than Dobbys lot in life). Hagrid is
Harrys guide to freedom and identity  as separate
from both the Dursleys *and* his celebrity in the WW
(another force that robs Harry of individuality and
honest admiration). Notice Hagrid makes very little
mention of Harrys living legacy and is even
uncomfortable discussing it  instead, his fondness
for the boy is based on Harrys essential character. 

Then we have Dumbledore, who says he sees himself
holding thick, wool socks when he looks into the
Mirror of Erised. You see, though Dumbledore seems
almost God-like he is human and he has human needs and
desires. Dumbledore, like Harry, suffers from the
stigma of celebrity. Keep in mind, the first real
information we get about who Dumbledore is comes from
the Famous Witches and Wizards Cards that come with
the Chocolate Frogs. This is where we first hear
Dumbledore referred to as  being [C]onsidered the
greatest wizard of modern time. The card details
Dumbledores exploits as a great wizard, but leaves
only a sentence actually describing him  and it
hardly captures the whimsy and benevolence of
Dumbledores personality (SS/PS 102-3). We get a sense
that Dumbledore has been locked into the identity of
The Greatest Wizard of Modern Time and very few people
bother to look beyond that when dealing with him --
just as Harry is locked into being The Boy Who Lived.
For instance, Dumbledore bemoans to Harry the fact
that all anyone ever gives him is books  he would
rather have socks. Books are what people think The
Greatest Wizard of Modern Time would want. Its a
quick, relatively meaningless gift. Socks, however,
mean everything in the world. They mean that theres
someone out there who recognizes Dumbledores true
nature and cares enough to give him the proper
protection before he heads out into the world to meet
and create his individual fate. Thus, we understand
his meaning when he says One can never have enough
socks. (SS/PS 214)

Now, let's consider Ron. In GoF he gets a pair of
socks from his parents and dismissively throws them to
the side. Later, he gives his socks away to Dobby.
This shows Rons lack of appreciation for the people
in his life who know him the best  as a real
individual  and the love and protection symbolized in
their gift of socks. Just as Harrys sock answered his
dream of being loved and acknowledged as Harry, Rons
lack of appreciation for his socks shows his desire to
have the very thing Harry flees from  celebrity. But
thats a mistake. Both Dumbledore and Harry have fame,
but it brings them very little happiness and even less
genuine recognition. I believe the meaning of the
Weasley sweaters are in the same vein, except they are
even more meaningful of love and identification
because Molly Weasley makes them herself  she makes
sacrifices to give her children love and protection
and identity. Theyre warm and protecting and  with
the first initials of each of the Weasley children on
each childs sweater  it is a specific statement of
love and recognition to that one person. Rons sweater
is Rons. Fred couldn't wear it. Neither could George
or Percy. It was made specially for him and is, thus,
an expression his mothers love for the unique and
specific individual Ron is. Of course, Ron is
unappreciative of this gesture as well (so,
interestingly enough, is Percy in SS/PH  Fred and
George however are perfectly happy with their sweaters
and wear them proudly  [T]heyre lovely and warm,
202).

And, thus, Dobbys Christmas gift of handmade socks to
Harry expresses his appreciation of Harry as the
caring, generous individual who gave Dobby freedom.
This is made more so meaningful by the fact that Dobby
(a) used the money he was earning from Dumbledore to
buy yarn for the socks, (b) used his time and energy
to make them, and (c) even went as far as
personalizing Harrys socks with Golden Snitches and
Broomsticks. Dobby could have just as easily bought
Harry a pair of socks instead of going to the trouble
of making them himself, but the fact that he didnt
exemplifies his genuine and honest love for the person
Harry is. And, again, these socks are Harrys
specifically. They were made for him in mind. Just
like Rons sweater is for him.    

I meant to go into further detail about the spiders,
but I dont want to go one forever. Im curious for
opinions on this: if, as I believe, spiders are a
symbol of fate. What does that mean for Ron, Neville,
and Hermione who all volunteered information about the
unforgivable curses and saw them executed on spiders?
Does that mean Hermione is going to die? Will Ron be
hit with the Imperious Curse or Neville the Cruciatus?
And with Rons deathly fear of spiders, does that
really mean hes frightened of his fate? 

-Jessica :-)

=====
"Oh, I'll settle down with some old story/About a boy who's just like me/Thought there was love in everything and everyone/You're so naive!/After a while they always get it/They always reach a sorry end/Still it was worth it as I turned the pages solemnly, and then/With a winning smile, the boy/With naivety succeeds/At the final moment, I cried/I always cry at endings"
- "Get Me Away From Here I'm Dying," Belle and Sebastian

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