CHAPTER DISCUSSION: Chapter 21, The Eye of the Snake
justcarol67
justcarol67 at yahoo.com
Sat Jul 3 02:48:13 UTC 2004
No: HPFGUIDX 104134
> > 2. Is it significant that the first Thestral appears between two
> yew
> > trees?
>
> Meri: I am fairly sure that the yew means death, so that was a nice
> bit of symbolism on JKR's part.
Carol:
Actually the yew tree, although parts of it are poisonous, is
traditionally planted in graveyards as a symbol of immortality. JKR
mentions yew trees in the graveyard scene in GoF fairly near the point
at which "the bone of the father" (Tom Riddle Sr.) unwittingly renews
his son. And more significantly, Voldemort's wand is made of yew, a
darker parallel to Harry's, which is made of holly, a traditional
Christian (and pagan) symbol of rebirth. My thought is that Voldemort
mistakenly longs for *earthly* immortality, whereas true rebirth is
spiritual and occurs after we embark on the "last great adventure,"
which is death. Doesn't sound very promising for Harry, though, so I
hope I'm misinterpreting here.
Carol
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