Seven Sins/Virtues in HP

[Kelly]

No: HPFGUIDX 97964

Hello,

I have been watching the group for a long time, but haven't posted in 
a while.  I'm interested in recent postings referencing religious 
materials and applying them to the HP world.  I thought I would share 
with you all an essay that I have been working on this week (yes, 
just fun).  It isn't even close to being finished and I excluded some 
of my notes on the sins, as I am more interested in the virtues and 
their application.  I would be interested in anyone's reaction or 
thoughts on it.  Please be gentle.  I haven't had my books for a 
while as they are all on loan to friends and my kids.


Most discussions of the seven deadly sins relate to how the sins 
separate one from God or Godliness.  Since the Harry Potter books 
seem to exclude the fundamentals of any particular religion, the 
first hurdle to understanding how the sins and virtues affect the 
Harry Potter themes and characters  is to translate God into a 
Potterverse concept.  This is more difficult than it appears. 
"God" in the Potterverse could be self-growth, which would
fit the themes nicely for the most part.  

The second caveat is how the sins and virtues fit the books.  Is it 
a "one sin/virtue per book" theme or do all the sins and
virtues cover all of the books?  Certainly, if one looks hard enough, 
one could find examples of every sin and virtue in every book.  So, 
should we try to see what the prevalent sin/virtue theme of each book 
is and focus on that?  It is certainly tempting, since that may give 
insight into the final two books in the series.  It is also tempting 
because of the seemingly obvious relation of "seven sins to seven 
books."  

The most interesting tie in with the overall theme of the books is 
with the sin of Wrath.  Wrath is not only anger, but anger that 
replaces all feelings of love.

"Wrath is anger manifested in the individual who spurns love and
opts instead for fury."   http://deadlysins.com/sins/anger.html

Wow, sound like anyone we know?  Voldemort is almost the embodiment 
of Wrath.  Of course, I could argue Voldemort being guilty of any of 
the sins (well lust may be hard unless you remove it from it's sexual 
connotation and make it lust for power).  However, I think Wrath is 
where the author is going with Volde.  The idea that Harry can defeat 
him with a power he knows not fits right into this nicely.

The seven virtues can also lend themselves nicely to the themes of 
each book.  Working in order from Faith to Prudence, I can almost 
certainly see these themes translating to the series.

1. Faith -  (belief, trust, fidelity, loyalty, conviction)

- Many leaps of faith are taken.  The first being Harry leaving with 
Hagrid.  More noticeable is Harry's leap of faith entering
Platform 9 3/4.

2. Hope -  (desire, reliance, expectation)

- Griffindor's sword as well as the appearance of Fawkes at the 
pinnacle of the fight between Harry and Tom Riddle would be an 
example of how this fits the second book.

3. Charity -  generosity benevolence helpfulness mercy

- Harry's mercy shown toward Petigrew/ Wormtail in PoA.  Mercy is
a major theme in the Shrieking Shack.

- Dumbledore shows mercy and benevolence in allowing Lupin to teach 
at the school.  Without this act of Mercy Harry may not have learned 
the Patronus charm.

4. Fortitude -  (strength courage resoluteness endurance)  

- Strength of mind that allows one to endure pain or adversity with 
courage.

- Harry taking part in the tasks and doing his best despite the odds 
shows great fortitude.  It would have been easy for Harry to play the 
underdog and just "get by."

- Harry's decision to not die crouched behind a headstone and to 
stand and die like a man is a great example of fortitude.  Really GoF 
is filled with examples of this virtue.

5. Justice - (impartiality, fairness, equity, rightness, dispassion)

- OoTP is the perfect book for this virtue.  In the end justice is 
dealt to the Death Eaters and Harry and Dumbledore are shown to have 
been right to the Wizard World. 

-  Dispassion is part of Justice.  Doing what is right despite how it 
may hurt.  This is extremely reminiscent of Dumbledore and how he 
is "ignoring" Harry.  It also plays into DD's speech at the end about 
sacrificed countless unnamed faceless wizards for Harry (in other 
words a lack of the virtue of Justice).


This brings us to the final two virtues.  It is always speculation 
how they will fit the final books.  However, they may give us a clue.

6. Temperance -  (moderation restraint self-mastery frugality 
sobriety.  Moderation and self-restraint, as in behavior or 
expression.)

- Maybe Harry will have to master some of those raging teen angst 
feelings.

7. Prudence - (wisdom vigilance carefulness thoughtfulness 
discretion) 

- "constant vigilance"

Well, that's all I have right now.  I actually became so interested 
in this idea that I am writing a much longer essay on it.  Hopefully, 
I will have my books back soon so I can hammer out the details with 
text (I feel like I have become the local HP lending library).