[HPforGrownups] Re: I love tragic endings

[Helen R. Granberry]

No: HPFGUIDX 85364

I was interested in Melody's point about Harry being so damaged by 
the end that it is not really possible for him to live any longer.
Dickens' original ending to Great Expectations was written along 
similar lines.  Both Pip and Estella have been so badly damaged by 
their up-bringing, that there is no real future for them.  They 
separate at the end of the book, both condemned to live a lonely and 
unfulfilled life.  Dickens was persuaded by his friend Bulwer Lytton 
to change this ending to a happier and more conventional one. 
Controversy has raged ever since about which ending is better. 
Probably in a hundred years time, our descendants will be arguing 
about the ending JKR comes up with.

Sylvia (a sucker for happy endings)



I think this notion of ‘too damaged to live’ is... well, horrible. Not
because these are kids books, I think these are everyone books. I just
think that this is horrible from a philosophical perspective. Where
there is life, there is hope (unless you are irredeemably evil, but that
isn’t Harry). Having a tragic, messed up past may make things more
difficult, but as JKR has gone to great pains to point out – it is our
choices that make us who we are. If Harry survives this thing, he will
be damaged, no question. He will bear scars that cut deep. However, if
it is not possible for Harry to ever find happiness in his life, then
Voldemort has won because Harry has LET HIM WIN. He has let him control
his life beyond death. Even if I lost everything in my life I cared
about, I would want to live. I would be damaged, but I would be
determined not to let it ruin my life. You only get one chance. Harry’s
life has been very hard and mostly loveless. He deserves some happiness.
I also think (and this is a moral judgment of Harry’s character) that he
has the will and courage to not let Voldemort defeat him after he is
gone. Even if he loses even more people he cares about (and I am
wagering that Dumbledore, Hagrid and either Ron or Hermione are goners
for sure), he still has the ability because of his moral character to
move on and live a happy life. 

As for Pip and Estella, I think that was a completely different kind of
story. Great Expectations seemed to have an entirely different message
than Harry Potter. These were not heroic characters. They were messed
up, but they never really made an effort to rise beyond what fate handed
them. Harry has. The fact that he was able to come out of the horrible,
abusive, neglectful Dursley household as well grounded as he did says a
lot about Harry. He does not let random twists of fate determine the
person he is. He is not a victim. Horrible things happen to him, but he
fights it. He doesn’t give up or use it as an excuse. 

In OotP, Dumbledore talks about this pain that is worse than death. I
don’t think that pain is losing what you love; I think what is worse
than death is never knowing love at all -- or perhaps getting a glimpse,
and knowing it is too late for you, knowing it is something you can
never have because you made the wrong choices. Voldemort has chosen mere
existence over truly living. He has forsaken all values in pursuit of
this non-value – living a life that is really not a life at all.
Voldemort can never know happiness because he holds no values other than
merely continuing to exist. He can never know love. This is worse than
death – it is a living death. 

Now, I will admit I want Harry to live. I am all for JKR taking risks
and I don’t think she should do X or not do Y for the sake of the
children. I do, however, admit to finding certain conclusions morally or
philosophically disagreeable. It isn’t so much about wanting a happy
ending with butterflies and sunshine, but what is the moral and
philosophical conclusion of the series. Has JKR set up a world where
love and happiness are impossible and life is futile? I don’t think she
has. If she kills Harry, I’ll be upset. I’ll probably never read the
books again knowing how it all ends. However, depending on how she goes
about it, I think this can be a perfectly acceptable ‘good’ ending. I
think killing Harry because life's not worth living anyway is probably
the WORST possible conclusion. 


Helen (also a sucker for a happy ending)