Yet More Jumbled Thoughts

[jmgarciaiii]

No: HPFGUIDX 133716

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "houyhnhnm102" <celizwh at i...> 
wrote:
> For 
> 16 years, Dumbledore's goal has been to raise Harry to adulthood 
and 
> provide him with all the knowledge he will need to defeat 
Voldemort.  
> He dies as his work is completed and in a manner that manages to 
save 
> a child from becoming a killer.

But...but...*has* that task been completed? IMO, all that Harry's 
left with is knowledge of Horcruxes (Horcrucis?). So, let's assume 
Harry finds each Horcrux LV's left behind...then what? He hides in 
the Diagon Alley School Book Depository and aims an AK at LV? He 
duels with LV and shoots first and LV says "Oh, right. Yes, dead. 
Sorry, I'll lie down now."? My biggest worry is that Harry does not 
have the "chops" to kill LV. He plays defense well, but he is not 
someone generally considered a powerful wizard. Will he acquire 
these skills in the process of finding each Horcrux?

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "adairfletch" 
<adairfletch at y...> wrote:
> anthyroserain wrote:
> > I'm not sure what you mean by "all the anti-feminist JKR 
opinion." 
> > All I've seen was my post, and a lot of other posts criticizing 
> > it. You're definitely in the popular camp, so no need to put 
your 
> > neck out. 
> > 
> > I don't believe I ever said that JKR wasn't a feminist. 
Certainly 
> > she is. But I do think her depictions of women in HPB come off 
as 
> > rather old-fashioned and cliched, and though they may not be 
> > particularly objectionable individually, as a whole I think they 
> > make an unsettling picture. 
> Yeah, Molly is the given stereotype, but Hermione, Fleur, Tonks, 
and 
> I'll add McGonagall, Luna especially, Bellatrix, Maxime, and 
>numerous others break traditional female archetypes.  And that's 
>the one thing I have always respected JKR for the most: she's 
>demolished fantasy archetypal characters in her series, and 
>replaced them with vivid, three-dimensional characters.  I 
>personally believe JKR has succeeded in giving all girls at least 
>one female character to which they can relate, or can recognize 
>from their own lives.

Now, perhaps I am addled by a Y chromosome, maybe it's because I am 
not remotely progressive...but I reread the passages in question 
and, having stared at them and blinked a while, just don't see the 
forest nor the trees of this argument. For example, mentioning that 
Merope MIGHT HAVE lost her magical powers as a result of her 
unhappiness as re. Tom Riddle, Sr., and asking "But does it ever 
happen to *men*?" leads me to ponder when has this been mentioned as 
having happened to *anyone*? 

I liked that Ginny was able to firmly disagree with Hermione, and I 
didn't see it as some sort of statement on what it takes to make a 
woman "succeed" or what that definition of "success" is/ought to be. 
Is pugnacity an anti-feminist trait?

However, I kind of thought it was interesting that while it was 
sweet that Fleur said she'd never abandon Bill because of his scars, 
Anthyroserain said: "I can't help but think that we would *never* 
see the reverse, gender-wise." To which I wonder...why is it so 
readily assumed the male is the one fixated on looks? I think the 
reason that was written as was--and eleventy gazillion times more 
interesting--is that this scene provides Fleur with new depth. Prior 
to this it is assumed she is shallow and vapid and only involved 
with Bill because he is handsome and cool.

Personally, I think JKR portrays women and men as both being equally 
capable of bravery, intelligence, evil, sadism, love, hate. Hogwarts 
has had headmistresses since the era of cavepersons. I think at no 
point is a character's behavior(s) chalked up to sex roles, i.e., if 
Neville is forever losing Trevor The Toad, it's not because he's a 
boy, it's because he is, well, Neville. I'm not particularly 
horrified that the only characters portrayed as inept (Lockhart), 
scavenging (Mundungus), treacherous (Pettigrew) or toadying 
(Slughorn) are men. :-) <Bespoke flame suit on.>

Now, on a completely different front, I am of the opinion that the 
gum wrappers Alice hands Neville are a HUGE clue as to the 
whereabouts of a horcrux.

-Joe in SoFla