A good narrative strategy (was Re: All the World's Problems; )

[lupinlore]

No: HPFGUIDX 125894


<SNIP>
> 
> Alla:
> 
> I see what you are saying and I perfectly understand where you are 
> coming from, but I think I agree with Geoff - if such collision of 
> two worlds were to happen in JKR's world, I would not think that it 
> requires any more suspension of disbelief than the acceptance 
> of "magical world". You know, to me it would just mean that wizards 
> are known in JKR's muggle world, that is all.
> 
> Again,  the only reason why I sort of cared about possible collision 
> is because I thought and still think that JKR is going for the 
> radical reshaping of the morals of WW  and that collision with 
> muggles would somehow influence it.
> 
> 
> JMO,
> 
> Alla

I understand what you are saying Alla, and the only response I can
give at the moment is that JKR just doesn't seem very interested in
those kinds of plot developments.  It's a shame in a way, but
nevertheless based on what she has said in her interview I think it's
true.  Maybe a lot of the fun for her comes from hypothesizing this
radically separate world and she feels like the enjoyment would
disappear if she brought things closer to the Muggle world.  

The WW as she describes it has a LOT of glaring faults, but it is also
simpler, more personal, and filled with issues that, for all the
greyness and murkiness we sometimes see in the books, are still quite
a bit neater than those faced by the Muggle world.  Evil and Good are
relatively clear in the WW world compared to ours, and it is possible
still to have romance and heroism in a pure sense.

I suspect that JKR is often very disappointed and disapproving of the
things she sees in the real world.  I in no way mean to mock her or
belittle her for that, because a lot of people are less than enchanted
with modern life.  But she has said firmly she does not believe in
magic, and her depictions of Little Whinging hint that she has a less
than favorable view of the kind of Middle Class ethos that dominates
so much of the culture, society, and politics of the Anglo-American
world.  We know that much of her own life, including her first
marriage and, if the media are to be believed, her relationship with
her father, has been filled with difficult and long-lasting problems. 

I suspect that the WW is very attractive to her because, for all its
inadequacies, it is still a smaller, simpler world of romance and
adventure and heros and magic where Good can face Evil in a literal
way, and where a brave individual can make a fundamental difference
through heroic action and determination to follow what is right.  To
mix that with the "real" world, that is the stuffy, complicated,
murky, Muggle world where romance and heros sometimes seem like things
for childrens books; where individual initiative often seems to mean
nothing against the iron wheels of economics and the quagmires of
political interest;  where even in the pursuit of good and right
collective action, organization, and professionalism are often more
important than bravery and heroism;  where the society of Little
Whinging is often the dominant factor; where Good and Evil are often
difficult to define and once defined, to do anything with; might well
seem to her to be a betrayal.

I think we might see some basic change in the morals and ethos of the
WW.  But I suspect it will come from within the WW itself with any
Muggle influence being indirect.  That way JKR can preserve her fun
and avoid all the messy entanglements that might otherwise arise.


Lupinlore