ANTIVIRUS - humble attempt of building a ship

[antoshachekhonte]

No: HPFGUIDX 129198

> I thought a while ago that one source of inspiration,
> probably secondary, for the plot of each book might be
> the illustration of one deadly sin versus one cardinal
> virtue. 
<Big Snip> 
>What now? If we agree to assign Sloth vs Zeal to PoA
> then we are left with Pride vs Humility and Gluttony
> vs Moderation. It is my belief that the two will be
> played hard in the following books, with bad guys
> paying for their greed, perhaps the Dursleys starting
> to see the light and allow for others' needs as well,
> and most importantly, Harry's modesty in front of
> fate, death included, prevailing over Voldemort's wish
> to live forever and rule the world. Percy's gluttony
> for power might also feature. Pride vs Humility is so
> important that I think it will be saved for the last
> book. Centaurs will have to lower their pride and
> collaborate with wizards. Wizards will have to stop
> believing themselve superior to muggles. Neville, as
> the humble one, might give even Harry certain lessons
> about the dangers of pride, not to mention that Harry
> himself will understand why James and Sirius'
> arrogance was not all that worthy of praise and
> discover in him the gentle strength of his mother.
> 
> I am sorry if this sounds boring or if it was
> discussed before, and I look forward to reading your
> replies, should you find that it is worth commenting
> on this idea.
> 
> Mira

Boring? You've got to be kidding. That's quite ingenious! 

PoA is, in fact problematic. But then, it's the most problematic book in the series, so far--
the one where she shifts from telling a single story in each book to telling a true serial 
tale; the one where Voldemort makes no appearance; the one with the most convoluted 
(and, to me, most satisfying) resolution. I suppose Sloth is definitely possible--one could 
see Sirius as an exemplar of both Sloth and Zeal, in that he has allowed himself to 
languish in prison in animal form for twelve years, before leaping into action with all... 
four feet. Makes one think of Circe and her pigs. Of course, that's gluttony, but whatever.

I think if your schema is correct we can count on Pride/Humility being the last book, since 
not only is Pride the greatest of the Deadly Sins, but it is the absolute defining sin of 
Voldemort--his arrogance, not to suffer the same fate that every human being suffers. 
And Harry, at his core, is nothing if not humble. It's what makes Draco and Snape's 
constant sniping about his supposed attention-seeking so galling. He is properly proud of 
his achievements, but he rarely lets pride motivate him. In any case, I think we can agree 
that this pairing will define book seven.

That leaves Gluttony vs. Moderation for HBP, which sounds good to me. Harry definitely 
needs to learn moderation--moderation in his own self-indulgence in anger, guilt and 
grief. I thought Luna started him down that path quite nicely at the end of OotP. 
Gluttony... well, if we see Dudley sneaking food by the fistful in the first chapter, I think we 
can agree you're definitely on to something. :-) And when Erisichthon McClaggan comes 
in, stuffing his face with lemon creams, we'll be certain.

Antosha