The Scapegoat Archetype

[Victoria]

No: HPFGUIDX 89957

Frost:

Actually, for me it is that she doesn't stick with the archetypes. Yes, a lot of the characters have similarities, but they often break 
free of them....
<snip>
Snape fits no archetype that I can think of, and I think he is a 
extremely post-modern character...
<snip>
This isn't a morality play.  This isn't an allegory.  





Hi, I've just joined this group and this is my first post :) 

I think Snape actually might fall into an archetype; that of the 
Shapeshifter. The Shapeshifter's loyalities are ambiguous or will 
change at some point. They are there to produce tension as neither 
the Hero, nor the reader can ever be fully sure whether to trust 
them. They also often act as the catylyst for a change to occur in 
the Hero themselves. By the end, their true intentions are usually 
made clear, wherever their loyalities lie.

I do think that JKR uses archetypes, she seems to enjoy the fairytale 
model, but has adapted it in her own way, made it all more real, less 
predictable and therefore more meaningful to the audience. The 
characters can transcend their achetypical boundaries to become 
tangible people in their own right. I agree that it this ability to 
take 2-D paperdolls and breath real life into them, that makes me 
love her stories! Yet I also partially disagree with your assertion 
that the the Harry Potter stories are in no way akin to a morality 
play or an allegory. I think that in some ways this is precisely 
JKR's intentions. 

As each story has developed, the fictional world in which Harry lives 
has become increasingly more morally complex. JKR has discussed (I 
believe) that there are some allegorical aspects to the story. I'll 
admit that this is no Black&White After School Special lecture upon 
morality, but they are nonetheless, very moral books. We follow Harry 
as he struggles to make sense of this world with it's ever changing 
allegiances and threats. As all his pre-conceptions come tumbling 
around him and he is forced to adapt to new circumstances whilst 
things he took for granted were constant are suddenly snatched away 
from him. The reader is also invited to examine in detail the moral 
issues that are raised each step of the way. So I think they are 
moral stories, but very evolved ones. 

Sorry for rambling a little there - sleep dep ;)