The unforgivable curses and the US Declaration of Independence

[Amanda]

No: HPFGUIDX 96651

Albus Dell :
> > From the US Declaration of Independence:
> > That among these [rights which all people have] are
> > life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness

> > I wonder if Rowling had this in mind when coming up
> > with the unforgivable curses. The Avada Kedavra is
> > obviously the violation of the first right; the
> > Imperius curse is a violation of the second (a
> > physical one - not a legal one, but the same idea);
> > and someone under the Cruciatus curse is almost as
> > unhappy as one can be!

> Geoff wrote:
> I wonder whether JKR would have considered the US Declaration of 
> Independence when I assume that she originally thought she was 
> writing for a largely British readership who might not be well-
>versed in that document.


Mandy here:
Humm...my thoughts exactly.  JRK is British and I seriously doubt 
that she considered the details of the American Declaration of 
Independence whilst writing HP.  The American Revolution is only 
briefly mentioned in school history, if at all, as it was a war we 
lost.  You know, best just to briefly admit it happened and sweep the 
details under the rug.  Just like the Americans do with Vietnam.

JKR comes from a country that has been free for a lot longer than 
America has and Scotland, and the rest of the UK, have our own 
constitution and freedoms to draw inspiration from.  That's not to 
say that the American Declaration if Independence is not 
inspirational, it is, but considering the lack of any other American 
references in the canon, (The Salem Witches Institute aside) I think 
it is a most unlikely source of inspiration for JKR.

Cheers Mandy