HP as Morality Play (was Re: Harry learning from Snape )

[dzeytoun]

No: HPFGUIDX 114678


--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "cubfanbudwoman" 
<susiequsie23 at s...> wrote:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I am so very tired of reading what Harry MUST do.  Harry/JKR will 
> decide what Harry MUST do, and we really can only sit here and 
> speculate.  I don't think any of us is in the position to keep 
> saying "CAN'T" and "MUST," etc.
> 
> Siriusly Snapey Susan

I would strongly disagree with that statement, but be that as it 
may.  I sense that you see in this (and I may be wrong) a kind of 
Christian parable with Harry being a sort of martyr/Christ figure.  
Certainly that is one way to interpret things.  Another way of 
looking at it (developing this from some of M.Clifford's posts) is 
that the characters all represent emotional/moral traits.  Thus Harry 
is Love, Voldemort is Hate, Snape is Bitterness, Remus is Calm, 
Dumbledore is Wisdom, etc.  In this context, the whole thing becomes 
a kind of fleshed out morality play very similar to the type of thing 
done in the Middle Ages where actors portraying different 
moral/emotional/psychological traits went through ritualistic actions 
to illustrate what were perceived as important truths.

I suppose if we look at HP as Morality Play then Wisdom nurtures Love 
which will defeat Hate.  In that case, the interplay between Snape 
and Harry (to use M. Clifford again) is about Bitterness devouring 
itself and bringing about its own destruction due to its inability to 
embrace Love.

I find that a more compelling symbolic explanation of what's going on 
than the more direct Christ analogy.  Of course, the two are not 
mutually exclusive.

Dzeytoun