Conspiracy theory

[Smythe, Boyd T {FLNA}]

No: HPFGUIDX 115846

Wow, Carolyn, now that's a Fantastic Post! You have truly outdone yourself
this time. Thanks from all us mortal listees.
 
Personally, I continue to be torn on these questions. While my heart longs
for the beguiling excitement of Agent!Peter or any of the various ESE!'s, my
head tells me that JKR has done little to set up her readers for many
role-reversals within the Marauders. A simple reading doesn't force one to
ruminate on who is truly ESE or whether Peter might be a double for DD. It
is entirely possible that in a non-MD world, everything is just as it seems:
Lupin and Sirius were somewhat damaged characters who tried but failed to do
the right thing at times; Peter was a weak-willed tag-along friend who fell
into a bad situation and chose a dark path that he might well regret, but is
now trapped in; DD is a well-meaning wizard who knows lots but not all and
who tries to beat LV and save OOP'ers, but sometimes fails.
 
And in the next two (just two!) books, can JKR really illuminate enough of
these back-stories to make any about-faces by the characters believable? I
would have expected some of that in OoP, but there was little of substance
to support MD or any other conspiracy theory. Further, she has been more
open in her recent interviews yet has said little to imply that her
characters are not what they appear. In fact, she has positively bristled at
questions regarding ESE motives of her characters, particularly those close
to Harry. Combined with her continuing statements that DD always tells the
truth, these factors make for a difficult road for the conspiracy theorists.
 
IMHO, the best arguments for the conspiracy theories are 1) simply the
existence of the Marauders in the story in the first place; JKR has built a
world that may be too rich in secondary characters for them all to be the
simple plot devices that they have served up 'til now. I mean, did we really
need 4 Marauders, 4 founders, Neville and the rest? And 2) how can the final
events take place in such a way that LV dies meaningfully (i.e. with some
type of moral resonance) unless either Harry has walked through a Job-like
end-game or LV is betrayed by his own most "faithful servant."
 
Here's another question: if the plot leaves us capable of filling in so many
possible theories on each character, then how good has JKR's writing been,
really? And I think the answer comes down to, what kind of books are these
really, mysteries or tales of morality like most children's books? If they
are mysteries, then JKR's spare writing style with its minimalist character
descriptions and ever-present ambiguity is simply *perfect*. Of course,
there'll be no bangy ending to the series if they're just mysteries.
However, if these are also a giant morality tale then she is hurtling her
readers toward an ending that truly has meaning, but how can she hope to
build much of a crescendo when all of her instruments/characters are so
imperfect/amorphous? It'd be like trying to make a new Disney version of
Snow White where the dwarves were all back-stabbers and Snow White's prince
a conniving git: too much noise. Perhaps she wrote the characters a bit more
ambiguous than she intended; perhaps we are all supposed to *know* by now
that DD is playing at MD and that Peter is a doubloe-agent. Let's hope not!
 
Now, I love the books (obviously) and I'll absolutely continue to describe
JKR as a wonderful author whose prose is a joy to read. But I remain
concerned that the final chapters of this story could be a let-down for
many.
 
Poor Jo, she has set herself an enormous task if she is to meet any of our
expectations in the final two books!
 
boyd
hoping I'm wrong on all counts


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