[HPforGrownups] Re: "More wonderful and More Terrible than Death"

[Iggy McSnurd]

No: HPFGUIDX 88920

> 
> Annemehr:
> Oh, I think you are making a lot of sense!  For one thing, I think
> real truth is an even rarer commodity in this world than real love is.
>  I could even reason that Truth is what saved Harry from being
> possessed by Voldemort.  Harry, hoping Dumbledore would end the pain
> by killing him, is saved by the thought that he would see Sirius
> again.  I'm sure JKR means this to be the truth, a truth Harry needs
> to have reinforced by Luna later on, and so is important.
> 
> And you are so right to bring up Dumbledore and his reluctance to
> reveal the truth as he knows it.

Iggy de-cloaking here:

I think the real problem with this, as you inadvertently confirmed
yourself, is that all truth and realist is subjective.

There is a basic tenet of psychology that states:  There is no Truth,
there is only Opinion.  There is no Reality, there is only Perception.

To simplify:  What is True or Real to you, may not be True or Real to
me.  It's all subjective.

(There is "Truth", and there is "truth."  The latter of the two, is
something that is a fact that is provable beyond a reasonable doubt.
The former is an absolute regarding the nature of existence... at least,
IMHO.)

I'm still inclined to believe that what's behind the door is Love.  Love
exists in some form that shares a more common ground in more people's
perceptions.  For example:  Christians, Jews, Pagans, Hindus, Buddhists,
and Atheists can all find a common ground so far as Love is concerned.
But what each of those groups see as Truth (especially where religion is
concerned) is vastly different.

Love on its own, can be more terrible and more wonderful than death.

If you love someone with all your heart and they die, you feel as though
your soul has died... a fate worse than death.

When you love someone with your whole being and they leave you, you feel
that death would be preferable to the pain you endure.

When you love your child, or your spouse, with everything you have, you
would rather give your own life than ever see them come to harm.


On the other hand:

When you sacrifice yourself out of pure love, even death is an
acceptable price to pay for the well being and continued life of those
you love.

When you feel the love of others supporting you in your life, there is
nothing that you can't accomplish or endure.

If you feel true love within your heart, knowing that you have loved and
been loved, then when your time comes, you can face it with no regrets.

> Annemehr:
> 
> To take things one baby step further, how important is it that Harry
> now carries a scar on his right hand: "I must not tell lies?"
> Personally, I think this must have importance beyond the battle of
> wills between Harry and Umbridge.

Iggy again:

It already has proved important.  He has the scar on his hand because he
was not willing to betray what he had witnessed with his own eyes.  

Umbridge was attempting to conceal and invalidate what had happened, and
was willing to use any means to do so.

Harry knew that Voldemort had returned, that he had witnessed Cedric's
murder, and that they were all in danger.


Umbridge was trying to suppress any attempt to form an active resistance
to Voldemort, and any threat to Fudge's power.

Harry was leading a group that was secretly willing to break the law in
order to train to better defend themselves and those they care about
from Voldemort, and even from Fudge.


Those are just two examples of the Umbridge vs Harry battle of wills..
with lies being at the center of the whole issue.

(When Harry told the truth, Umbridge said he was lying.  Yet on the
other hand, Harry was willing to lie to defy Umbridge, Fudge, and
Voldemort...)


Otherwise, the theory is an interesting one to pursue.  (Let's see if
you can convince a definite skeptic on this issue.)


Iggy McSnurd

(*disappearing with a swirl of his invisibility cloak*)