Trelawney,Drink, MacBeth Witches (was Re: Part 3 of JKR's MN/TLC interview)

[Milz]

No: HPFGUIDX 134419

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "lorelei3dg" <lorelei3dg at y...>
wrote:
> --- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Milz" <absinthe at m...> wrote:
> > --- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, Meliss9900 at a... wrote:
> > > http://www.mugglenet.com/jkrinterview3.shtml
> > > 
> > > Theories are shot down left and right in this one.
> > > 
> > > 
> > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
> > 
> > Alot of interesting insight though. I was reading jkrowling.com last
> > night and read her MacBeth's Witches parallel there. But it's
> > interesting because it explains Trelawney's drinking probelm in
> > HBP---guilt.
> > 
> > Milz
> 
> 
> Lorel responds:
> Where did you read that Trelawney's alcoholism is caused by guilt? And 
> how do Macbeth's witches reflect this?

Ooops, I never meant to imply that Rowling chalks off Trelawney's
alcoholism to the prophecy, but rather it explains why she has taken
to the bottle. Trelawney stashing empty sherry bottles and stumbling
around Hogwarts drunk threw me for a loop when I read it.

In MacBeth, MacBeth meets the 3 witches one night and they tell a
prophecy that he will be king of Scotland. The only problem is for him
to become king, MacB had to murder people--which he does. So the
question has been if MacB never met the witches or if the witches
never told MacB of the prophecy, would he still have gone through with
the murders? 

The MacB Witches are criticized too: Arguments are made that the MacB
witches just gave MacB the info and what he did with it was his own
doing so the witches weren't culpable.  Likewise arguments are made
that the MacB witches could foresee the future, so that they knew by
giving him that info he would murder, in other words, they were as
culpable as MacB.

Rowling explains the MacB witch comparison breifly in the interview
and on her website: http://www.jkrowling.com/textonly/faq_view.cfm?id=84

"If neither boy was 'pre-ordained' before Voldemort's attack to become
his possible vanquisher, then the prophecy (like the one the witches
make to Macbeth, if anyone has read the play of the same name) becomes
the catalyst for a situation that would never have occurred if it had
not been made. Harry is propelled into a terrifying position he might
never have sought, while Neville remains the tantalising
'might-have-been'. Destiny is a name often given in retrospect to
choices that had dramatic consequences."

It's speculation on my part, but this prophecy-as-catalyst can be the
reason why Trelawney has developed a fondness for sherry (and I hope
she's drinking a nice fino or manzanilla sherry): she feels
responsible/guilty that her prophecy has caused and is causing misery.

Milz