Luna doesn't wear silk, and replies to other Luna threads

[dan]

No: HPFGUIDX 84286

to SILK GOWNS

One of the shortcomings of SILK GOWNS (in reference to Luna) is that 
it posits a "suspicious by nature" person (not particularly canonic), 
one with a penchant for decoding (not in any way canonic - a penchant 
for reading the Quibbler, whether or not it involves runes or codes, 
does not translate to a penchant for decoding), and one who "doesn't 
need outside confirmation to believe something." In fact, it seems 
Luna rather believes precisely what her father prints. Her "beliefs" 
come from a very peculiar, rather lonely place, where the Quibbler 
represents safety, family, even, and quite possibly her future (that 
is, running the paper). The people who write for the Globe or what 
have you, I doubt they believe a tenth of what they scribble. We 
don't know much about Luna's father, so we don't know if his planned 
trip to Sweden is really to look for Snorkacks or is a secret tryst 
unbeknownst to Luna or whatever. But Luna takes the stories at face 
value, and not because she's stupid, she's not at all, but because 
the paper also represents the possiblity that her mother is not 
beyond reach, at some point. This is Luna's weakness - her 
Erised.Don't get me wrong, however, I love the character - she is 
quite my favourite. The interaction with Potter at the end of OOP, 
however, is very clearly meant to reflect, to echo, the readers' 
confusion about the veil. As a plot device, it might function as some 
fancy, but uncommon and unlikely, robe, or detergent, but in terms of 
the development of the series, it is a moment of pathos wherein 
Potter not only finds something to replace, to some extent anyway, 
the emptiness by the lake, but finds his "unthinking" response 
validated by someone else. This has not happened before. In fact, it 
is quite a melancholy scene.

to ali

"She helps Harry to accept things that he knows but is not able to 
express or even understand," says ali. But how is this done? 
Predescent? Accident? Is it her so-called personality? Or, as I 
suggest, is it that Lovegood hails from the same place where Potter 
is still in the closet, the RW?
Some say Luna is a seer. But all the instances they cite from canon 
are straightforward, and don't depend on any "seeing" ability, unless 
Harry is also a "seer.". She sees Thestrals because she's seen death. 
She hears voices and Potter hears voices. Until now, Potter's 
decisions of the heart have been, in some ways, infallable, in the 
big picture of his development as an independent force, and his 
intellectual assesments have often been rather less fruitful. But, in 
some ways, this identification with Luna is apart from all that 
stuff. It is assailable, this willingness to aid and abet Luna's 
careful dance through her own loss, and yet right, too. I suspect 
that, strange as it might seem, there is one person in better need of 
a good cry than Potter.

to Paula

As for Paula's assertions regarding Lovegood being other than human, 
to some degree, I daresay the same could be said for parselmouth dark 
wizard stumper Potter. I mean, where did HE come from? Jen has duly 
followed up on this with her supposition of intuition's role in the 
development of character toward wisdom.

to Granny Goodwitch

Granny's idea that Luna is a catalyst for an integrated Potter is 
also quite natural to believe, I think. But I need to remind her that 
Potter's "rational, heroic" part is actually more like 
his "unthinking, good heart" part - as in the second task (and the 
third, with CD) - and that his rational part usually lands him in 
some difficulty, when it actually functions, right down to his 
expectations (a real no-no) with Cho. He doesn't, I should add, have 
such expectations with Luna.

to Annemehr

Annemehr's post, a very nice one, I must say, while alluding to the 
alchemy interpretations of Luna's role, doesn't stop there, which is 
good. But I wonder how effective her processing of her ostracism 
really is? Or, rather, I should say, if there's any profit in it, for 
herself? This would be my concern, with a RW person like Lovegood. 
Then again, what would be the cost of piercing the shell, if it could 
be done? The thing is, even thinkers like Annemehr can be taken in 
wholly by Luna's appearance. As much as I love her, there is 
something definitely wrong. If Luna is our passage to Potter, what 
does that say about us?

to JMM

JMM missed the point I was making, that scapegoating, or ostracism, 
are, to a large extent, effects of fear, like racism. And JMM's 
description of Potter as a typical, unthinking kid - I don't get that 
at all. Kids aren't typically unthinking. And besides, Potter's 
intellect gets him in trouble, or gets him precisely nowhere, more 
than his heart does. The anger is what gets in the way in OOP.

to Susan

Susan, however, dreads the Luna effect on Potter. Here is a good 
example of what I alluded to in my two Luna posts - the fear that 
Luna upsets the internal balance of the books - threatens to allow 
the RW in. I think, for the record, that that is inevitable. 
Grindelwald needs to be addressed, and the story has to find closure. 
Myself, I think Luna is a rather enchanting way to start that 
process. (And, also for the record, I'm a Potter/Lovegood shipper.)

to Taryn

Taryn calls Luna unassuming, which is accurate enough. Though, in the 
other meaning of assume, one might call Luna someone who lives on 
assumptions.

to Marianne

Marianne says Luna helps Potter see things from a different 
perspective. I would say, rather, that she validates some of his 
perspective, and he hers.

to Samnanya

Samnanya's posts I have read even when I wasn't posting. I will only 
respond, however, to the Hogwart's express part - that is to say, I 
agree. Luna was not on the train. This is an important fact. A couple 
months ago I conjectured that HP would run away, in his belief that 
it would attract LV to himself and leave his friends relatively 
safer, for now he believes he alone can defeat LV. I don't know how 
it would work, but somehow those two things, the running away (he'll 
get found and convinced to go back to Hogwarts, of course) and Luna's 
absence won't vacate my thoughts.

to M.M. and Eric Oppen

I've missed a couple posts, but I will add to M.M. and Eric that, 
whether or not Luna and her dad come back from their trip to find a 
Snorkak (or her father's tryst with some unkown character - lol) 
successful, the trip has some significance.