[HPforGrownups] JKR borrowings [was: How can LV win the war]

[bufo_viridis at interia.pl]

No: HPFGUIDX 93310

> Gadfly McLellyn:
> I had the feeling that JKR was purposely borrowing so that when her 
> schoolchildren readers get to the point of reading/learning 
> Shakespeare (Weird Sister/MacBeth), mythology, latin, or whatever 
> borrowed references they encounter then the kids will be more 
> comfortable with it because they will remember it in a fun context.  
> It will be a bit familiar and help them when they get to the next 
> level of education.  I thought she had a purpose in all that 
> borrowing. Wotcha think?  Gadfly McLellyn 

I am sure her borrowings - most of them at least - were conscious. She's having great fun with the names etc. She also shows some "uncounscious influences" - e.g. it has been several times (I guess on this list as well) discussed about C.S.Lewis' Narnia and HP World similarities, even though there are no direct quotations.
I think she does not employ the folklore/mythology/etc. elements with the educative goal in mind and thanks God, for two reasons. First it will be misleading, since she twists her mythologies fairly often. Second - books written with purpose in mind rarely makes a good reading, contrary to HP.
I guess she is just playing with themes and subjects and she does it gracefully. She is very "postmodernist" in this respect (please, save your tomatoes for beter target; I use the p* word in the meaning of "culture of quotations").
Her substitutions of real word's things with their magical counterparts are usually quite funny and that gives a lighter touch to the books. She has several briliant ideas, which were logically developed in the later books (e.g. moving portraits - which can be used to send messages). SO she gets good marks for continity, IMO, even though her magic is quite "mechanistic".

Cheers, Viridis