Petunia and love for Lily? NOT

[jjjjjuliep]

No: HPFGUIDX 137686

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "hickengruendler" 
<hickengruendler at y...> wrote:
> --- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "jjjjjuliep" <jjjjjulie at a...> 
> wrote:
>  
> > From a more literary point of view:  JKR isn't really given to 
> > cheap stunts in the books.  I can't see an episode in Book 7
> > where someone suddenly gets superhuman powers to turn the tide. 
> > All of Harry's victories have come as a result of study and/or 
> > practice, coupled with his bravery. 
> 
> Hickengruendler:
> 
> Like when the Ford Anglia saved Harry and Ron from the spiders? Or 
> when Grawp appeared right in time to chase off the centaurs? Or
> when first the Order members and later Dumbledore appeared exactly 
> at th right time in the Department of Mysteries to help Harry and
> Neville? Or when Fawkes appeared in the Chamber of Secrets because
> Harry believed in Dumbledore? I agree that Harry is very brave and
> has also learnt a lot of things that were helpful to him in the
> fight, but JKR never was above using a Deus Ex Machina, if she felt
> it was necessary.

None of these are examples of deus ex machina.  Let's take the car as 
an example:

1. The car is used twice as a flying car, first to rescue Harry from 
the Dursleys and then for Harry and Ron to get to Hogwarts.

2.  The car is shown to have a mind of its own when it ejects Harry 
and Ron from it after it hits the Whomping Willow.

3.  The car goes off to live in the forest.

In that we know 

1. the car is magical
2. it can act on its own and make decisions on its own
3. it lives in the forest,

how is it coming to their rescue in the forest an example of deux ex 
machina?

With respect to the rest of the examples:  all of these 
people/characters/animals/items exist prior to their use.  We know 
who Fawkes is before he rescues Harry.   We meet Grawp before he 
rescues the boys.  We know all about the Order of the Phoenix and who 
is in it.  Having these items we know about come to save the day are 
not examples of dei ex machinis as they are not entirely new 
characters, completely unrelated to the story as previously told, who 
are dropped from the sky.  They are previous plot elements who turn 
up in places we might expect them:  the car and Grawp do live in the 
forest after all.  We know Fawkes does come to those who are loyal to 
Dumbledore.  

Having a character who previously told us that he or she could not do 
any magic whatsoever suddenly do magic and save Harry's life is a 
deus ex machina.  There is a big difference between that and the car, 
for example.  

> I don't think that JKR's "but" after her answer about Petunia 
> indicates that Petunia is the one, who performed magic late in
> life. I think with "but" she meant that Petunia is a muggle, but
> her situation is comparable to that of a Squib, since she, too, has
> background information about the wizarding world, without being
> able to be a part of it.

I don't think JKR's "but" means anything at all.  Nothing at all.  
The interview we have is a transcription of a live interview.  People 
speak differently than they write, they misspeak, they use ummms and 
hmmms, they start sentences they don't intend to finish, and they 
often carry on conversations with the questioner, the moderator 
and/or the audience.  IMO way to much is being read into an 
interjection from a live interview.

jujube