Redemption, Child Abuse, and Literary Taste

[lupinlore]

No: HPFGUIDX 147561

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Bruce Alan Wilson" 
<bawilson at ...> wrote:
<SNIP>
> 
> JKR has stated that she is a Christian and that anyone who knows 
this should be
> able to figure out the ending.  Christianity is all about 
redemption.  A central
> teaching of the religion is that God became human in the person of 
Jesus Christ
> who gave his life not for good, righteous people, but for the 
worst sinners.  He
> came to seek and save the lost, the sinful, the broken, the 
unloved.  And who is
> more of all those things than Tom Riddle?
> 


You know, you are absolutely right.  Christianity does indeed have 
those central tenets.  The problem is that JKR has stated that, in 
her view, Voldemort and Tom Riddle are the same person (it was back 
during the discussion of the identity of the HBP, when people said 
just because she had said it wasn't Voldemort didn't mean it wasn't 
Tom Riddle).  So, the idea that Voldemort and Tom Riddle are 
different people, i.e. a redemption scenario which features 
the "death" of Voldemort and the "life" of Tom Riddle, seems to fly 
in the face of JKR's pronouncement.  Therefore, a redemption means a 
redemption not of Tom Riddle, but of Lord Voldemort.

Now, what would this really mean?  What would a good Lord Voldemort 
look like?  It's an interesting question, one that I, for one, would 
like to hear theories about.

We also have the circumstance of Grindlewald and Dumbledore.  
Dumbledore is, supposedly, the "epitome of goodness."  I have 
problems with that, but there you have it.  If we are to look at 
anyone as a model for how JKR thinks "dark lords" should be dealt 
with, it would have to be DD.  And yet all the evidence we have is 
that he killed Grindlewald.  We may find out that isn't the truth.  
However, for the present, it seems that he literally killed the 
man.  He didn't redeem him.

Of course Harry is not DD.  Maybe Harry is meant to be GREATER than 
Dumbledore?  If he redeems Voldy, whereas DD killed Grindlewald, 
then the word "greater" would seem to fit.


Lupinlore, who will defer to Alla when it comes to definitions of 
child abuse, as hers are ever so much better than his