The Mirror and the Heart

[Jen Reese]

No: HPFGUIDX 105260

Iris:
> Since the first time I read the series, I had this feeling: maybe 
> the Mirror of Erised is a two-way mirror, and it will play a part 
in 
> the outcome. 
> I always thought that the sentence written `back to front' on the 
> frame wasn't just a pleasant detail, a game between JKR and her 
> readers. I suppose it's written `back to front' because it's 
> actually the reverse of an inscription you can read `normally' 
when 
> you stand on the other side of the mirror. The Mirror of Erised 
> could be just like the Stone Arch in the Death Chamber: a gate 
> between two worlds, two dimensions or two realities. JKR herself 
> suggests that the Mirror is maybe just a gate, when she writes in 
> PS/SS (chapter 12): "The Potters smiled and waved at Harry and he 
> stared hungrily back at them, his hand pressed flat against the 
> glass as though he was hoping to fall right through it and reach 
> them."
> And at the end of the book, the Philosopher's Stone passes through 
> the mirror, from Harry's reflection to Harry himself.

Jen: Hi Iris! I agree with you that the Mirror works on two levels, 
although my belief is the deeper level is symbolic rather than 
literal. If the Eyes are a window to the Soul, then certainly as 
your title says, this particular Mirror is a window to the Heart. 
That symbolism alone would be enough for me, but then we have the 
inscription as well. 

You mentioned being able to read the inscription 'normally' on the 
other side (in another reality or dimension). I was thinking more 
that the Inscription is a mirror-image of itself, symbolizing Harry 
& Voldemort. Or psychologically speaking, you can't really know 
yourself until you take a good look in the mirror (see all aspects 
of yourself).

The other reason I don't think the Mirror is literally an Archway, 
like the Veil, is because of what David mentions in post #105252--
Dumbledore can fiddle with it, 'set' it somehow. Him fiddling around 
with an Archway to another world seems almost equivalent to 
Voldemort fiddling with mortality, or someone messing with time--you 
open yourself up to dangerous consequences. 

Iris:
> The Mirror, in PS/SS, represents the seventh ordeal Harry has to 
> pass through to find the Stone. If you acknowledge (as I do) that 
> the seven ordeals are a summary and a metaphor of the whole series 
> (1st ordeal= 1st book, etc
), well, you can suppose we'll see the 
> Mirror again (the Mirror, or something similar) in the seventh 
book.

Jen: I've always liked this theory of yours and think the Seventh 
Ordeal will involve the Veil. The Mirror symbolizes this when placed 
as the last task for Harry to 'overcome' in his search to defeat 
Voldemort.

Iris: 
> And, maybe, Sirius' small mirror will play a part in the outcome. 
> Simply because mirrors, small or huge, play an important part in 
> initiatory processes. For example, they are used in the Masonic 
> loges; the initiate is locked in what they call a `meditation 
room', 
> where he/she finds a curtain and the following sentence: `If you 
> have a genuine wish, if you possess courage and intelligence, draw 
> this curtain.' 

Jen: My favorite line in HP is when Harry is staying at the Leaky 
Cauldron, with the talkative mirror: "I'm *not* going to be 
murdered." "That's the spirit, dear."  Lol. A humourous way to 
remind us Harry is being initiated to take a journey, but humor will 
play a role in along the way.

Iris:
<snipped JKR's explanation of why Harry doesn't open Sirius' parcel>
> Harry doesn't want to know what is wrapped in the parcel his 
> godfather has given him, because he worries for Sirius, and 
doesn't 
> want to endanger him. It's because he loves his godfather, but 
also 
> because of what happened before Christmas, because of the 
nightmare 
> he had  in which he `was' a snake and `attacked' Arthur Weasley. 
At 
> that moment, Harry is afraid of himself. He doesn't know what is 
> happening, and he probably prefers not to know, because he could 
> discover terrible things, things he is not ready to face yet. He 
> doesn't know whether that horrible nightmare didn't reveal what he 
> is actually. He is confronted with a terrible possibility: he 
could 
> turn out to be a monster himself, just like the Basilisk he killed 
> three years before, just like Voldemort. 

Jen: Very nice thoughts here Iris. And I think once again JKR is 
giving us the 'mirror-image' symbolism of Harry & Voldemort. But 
mirror images are clearly not the same, instead they are a reverse 
projection, and they are still 'in essence divided.'

Idea by David in post #105252:
> Another thought about Harry's scar.  It is easy to think of it as 
a 
> disfiguring thing, the visible sign of a lurking inner Voldemort, 
> but that's not true.  Harry got the scar, not because Voldemort 
> cursed him, but because Harry, with Lily's protection, repelled 
that 
> curse.  So the scar is in some way connected to Harry's strength, 
> and if he focuses on it, despite it being a source of pain and a 
> conduit (seemingly) for evil, he will understand his power.  

Jen: The source of Harry's power is the source of Voldemort's 
defeat, "the critical and central question" JKR talked about on  
World Book Day. Linked together by the scar, they are mirror images 
once again. In psychological terms, Harry has to accept his shadow 
side and integrate all the aspects of himself, including his anger 
and hatred, to defeat Voldemort. Tom Riddle could never do that. He 
shut off his feelings, his consciene, his intuition, and turned into 
a monster. All those parts he rejected built up into his irrational 
fear of death. I like the idea that Harry's scar is his source of 
power, and not the pain he's grown accustomed to so far.