Theoretical boundaries

[delwynmarch]

No: HPFGUIDX 120238


Lupinlore wrote:
"Once again, I think that if you approach the books as a fun piece of
 literature -- words on a page -- then being frivolous is easy.  If
you feel a deep emotional resonance with them, as I think many, many
people do, then being frivolous or light is often out of the question."

Del replies:
One of the problems is that JKR changed the rules of the game halfway
through the series.

In SS/PS, the book that got me hooked, the Dursleys' abuse of Harry
was *hilarious*. And the whole book wasn't very serious either. Sure
there were a few unpleasantnesses happening once in a while, but
overall the impression was one of fun and joke. I remember that we wre
reading the book out loud in my English class at work, and we were
very often doubled with laughter.

Things got gradually darker with each book, but some things remained,
like the fact that the Dursleys were nothing more than a bunch of
ridiculous standing jokes. Sure they were abusing Harry every now and
then, but the very way JKR was describing those attempts denied their
seriousness.

But now *everything* is serious, dark and somber, there aren't any
jokes anywhere anymore, we're not allowed to take *anything* lightly
anymore, even though we were encouraged, or even forced, to do so in
previous books.

That's quite a discrepancy.

Del