Books 6 & 7 - tragedy or triumph? - rant

[Jen Reese]

No: HPFGUIDX 107435

Hans:
> Another member said a similar thing - amounting to the proposition 
that I am
> seeing more in the book than is actually there, or perhaps 
intended to be
> there.

Jen: Hi Hans! I do think there's a difference between seeing more in 
the books than is *actually* there and more than what is *intended* 
to be there. Of course, until JKR is finished writing and explains 
her motivations, it may be difficult to separate the two.

To the first idea, seeing what is actually there, most of us see 
something in the series that is the overarching theme of the seven 
books. I've grown to believe the series is about the process of 
alchemy and spiritual transformation, primarily because of the ideas 
you and Iris present here & the Granger article. I see the elements 
that you point out which are actually in the series and you make a 
compelling case for what you see.

Now for the idea of Intention, which I think is crucially important. 
That's the part none of us can fully answer. I think elements of any 
creative project come from different sources, even ideas that you 
forgot you read or saw somewhere else, and of course, inspiration. 
Do I think JKR sat down with the Alchymical Wedding and planned out 
her series based exactly on it? No. And of course that's totally my 
opinion and she may prove me completely wrong! I do think she's 
incorporating the stages of alchemy into the text, and that she uses 
the symbolism liberally in the books.

Hans: 
> Believe me, I've thought about this continuously for the last 
three years.
> People around me have also told me I'm putting symbolism into HP 
that simply
> isn't there. I've had attacks of doubt and have started my 
thinking again
> from scratch, but always I come back to the one and only one 
conclusion I
> reach every time: Harry Potter is one of the great calls from the 
free
> universe to the people imprisoned in this madhouse to go Path of 
Alchemy to
> reach total liberation. My life at the moment is filled with 
tingling
> excitement and I feel like someone who's just won the lottery but 
can't
> believe it's true. I've made this earth-shattering discovery and 
(most)
> people won't believe me.

Jen: Isn't that part of the process, though? Disbelief and rejection 
of an idea? None of us can make people see what they do not see. I 
find that a beautiful, rather than frustrating idea. Now *that* is 
true freedom! I think of someone like Nelson Mandela in real life or 
Sirius in fictional life--even imprisioned, they are free, because 
they chose to hang on to what they believed in despite torture, 
abuse, etc. In fact, what they believed in became stronger through 
rejection and imprisonment. Our thoughts and feelings are all we 
ultimately have control of in the end, even under the harshest of 
circumstances. Finding what you believe in is the most important 
thing, not whether you can convince anyone else of it. 

Some of the greatest leaders in the world never convinced more than 
a handful of people of their ideas, and some of the worst leaders 
convinced many people and led them to their doom. 

I don't think you will be "proven wrong" by Book 7. But even when 
all seven books are finally finished and JKR tells us more about her 
motivations and writing process, there will still be thousands of 
interpretations about what the books stand for, it's just 
inevitable. And the myriad reasons why we're all drawn to these 
books, the space between the words which speaks to each individual--
therein lies their beauty. 

Jen Reese