[HPforGrownups] Cheering on Harry

[Hans Andréa]

No: HPFGUIDX 100825


Dear Friends, one and all,

 

I’ve been following the controversy about whether we love or hate Harry with avid interest. I hope I may be permitted to throw my point of view into the stew.

 

I’m very strongly of the opinion that the story of Harry Potter is not a normal children’s book, but an allegory of the triumph of goodness, truth and justice shining into this world from Supernature. What I’m trying to say is symbolised by the hippogriff. On earth it’s a clumsy, greedy and quite egocentric being. Listen to John Williams’ music as the hippogriff takes off: loud, awkward, harsh drumbeats. But as soon as the beast spreads its glorious wings it transforms into a sublime being of angelic beauty. The drumbeat stops and exhilarating music illustrates the ever higher soaring far above the earth with all its petty problems of good and evil. We see everything in a new perspective and are captivated by breathtaking scenery and a feeling of liberation.

 

Friends, if you can hold that short scene from the film in your minds you can perhaps understand what I’m trying to say. The transformation of the “horse” part of the animal to the “griffin” part is in my opinion the purpose of the Harry Potter book in seven volumes. What the book is saying is that we all have the potential to transform from a horse to a griffin; we all have the ability to take a run up and ascend into the sky and be released from the things that hold us tied down. In agreement with John Granger I’ve often described this process as Alchemy. Call it what you like; that’s not important. The important thing is that Supernature has always been calling humanity to rise up and liberate itself for millions of years. 

 

In brilliant contrast to 9-11 we have a new call from Supernature for humanity to transform from the hippo (horse) to the griff(in). THIS IS MY POINT: to make millions of people read this story, it’s been disguised as a children’s tale with all the genial characteristics that we all admire so much. How can I explain what I mean? You can look at the hippogriff and see just a clumsy animal that can walk or fly. But if we start using our faculty of reasoning coupled with a thirst for rising above the mundane, we can see that the hippogriff can symbolise the things I’ve said above. Another way to explain it might be this. You’re walking through a maze with red tinted glasses on (you, not the maze). On your way you will see only the green things. A person behind you is walking with green tinted glasses on. He will see a totally different maze. He will see only the red things. If you question the two people afterwards you will get two totally different experiences. Yet they both walked the
 same route.

 

This is I think where people are getting their different points of view. I know Harry Potter is a book that can be read on many levels, but to simplify things, let’s say there’s only two: the superficial story of a boy who goes to a school of wizardry - full stop - just a story and we take everything literally. And then there’s the totally symbolical instructions on how to transform from a clumsy earthbound quadruped to a angelic being soaring through great beauty. I guess most people in this group are somewhere in the middle – seeing the story literally but also conceding that things can symbolise abstract concepts.

 

I think people like Darren and Del are at loggerheads because they’re wearing differently coloured glasses. What they’re saying is quite sincere and true for them. But they’re talking about a different Harry Potter. They’re both right because they’re not reading the books the same way.

 

I’m convinced that the more people can see HP as a symbolical process of transformation, the more they’ll understand what the books are trying to say. May I modestly remind you that my predictions for book 5 came true?

 

Just one last point: Kneasy recently said something about me seeing everything Harry did out of love, or something like that. (Kneasy, correct me). Once again, differently coloured glasses. If we see Harry as a teenage boy and interpret his actions literally, OK I agree, some of the things he does are completely wrong; for example reading Filch’s letter (part 2?). But if we see Harry as an aspect of OURSELVES in the quest for the transformation, we can see that he indeed is a child of love in our own heart. Obviously to make the story the success it is, Jo has had to make Harry very human, complete with faults and teenage hormones and even hatred. That’s the literal version. But when we see Harry as the Golden Griffin (Gryffin d’or) struggling within us to fly away into the celestial regions, we love Harry with our whole heart and mind. Then we can excuse his faults as just literary devices to make him so identifiable with “everyman” as a flawed human being.

 

Just a thought (with acknowledgements to Steve)

Hans in Holland


		
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