Snape/Ulysses/Hermione'sHigherPurpose/Harry'sGrandparents/Binns/Christianity

[Catlady (Rita Prince Winston)]

No: HPFGUIDX 80100

Gadfly wrote in 
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/79500 (nice round 
number) :

<< If Snape is responsible for Voldemort's AK curse backfiring, then 
you can understand why Dumbledore trusts him so. (snip) I think Snape 
the Slytherin loner has a vampire thirst <vbg> for knowledge. He 
studied under Voldemort to learn all he could, and now he is studying 
under Dumbledore to learn all he can. If this story goes the way of 
the Hero's Journey in mythology, then the hero always has another foe 
that comes to fore. To me that would be Snape. I think Snape wants to 
be the greatest wizard there ever was and is laying in wait until he 
sees some vulnerable spot to move in with all his knowledge. >>

If Snape is planning to seize some opportuntity to overthrow 
Dumbledore, it might not be so *accurate* of Dumbledore to trust him.

Fred Uloth wrote in 
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/79617 :

<< I'm not familiar with the story of Ulysses and Penelope...
therefore I cannot comment. Everything I know about the story came 
from the film "O Brother, Where Art Thou." >>

The story of Ulysses (Odysseus in Greek) and Penelope is in The 
Odyssey, the classic epic by the legendary epic poet Homer. Odysseus 
was the king of Ithaca and Penelope was Odysseus's wife, who waited 
twenty years for him to return (from ten years at the Trojan War 
told in The Illiad and ten years of wandering more or less homeward 
(including IIRC eight years shacking up with Calypso) told in 
The Odyssey) with superhuman fidelity. She not only fought off 
innumerable suitors who wanted to marry her in order to to become 
king of Ithaca (that could have been just so that her son Telemachus 
could inherit), but never doubted that he was still alive and would 
eventually return. The choice of character name suggests that 
Penelope Clearwater is waiting loyally for her Percy, but that 
doesn't necesarily mean Percy will return to her.

Jim Ferer wrote in 
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/79662 :

<< Without Harry's quest, [Hermione] would not have the higher p
urpose she has now. She is among the great of the wizarding world, 
and I bet she knows it, and would feel the hole in her life if Harry 
wasn't in it. >>

It seems to me that, even without Harry, Hermione would have started 
SPEW and cared about werewolf rights. That may be a lesser purpose 
than saving the world from Voldemort, but it may be a higher purpose 
than massaging Harry's feelings (as in your example of founding DA to 
cheer up Harry).

Entropy Mail wrote in 
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/79676 : 

<< I do, however, wonder what's become of Lily's family, as they 
are, I believe, Muggles, and don't know if Voldemort's murderous ways 
would have extended to them. >>

I feel sure that Lily's parents are dead or incapacitated, as they 
(both together) shared Lily's blood more than Petunia does, so 
Dumbledore could have put baby Harry with them and still did his 
protective magic. And McGonagall would have said: "Lily's parents!" 
when Dumbledore gave her the excuse that the Dursleys are the only 
family Harry had left.

Sue "sbursztynski" Great Raven wrote in 
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/80091 :

<< Am I the only one who feels a bit sorry for Professor Binns? 
Imagine being dead and STILL having to teach, >>

Is it 'having to' or that he *likes* it? I don't supposed that 
when he died, he chose to become a ghost because he enjoyed teaching 
so much that he didn't want to leave it, but now that he is a ghost, 
surely he could Hogwarts and haunt somewhere he preferred, just as 
Moaning Myrtle left Hogwarts to haunt Olive Hornsby until Olive got a 
restraining order against her.

<< presumably till Hogwarts is closed!(g) >>

Until he is laid to rest. I keep asking what that requires, in the 
Potterverse. There are various theories of what it requires in RL; 
sometimes merely to inform the ghost that he is dead (as he didn't 
know). Sometimes to fulfil a task that the ghost stayed around for 
(such as aresting his murderer). Sometimes some religious ceremonies. 

<< How does he mark essays and exams, anyway? >>

Maybe he has a quill that takes dictation.

Petra Pan wrote in 
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/80079 : 

<< I rather suspect that it is precisely because HP cannot be easily 
co-opted (in the way that the works of CS Lewis and Tolkien often 
are) that it inspires attempts to ban it. >>

I don't think 'co-opt' is the right word for reading Christianity 
in the popular writings of Lewis and Tolkien, as they were both very 
committed Christians. Lewis put Christianity into his stories 
deliberately. Tolkien's beautiful essay "On Fairy-Stories" makes 
explicit, specific references to Christ. Apparently JKR is also a 
believing Christian, and I don't think she would use 'co-opt' to 
refer to someone reading Christianity into her work.

Other than that, I also read Geoff's post and wondered if he realised 
that he was agreeing with Hans, not disagreeing?