A Look At Luna Lovegood (longish)

[Jen Reese]

No: HPFGUIDX 84059

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, Paula Gaon <paulag5777 at y...> 
wrote:
> Ever since my second read of OotP and subsequent rereading of a 
>few chapters, can't stop thinking about Luna Lovegood.  Exactly 
>who/what is she?  When we first meet Luna on the train going to 
>Hogwarts, she's described as having "waist-length, dirty blond hair 
>(not sure if dirty refers to the condition of her hair or the 
>color, I think it's probably the condition due to her spacy 
>character), very pale eyebrows and protuberant eyes..."  

Jen: 

Luna is a very fascinating character. Paula mentioned later Luna 
could be another type of 'being' or from a new ethnic group--I've 
never thought of that and it could be a possibility.

I've got a few other theories about her. One, her eyes: "He could 
see the bat-winged horses reflectd in her wide, silvery eyes." They 
are also described as "misty" as well. (OOTP, chap. 10, p. 199). Now 
it may be a coincidence, but the only other person with misty, 
silvery eyes is Ollivander: "Mr. Ollivander moved closer to 
Harry...Those silvery eyes were a bit creepy." (SS, chap. 5, p. 82). 
And later in the chapter, "Harry could see himself reflected in 
those misty eyes." 

Another similarity between Ollivander and Luna is their remarkable 
ability to discern information about other people's character 
without attaching emotional judgements. Ollivander must use this 
skill to assist people in finding the correct wand, and we see Luna 
intuit Harry's needs, particularly, when he first sees the thestrals 
and at the end when she talks with him about the Veil. Initially I 
thought Ollivander and Luna were related along her mother's side and 
Luna will be the heir apparent to the Ollivander wand dynasty! But 
perhaps they could be another type of magical being instead, some 
form of 'intuitive beings'. I'm just not sure why JKR would 
introduce a new group so late.

I think of both of them as *true* seers, using intuition to guide 
them and make decisions. And since Luna is in Ravenclaw, my theory 
is that JKR is making a statement about intuition being as important 
as analytical ability for truw wisdom.  


Paula:
>Later we learn that Luna's father is editor of the "Quibbler", the 
>alternate wizarding newspaper and believes, as does Luna,  in all 
>sorts of strange animals that not many others do.  Why would the 
>family believe in such?  Could they have actually lived among such 
>strange beings and are just trying to inform the rest of
>  the wizarding world?   IMHO, Luna is some order of being, or 
>combination, not totally human.  I see her decision to join forces 
>with H/R/H, the only non-Gryffindor, as a foreshadowing to the 
>subsequent revelation of an entire new "ethnic group" in the WW 
>that we so far haven't met.  Anybody pick up any hints in canon, or 
>have ideas?

Jen: 
I reviewed "Fantastic Beasts" to make sure none of the creatures 
Luna's mentions are in there and they aren't--If they exist, they 
must not be accessible to most of the population. In a way, the 
Lovegoods remind me of someone in the Muggle World believing in 
UFO's, aliens from space, etc. There's really no way to prove or 
disprove that theory.  People say they've seen aliens and other 
people say it's impossible--and never the two will meet!

Re: Luna and the trio. There are so many possibilities of symbolism 
here. I favor that Luna is Intuition to Harry's Soul, Hermione's 
Mind and Ron's Heart. It could also be an example of the sorting hat 
song--houses banding together for a common interest.