OOP: The unknown power

[Jim Ferer]

No: HPFGUIDX 119064


--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, Juli <jlnbtr at y...> wrote:
> 
> > Ignatia_wildfire wrote:
> > > I think it was obvious from the way Dumbledore
> > > spoke - I believe the power Harry has that
> > > Voldemort will never have is LOVE...
> > 
> Christopher replied:
> > I've said this before, and I'll say it again: I
> > really, really hope not.  If that were so, it 
> > would make the series fake, Disneylike, cartoonish, 
> > trite, cliche, and so forth.
> 
> 
> Now here I go-Juli-:
> I have to agree with Christopher, I'd hate if this
> power turned out to be love, it's just tacky and
> corny, like a children story, say Cinderella, The 3
> Little Bears and so many others. I know HP is a
> children's book and everything, but I think they're
> beyond that. 

Why disappointed? That power almost certainly is love; Dumbledore's
whole confession is about love, how love led him to his errors.

Love is a major theme through the whole series. Harry suffers in a
loveless house and then comes to Hogwarts to find friendship and a
world where he is loved.  Ron loves him; Hermione loves him;
Dumbledore loves him. And Harry loves them all back, and more.  When
love is slipping in OoP Harry has his darkest time; his darkness
begins to lift when he's reminded of compassion for Luna, trying to
get her stuff back so she can pack.

Love is much broader than we're used to thinking of it. It's the least
tacky and corny force there is, much more than Lizzy McGuire having a
crush on a cute boy in the hall.  It's the force that keeps soldiers
and firefighters looking out for each other, sometimes sacrificing
themselves for the sake of everybody else.

It's this force that makes this series unique, and its characters
fascinating.

Jim Ferer