Villainy

[arrowsmithbt]

No: HPFGUIDX 109431

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "nkafkafi" <nkafkafi at y...> wrote:
> 
> Neri shakes head in bemusement:
> 
> Kneasy, I sometimes wonder why you still read HP. With your talent 
> you'd be making much better use of your time writing FF, or even your 
> own original FEATHERBOA fantasy, with a believable and chilling Evil 
> Overlord. You can already count on me buying a copy. I wouldn't be 
> able to resist it. 
> 

Kneasy:
Flatterer. Bet you say that to all the boring old farts you respond to.

I may eventually try my hand at FF, though not yet awhile, not while
there's plenty  of mileage left  in the true canon. And anyway, if I
write the stuff, I don't get to have the sadistic pleasure of dissecting 
it, do I?

Though I am toying with possible alternative endings - just in case
JKR turns fluffy. But to get into that I'll need the plot developments
from book 6  to extrapolate from.

Neri:
> Could it be that you are trying to make HP into something it isn't? 
> Could HP be a book about (warning: a really wild speculation ahead) 
> Harry Potter? Not about Voldy, and maybe not even about Snape or DD's 
> plan? Could Voldy be there mainly as a challenge for Harry? Someone 
> for Harry to fight while he's not busy wrestling with bothersome 
> teenager friends, bothersome teenager rivals, system injustice, 
> grownups' prejudice, pressure from high expectations, an abusive 
> family, lousy teachers, crucial exams, hopes of future career, 
> winning the Quidditch cup, first dates, and several other petty 
> matters that sometimes occupy the mind and time of growing up kids? 
> 
> So if certain parts of the set are a bit flimsy at the seams, could 
> it perhaps be an indication of the author's priorities?
> 

Kneasy:
No, I  don't  think that I'm trying to  turn it into something it isn't.

When the hero of any epic battles through dungeon, fire and sword I 
don't think it's unreasonable to examine and critique what it is that he's
battling to defeat; just what it is that he's being measured against.

We've expended an inordinate amount of words on Harry vs various
subordinate villains - Snape, Malfoy (both of 'em), Umbridge - examining
in great depth their motivations, methods, strengths, weaknesses, 
evilness quotient and, particularly  with Snape, how he is *presented*
as a character in the text. Why not also with who we are told is the
worst of the lot and presumably the one who will present Harry with his
greatest challenge?

But IMO Snape, Malfoy and Umbridge are well  enough described to  be
recognisable as individuals; not so Voldy. He seems to be presented
as a *type*, a quick sketch - "Oh yes. We'll  have the dead white skin, slits
for a nose, don't forget the red eyes, the posturing and a tendency to 
throw a wobbly when he or his minions are thwarted." Where with the first
three you or I could make a reasonable stab at predicting how they would
react in a given set of circumstances I can't do that with Voldy. Except for
the tantrum. 

I readily concede that the prime villain is always the most difficult cast
member to write; a frightening, powerful and apparently indefatigable 
enemy that can be over-come in a satisfying and credible manner is not
an easy thing to pull off. Perhaps I expect  too much.

In my years of reading and film watching I've drawn certain conclusions;
the best enemies are either presented in convincing detail, with their 
thoughts, plans and responses as integral to the story, the author hoping
that the readers will suspend disbelief and will miss the weak spots 
(Coeurl, say, or some of the better 'serial killer' novels) or they never 
actually appear at all (Sauron, for example). 
Voldy is somewhere between the two and without the inherent strengths
of either. He's a persona in limbo looking for, needing, real substance.
We have neither the satisfaction of delving into a mind steeped in evil
and depravity (yes please!) nor the mystery and suspense of a forever 
unseen monster manipulating events from the shadows.

An evil villain who is so feared by the entire WW that his name is never
mentioned doesn't match a Voldy who has appeared four times and
lost four times. Hopefully a *real* villain will turn up before it's all over.