Which way?

[Wanda Sherratt]

No: HPFGUIDX 101633

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, Barry Arrowsmith 
<arrowsmithbt at b...> wrote:
(much, much snipping)
> How's that for covering the angles? Not very good actually.    All 
> potential theories that Harry doesn't  win are ignored.    Sorry; 
> correction - a few wonder if Harry will go down and that Neville 
will 
> be the eventual saviour of the WW.
> 
> There are no serious theories suggesting that Voldy will win, 
though 
> since he and Harry are 'equal' it should be a 50:50 chance. But 
nobody 
> believes it will happen that  way.

I quite agree - I've never heard anyone put up a detailed scenario 
where not only Harry loses, but his entire "side" loses.  I don't 
know that it's necessarily timidity or narrow-mindedness that causes 
this, though.  Most people have great difficulty imagining 
something, well, unimaginable.  it's not just that we want a happy 
ending; we are almost hard-wired to believe in the triumph of good 
over evil, and light over darkness.  It's not just a Christian 
thing, though that's probably the main guiding light for the readers 
here, whether they believe or not.  It's basic to pretty much every 
religion and culture I've ever heard of.  The contrary is nihilism, 
and nihilism is pretty stony ground for the imagination to thrive in.

I've tried it, though.  I've tried to picture the absolutely darkest 
outcome possible for the Harry Potter series.  It starts with a 
confrontation between Harry and Voldemort that ends with Voldemort 
somehow conquering, but also setting off some sort of chain reaction 
that spreads through the entire wizarding world and wipes out 
everyone.  It ends with the regular muggle world continuing placidly 
on its way, not even noticing the disappearance of wizards and 
magic.  And that would explain why none of us, the readers, has met 
any of these magical folk - because they don't exist anymore!  Now, 
the problem with a scenario like this, is that it is basically 
meaningless.  It's Armageddon without any religious framework to 
give it significance. What are we supposed to make of a story where 
evil conquers and destroys everything?  I'm left wondering what was 
the point of the whole thing? There's nothing but silence.  It's not 
like any story I've ever read, and it's not really much like life, 
either.  

And I'm not one for protecting "the children" from every little bump 
and discomfort, but what parent is going to let an ending like that 
pass without comment?  And why would they want their kids to read a 
story which they will just have to contradict?

 *We* limit the possibilities we see, we're the ones in blinkers. 
> We have defined our own boundaries. This time we can't blame the 
author 
> - so  far as I can see she's never hinted that we should look in 
any 
> particular direction, just the opposite.
> 
> I for one  hope  that the  author has wider vision than most  of 
us  
> have, wider than most of us can imagine. That she'll still have 
the 
> capability to make us think, to challenge us to look at things 
> differently instead of presenting us with a conventional ending. 

Does she, though?  Is she really the sort of writer who will come up 
with the first nihilist fantasy for children?  That would be very 
original, and I don't think Rowling is really that original a 
writer.  Also, I don't detect that level of grimmness in her - I 
don't see her leaving her creation as a howling wilderness or 
blasted heath.  She's got too much humour to turn into Macbeth this 
late in the game.  I think it would just feel false and forced.

Wanda