The meanings of the titles

[annemehr]

No: HPFGUIDX 90377

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "davewitley" <dfrankiswork at n...> wrote:
> 
> Do the titles of the books have a significance beyond the obvious?
> 
> The old Stoned!Harry theory (described at 
> http://www.hpfgu.org.uk/faq/hypotheticalley.html#ps ) suggests that 
> the Philosopher's Stone is a metaphor for Harry himself.  He is the 
> thing that defeats the death of the wizarding world.

Annemehr:
I do love this theory!  Glad you brought it up!

<snip discussion of other books>

David:
> The Order of the Phoenix I have more trouble with.  I can't see a 
> convincing meaning beyond the surface one.  There is a latent theme 
> of unity (think of the Sorting Hat's song) even though it is mostly 
> worked out through examples of disunity and disconnection.  One 
> could argue that by 'ignoring' Harry over the year Dumbledore has 
> handed over leadership of the fellowship of the good to Harry, 
> nucleated in the six who visit the MOM and extended in the DA.  I 
> dunno.

Annemehr:
Oh, I like this post!  And yes, I think I have an underlying meaning for the title.

First of all, I just want to point out that when we are talking about the symbolism of the phoenix, we have to remember that there are 
two aspects to the creature: its manner of death and rebirth (which people easily remember, it seems), and also its attributes of 
courage and loyalty which it can confer to the pure of heart through its song while striking fear into the hearts of the evil.

I think the Order of the Phoenix itself is so named mostly for the hope that its members would be courageous and loyal and remain on 
the side of the light.  This probably reflects the surface meaning of the book title.

To go even deeper, though, I think the death of a phoenix by fire and its rebirth from the ashes relates very closely to what Harry has 
just gone through beginning in the graveyard of GoF and right through his fifth year.  He lived through the "fire" all year, which was 
miserable for him, and which culminated in the soul-crushing loss of Sirius and revelation of the prophecy.  In his meditation by the 
lake we find he has been reduced to "ashes," and in his meeting with Luna and his reaction to the Kings Cross sendoff I believe we 
see our first glimpse of the "tiny, wrinkled newborn" phoenix chick -- the beginning of the new Harry.  The descriptions of the 
immediate pre- and post-burning Fawkes in CoS note that he was very ugly (as many people complain of Harry's attitude and temper 
in OoP), yet the mature bird is very beautiful.

There is also a parallel with alchemy, I believe.  More knowledgeable people can correct me if needed, but I remember reading that in 
the alchemical process, the base materials you begin with must be completely *broken down* into their simplest, most elemental 
forms -- almost destroyed -- before they can be reconstituted into their highest, purest form, so:

Base metal --> Breaking down --> Lowest Form --> Reconstitution --> Pure Form (Alchemy, to the best of my memory)
Old Phoenix --> Fire --> Ashes --> Chick --> Mature Phoenix
Original Harry --> OoP Experiences --> Despair by Lake --> Luna, Kings Cross --> New Harry (in future books)

David:
> Any thoughts?   Is there a series of double meanings in the titles?  
> If so, does it point to anything?  Religion?

Annemehr:
Your post also reminds me of something Iris posted some time ago, which complements what you've said very well.  In her post 
(message #46992) she writes how she found that the seven obstacles Harry faced on the way to the philosopher's stone in PS/SS 
seem to parallel main ideas in each of the seven books.  For instance, first was Fluffy the three-headed dog, which seems to parallel 
the formation of HRH's friendship, the three into one committed unit.  Second was Devil's Snare (a snakey plant) down the trapdoor, 
which parallels Harry going *down* into the Chamber of Secrets and encountering the basilisk.  It goes on very convincingly -- I 
recommend reading it all.  It's also interesting to try to predict books six and seven likewise.

Iris, if she's reading this, may have more to add, and those more knowledgeable about alchemy may have to correct me somewhat, 
though I think I have the basic idea right.

Does any of this point to anything?  I think studying the titles as you have can certainly help us perceive the main themes of the 
books, for instance that (IMO) OoP was maybe more about the "remaking" of Harry than it was about what was hidden in the DoM.  I 
think everything you, Iris, and I have said makes it obvious that this is a very well-thought-out story indeed, where JKR has 
amalgamated much folklore and history, alchemy, and ideas from her own Christian religion into an extremely rich whole.  It is so rich, 
in fact, that it makes it very difficult to pick out what are the central relationships and symbols from what may just be conicidental.  It 
has us looking up the meanings of flowers and trees, astrology and star names, alchemical symbols, classical mythology and local 
folklore, runes, numerology, second meanings of names, Christian symbolism, literary references (Shakespeare, Gouge, ), and more 
I'm sure, as well as searching out parallels between different parts of the story itself (e.g. Grindelwald <--> Voldemort, Marauders <--> 
HRH).  A very good children's story indeed!

I'm looking forward to seeing how JKR weaves everything together in the end.

Annemehr
who went on surprisingly longer than expected