Is Harry feeling guilty for being alive ?

[delwynmarch]

No: HPFGUIDX 117533


Alla wrote :
"Subconscious survivor guilt? Quite possibly. I always thought that 
guilt (for the most part imaginary one) is a very large part of who 
Harry's character is. The question I have again is when did it start
and how subconscious is it?"

Del replies :
The second answer is the easiest : in my idea, it's *completely*
unconscious. For now.
The first answer is on the same track as Carol's. Harry might have
already had a vague survivor's guilt as a child, thinking that he
survived a car crash that killed his parents. But IMO this vague guilt
became suddenly much sharper when Harry learned the truth : that his
parents had been murdered, but he survived. Surviving an accident is
pure lack. Surviving a murder is much more suspicious.
Moreover, kids have a special reflex of often thinking that whatever
bad happens to their parents is their fault. So learning that his
parents were killed but he survived might have driven Harry straight
to the conclusion : they died because of me. Why or how don't matter
to kids in those times : they just know it's their fault somehow.

Alla wrote :
"Sure, this guilt may develop when he learns the truth, but it also 
does not happen right away and by that time, he already has more 
positive reasons to fight - to protect people he loves."

Del replies :
*Everyone* wants to protect the people they love. But how many
11-year-old kids go and fight grown powerful wizards to prevent them
from obtaining some magical object ? Answer : 1. Plus the 2 that he
led into it (they were happy to follow, but I doubt they'd have done
it on their own). Harry's reaction in going after Snape/Quirrellmort
was NOT the normal reaction of an 11-year-old boy.

Alla wrote :
" So, in short my position is that guilt is there, just not developed
 from the early childhood. I think that his guilt over Cedric's and 
Sirius' deaths is MUCH stronger that any guilt over his parents death."

Del replies :
His guilt over Cedric's death is still very much unconscious. Harry
almost never *consciously* blames himself for that. He does it only in
his dreams.
As for his guilt over Sirius's death, it's not really there yet. But
it could be that when it does hit home (and with a little help from
the realisation that in some way his parents did *actually* die
because of him), it will burst his guilt-dam, finally releasing all
his guilt, and allowing him to see that most of it is imaginary and/or
undeserved. This in turn would allow him to make decisions based on
something more reasonable than unconscious guilt.

Del