Why were the sacrifices different? (was: A moral theory of Magic )

[nkafkafi]

No: HPFGUIDX 95315

> Siriusly Snapey Susan:
> Thanks, Kneasy, Ffi & Max, for answering the questions I raised.  
> Your comments all help it to make more sense.  STILL, I'm just a 
wee 
> little annoyed that James' death gets such short shrift!  So Lily 
> *thought* [or was instructed, per Kneasy's comments] to apply the 
> ancient magic that would save Harry.  That's true sacrifice!  
STILL, 
> James chose to die saving Lily & Harry, as well.  Just because he 
> didn't apply the ancient magic which ended up saving Harry, he 
still 
> sacrificed himself for the hope of saving their lives.  Seems he--
and 
> all those other wizards who did likewise for their families--should 
> get a little more "credit".  
> 
> Oh, how I hate to dredge up the idea of sexism here, but it reads 
to 
> me kind of like the stereotypes "Men are used to sacrificing 
> themselves in war" and "A mother's love is supreme" are being 
> evaluated to say that one is greater than the other.  Y'all know I 
> love JKR and these books, but this is how the emphasis on these two 
> deaths feels *to me*.  Maybe JKR will reveal things about Godric's 
> Hollow which will clear this all up for me in 6 or 7, but for now I 
> dislike that Lily's sacrifice is painted as so much greater than 
> James'.  [Please be gentle if you disagree; this is an emotional 
> reaction on my part, not a rational argument of anything.]

Neri:
My take on it is that Lily's and James's sacrifices were *not* that 
different. They were different in the nuances, perhaps just because 
Lily and James were different persons. James as a man couldn't help 
but go down fighting, but he knew well that he is not as powerful as 
Voldemort and he was only buying his family a small chance at the 
price of his life. Lily as a woman pretended to be helpless while 
preparing a hidden dagger for a low strike, and she consciously paid 
for the chance to strike with her life. The results of these two 
sacrifices were different in details, but very similar in principal: 
Lily's sacrifice gave Harry his blood protection. James's sacrifice 
gave Harry a very powerful patronus to defend him. It might be argued 
that Lily's sacrifice was the more powerful, but this is rather 
splitting hairs IMO. The interesting thing is how *similar* are these 
two sacrifices in their nature and in their results. This what make 
me think that they have the same kind of magic underlying them.

Neri