Mental Discipline in the WW

[lupinlore]

No: HPFGUIDX 130301

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Tonks" <tonks_op at y...> wrote:
> We have debated all sides of the Occlumency situation.  Whoever we 
> blame for the failure of Harry to learn Occlumency, I think that we 
can 
> all agree that Occlumency is important skill to have when battling 
the 
> Dark Lord.  I think that that is the main thing that JKR wants us to 
> remember.  

Hmmm.  First of all, I don't think JKR is trying to teach anyone 
anything.  She is telling a story, within which Occlumency serves 
several purposes.  Given her horror of preaching and her stated 
disdain for stories and scenes built around particular "morals" to be 
told, I think advancing her story is what she is doing.  Any "moral" 
or "message" is at best secondary.

First of all, we can't really say that Occlumency is a vital and 
necessary skill for battling the Dark Lord, since most of the people 
who are battling him can't do it.  If it were that important, it would 
be a regular part of the Hogwarts curriculum.

We might argue that it is an important skill for Harry to have, but I 
wouldn't even want to go that far.  It wasn't Occlumency that saved 
Harry in the end, as several people have pointed out, and it wasn't 
calm and clearing his mind of emotion, but the exact opposite (i.e. 
FILLING himself with emotion).

Beyond specifics, what general themes was she introducing?  Well, 
there truly is the theme of control of emotions or lack thereof (in 
the case of both Snape and Harry).  There is the theme of Dumbledore 
and his responsibilities and mistakes.  There is the theme, oft 
mentioned by nrenka, of how the dysfunctional relationship between 
Harry and Snape has built up over the years to the point of disaster.  
There is the theme of memory and identity, and the way the past 
determines the present and the future.  And, of course, it laid the 
foundation, ultimately, for the "I'll never forgive him" scene at the 
end of OOTP, with all its dark implications for the future.  
Altogether, it IS an incredibly pregnant sequence, and it's no wonder 
Occlumency is a subject we keep coming back to.

How will these themes play out?  I don't think it's at all clear.  For 
instance how will the idea of controlling one's emotions appear in the 
last two books?  I don't know.  It could be a dominant theme.  It 
could, however, turn out to be merely a practical  matter (i.e. calm 
down Harry so we can talk).  It could be presented as a part of 
adolescent development (i.e. not so much that there are lessons to be 
learned as that this is just the process adolescents go through, 
hormones and all).  It could turn out to be a very ambivalent subject -
- for instance it might well turn out that while it's a bad idea to be 
completely controlled by emotion, it's a worse one to repress your 
emotions to the point of coldness (as Voldemort and to a certain 
extent Snape have done).

So, in short, I don't think we know enough at this point to say much 
at all about how the Occlumency episode and the themes it introduced 
will impact the last two books.  But, we don't have that long to wait.

Lupinlore