Harry/Voldemort fusion theory

[mclellyn]

No: HPFGUIDX 110941

Gadfly McLellyn wrote:

Reading MAN AND HIS SYMBOLS edited by Carl Gustav Jung, I got the 
idea that symbolically Harry is consciousness and Voldemort is 
unconsciousness.  In essence they are one being badly splintered.  
This would tie many things together from the Harry Potter books.  

THE PROPHECY:   MAN AND HIS SYMBOLS explains why neither is truly 
alive while the other survives.  They are one being and neither is 
whole as long as they are divided and not assimilating the important 
qualities/powers of the other.  

WHY VOLDEMORT DIDN'T DIE:  If Voldemort is the unconscious self then 
he isn't quite mortal -- hence why he can't die.  Voldemort is part 
of the "collective unconscious" in Jungian terms that is why "He 
always knows".

WHY DUMBLEDORE DIDN'T KILL VOLDEMORT:  I believe Dumbledore wants to 
give Harry the opportunity to become whole with his shadow 
unconscious -- Voldemort.  I believe that Dumbledore may have gone 
through the uniting of the unconscious shadow with his ego 
consciousness when he defeated the dark wizard Grindelwald.

Now for how I got there.  Carl Gustav Jung coined the word 
synchronicity which loosely means meaningful coincidences.  While on 
vacation, I walked into a used book store.  I have had many dreams 
about bears and wanted an out-of-print book by Joseph Campbell about 
animal mythology to understand the symbolism of bears.  The store had 
no books by Campbell, but the spine of a book called MAN AND HIS 
SYMBOLS edited by Carl Gustav Jung jumped out at me.  I knew Campbell 
and Jung were friends from the POWER OF THE MYTH series.  I bought it 
thinking it would be interesting to understand the symbolism in art.  
After I came home, little did I know synchronicity would hit me 
between the eyes (I'm surprised I don't have a scar there).

I would read the book at night before going to bed, and by day I play 
the Jim Dale recordings of the Harry Potter books in the background 
while I work -- like listening to a radio.  I happened to be 
listening to CHAMBER OF SECRETS when these words jumped out at 
me "Riddle, quiet as a shadow, edged through the door and 
followed...."  (COS p 246).  Again, "He could hear echoing footsteps 
and then a dark shadow moved in front of him."  (COS p321).  In 
GOBLET OF FIRE, after Harry dreams of Voldemort he awakens in 
Trelawny's class, "He couldn't stop himself from looking around, into 
the shadows behind him; Voldemort's voice had sounded so close...."  
(GOF, p577).   Then in SORCERER'S STONE, "See what I've become?  the 
face said, "Mere shadow and vapor."  (p293)   (All page numbers will 
be from the US paperbacks except Order of the Phoenix and Man and His 
Symbols)

The word shadow was jumping out at me because I was reading about it 
in MAN AND HIS SYMBOLS.   To my amazement this book was about dreams 
(why I was motivated to buy a book in the first place) and how dreams 
educate our conscious about the shadows in our unconscious.  I 
realize I am not the first to notice that Harry and Voldemort are 
shadows of each other, but this book gave me a new education on 
shadows.   It also was hitting me between the eyes that Harry's 
dreams are very significant.   MAN AND HIS SYMBOLS was linking dreams 
and shadows and consciousness and unconsciousness together:

"Through dreams one becomes acquainted with aspects of one's own 
personality that for various reasons one has preferred not to look at 
too closely.  This is what Jung called "the realization of the 
shadow".  p168  

"In dreams and myths, therefore, the shadow appears as a person of 
the same sex as that of the dreamer."  p169 .

Reading the next few quotes from MAN AND HIS SYMBOLS, I was starting 
to get the idea that symbolically Harry is consciousness and 
Voldemort is unconsciousness.  This would tie many things together 
from the Harry Potter books.  

Speaking of the conscious and unconscious "...implies the existence 
of two "subjects", or ...two personalities within the same 
individual......And it is the curse of modern man that many people 
suffer from this divided personality."  p23 .  Hmmm curse scar?

"Dr. Jung has pointed out that the shadow cast by the conscious mind 
of the individual contains the hidden, repressed, and unfavorable (or 
nefarious) aspects of the personality.  .......Ego and shadow, 
although separate, are inextricably linked together in much the same 
way that thought and feeling are related to each other."  p118.

"...perhaps the essence of Jung's philosophy in life:  Man becomes 
whole, integrated, calm, fertile, and happy .....when the conscious 
and unconscious have learned to live at peace and to complement one 
another."  p14 Introduction.

THE PROPHECY:   MAN AND HIS SYMBOLS explains why neither is truly 
alive while the other survives.  Neither is whole as long as they are 
divided and not assimilating the important qualities/powers of the 
other.  Therefore, they have to merge -- "live at peace and to 
complement one another."  p14 Introduction.  Wholeness, according to 
MAN AND HIS SYMBOLS, is related to the philosopher's stone.  It is 
interesting that Dumbledore is famous for is work in alchemy (SS 
p103) as Jung studied and wrote extensively on alchemy too.  Alchemy 
has to do with humans going through trials (by fire?) to become 
whole.   "An old Arabian alchemist, Morienus, said: "....The 
philosophers stone is extracted from you; you are the mineral, and 
one can find it in you;  ....If you recognize this, the love and 
approbation of the stone will grow within you."  p210 MAN AND HIS 
SYMBOLS.  Another quote, "In medieval symbolism, the "philosopher's 
stone" ( a pre-eminent symbol of man's wholeness) is presented as a 
pair of lions or as a human couple riding on lions"  p 205-6.   Hmmm, 
interesting that Gryffindor's mascot is a lion.  Is the Half Blood 
Prince the other lion?  Is Harry?

WHY VOLDEMORT DIDN'T DIE:  If Voldemort is the unconscious self it 
would explain why he knows about everyone's hidden thoughts, can 
smell lies, fear, and why he isn't quite mortal -- hence why he can't 
die.  Voldemort is part of the "collective unconscious" in Jungian 
terms that is why "He always knows".

WHY DUMBLEDORE DIDN'T KILL VOLDEMORT:  Because "Ego and shadow, 
although separate, are inextricably linked together" p116.   Hence he 
would kill Harry?  I think too that Dumbledore wants to give Harry 
the opportunity to become whole with his shadow unconscious -- 
Voldemort.  I believe that Dumbledore may have gone through the 
uniting of the unconscious shadow with his ego consciousness when he 
defeated the dark wizard Grindelwald, and that may be why Dumbledore 
also has a curse scar (SS/PS p15).  Dumbledore tells Voldemort in 
Phoenix p 814 that "We both know there are other ways of destroying a 
man, Tom."   Maybe you can destroy them by fusing with them -- 
assimilating their powers.  MAN AND HIS SYMBOLS states it this 
way:  "Above all, (Paul Klee, artist) had realized the necessity of 
not denying evil.  "Even evil must not be a triumphant or degrading 
enemy, but a power collaborating in the whole."  p270 .  I believe we 
see this evil being a collaborating power in Dumbledore.  He has a 
frightening and powerful rage that we see in PHOENIX, "An awful voice 
filled the kitchen, echoing in the confined space, issuing from the 
burning letter on the table.  "REMEMBER MY LAST, PETUNIA." (p 40).  
Later in the book, "He was so angry,"  Hermione in an almost 
awestruck voice.  "Dumbledore.  We saw him.  When he found out 
Mundungus had left before his shift had ended.  He was scary." (p 
64).   I believe these awful and scary parts of Dumbledore are the 
Grindelwald within - so to speak.     

In MAN AND HIS SYMBOLS talks about different types of hero journeys 
in mythology.  One is the Twin archetype which seems to correspond 
with the conscious and unconscious uniting journey.  "Though the 
Twins are said to be the sons of the Sun, they are essentially human 
and together constitute a single person.  Originally united in the 
mother's womb, they were forced apart at birth.  Yet they belong 
together, and it is necessary - though exceedingly difficult to 
reunite them."  p113 MAN AND HIS SYMBOLS.  Hmmmm, reminds me of what 
JKR says in interviews on how she knows what is coming for Harry.

Reuniting is difficult because we have to accept that we have a 
different side to our nature.  Joseph Campbell described it in POWER 
OF THE MYTH (page #'s from paperback), "Heaven and hell are within 
us, and all the gods are within us.  ....They are magnified dreams, 
and dreams are manifestations in image form of the energies of the 
body in conflict with each other.  That is what myth is.  Myth is a 
manifestation in symbolic images, in metaphorical images, of the 
energies of the organs of the body in conflict with each 
other......The brain is one of the organs."  p46.   Hence the 
placement of Harry's scar?  Hence why it hurts so much when he is 
aware of Voldemort?   MAN AND HIS SYMBOLS puts it this way,   "Yet in 
order to sustain his creed, contemporary man pays the price in a 
remarkable lack of introspection.  He is blind to the fact that with 
all his rationality and efficiency, he is possessed by "powers" that 
are beyond his control. "  p83 

According to MAN AND HIS SYMBOLS, some things that need to happen to 
Harry in the process of merging:

"It would be relatively easy if one could integrate the shadow into 
the conscious personality just by attempting to be honest and to use 
one's insight.  But, unfortunately, such an attempt does not always 
work.  There is such a passionate  drive within the shadowy part of 
oneself that reason may not prevail against it.  A bitter experience 
coming from the outside may occasionally help; a brick, so to speak, 
has to drop on one's head to put a stop to shadow drives and 
impulses.  At times a heroic decision may serve to halt them, but 
such a superhuman effort is usually possible only if the Great Man 
within ( the Self) helps the individual to carry it through."  p173.

"Only if I remain an ordinary human being, conscious of my 
incompleteness, can I become receptive to the significant content and 
processes of the unconscious." p217.

Could Harry's passionate drive be he'll never go over to the dark 
side?  Then there are the bitter experiences.  In THE ALCHEMISTS TALE 
by John Granger, he explains in alchemy that there is a black, white, 
and red phase to alchemy.  Black has died.  Albus is white in Latin, 
and Rubeus is red in Latin.  Two more deaths?  Two more bitter 
experiences before Harry is conscious of his incompleteness and 
becomes receptive to the processes of the unconscious?  Will the 
alchemy of Sirius, Dumbledore, and Hagrid form the Great Man within 
to help Harry "carry it through".  

Four interesting quotes from MAN AND HIS SYMBOLS about the forces of 
opposites:

"(Greek thinkers) postulated the existence of a sort of life-
giving "tension" (tonos), which supports and moves all things."  
p306  .

"for Jung saw that the relationship between the conscious and 
unconscious mind also forms a complementary pair of opposites." pg 308

"This is that every personification of the unconscious--the 
shadow......, and the Self -- has both a light and a dark aspect.  We 
saw before that the shadow may be base or evil, an instinctive drive 
that one ought to overcome.  It may, however, be an impulse toward 
growth that one should cultivate and follow.  In the same way the 
anima and animus have dual aspects:  they can bring life-giving 
development and creativeness to the personality, or they can cause 
petrification and physical death."  page 216.

"We can also see that the arrangement of archetypal symbols follows a 
pattern of wholeness in the individual, and that an appropriate 
understanding of the symbols can have a healing effect.  And we can 
see that the archetypes can act as creative or destructive forces in 
our mind; creative when they inspire new ideas, destructive when 
these same ideas stiffen into conscious prejudices that inhibit 
further discoveries."  pg 304.

I believe both Dumbledore and the Weasley twins exhibit the 
creativeness in the last two quotes, and I believe that is the 
journey Harry is heading for.  In the Weasley twins, the pair of 
opposites leading to creativity is shown in GOBLET OF FIRE p566 when 
they are arguing about blackmailing Ludo Bagman for not paying them 
in real gold.  This is  ....when the conscious and unconscious have 
learned to live at peace and to complement one another."  p14 
Introduction MAN AND HIS SYMBOLS.  The twins are mischievous like 
their hero Dumbledore, but they know where that line is.   Their joke 
shop creativity is also an example of when the dual aspects of the 
personality that brings "life-giving development and creativeness to 
the personality". p216  The Weasley twins consciousness and 
unconsciouness are in balance and it has brought them success.

I believe this is Harry/Voldemort's final journey:  "In the case of 
an adult, a sense of completeness is achieved through a union of the 
consciousness with the unconscious contents of the mind.  Out of this 
union arises what Jung called "the transcendent function of the 
psyche," by which a man can achieve his highest goal:  the full 
realization of the potential of his individual self."  p149 MAN AND 
HIS SYMBOLS.  Hmmm, so Harry can grow old, have twelve children, and 
become the Minister of Magic? 

Of course I have given you the dry research version of what might 
happen.  Even if I'm right, it will still be interesting to see how 
JKR's imagination will accomplish this merger.  Will Neville and 
herbology be instrumental?  Mimbelus mimbletonia?  Ah, that is a 
lighter post for the near future.

Ok, let the swatting of the gadfly begin.

Gadfly McLellyn