Horcrux: was Baptism/Christianity in HP

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 153862

a_svirn wrote:
> Funnily enough I didn't "misread" your post at all. You proposed a 
> highly questionable etymology of horcruxes deriving their meaning  
> from *whore*. Said it makes sense. Obviously you have changed your 
> mind since – now you say you defer to Mugglenet interpretation –
>  "outside the cross". I saw your initial interpretation as 
> nonsensical from the start and said so. Because whores have nothing 
> to do with immortality (which is what horcruxes are about) whichever 
> way you look at.
>

Carol responds:
I would say that the Mugglenet etymology (which resorts to the
*French* "dehors" [outside] plus the Latin "crux" [cross]) is also
questionable. The Lexicon is still struggling with the etymology and
has tentatively presented "time cross" (presumably from Latin "hora"
[hour] plus "crux"). At least that translation has the merit of
keeping to a single language. 

Another possibility--my own idea, though no doubt it's been suggested
by someone else on some site somewhere--is that "hor" derives from the
Latin word "horror," which means exactly what it means in English and
was used poetically to mean "an object of dread." Seems to me that
this etymology fits "horcrux" better than anything we've seen
proposed, certainly better than "whore" plus "crux."

I've argued against an allegorical interpretation of the HP books
since I loathe and abhor the idea that they're nothing more than
cleverly disguised Christian allegory (which would mean that we're
wasting out time analyzing Snape and Dumbledore and Lupin as they're
nothing more than puppets in JKR's morality play). That does not mean,
however, that JKR, an avowed Christian of the non-witch-burning modern
Anglican variety, is not deliberately choosing a term that can be
interpreted by some readers in Christian terms. The crux of the matter
is the root "crux," which does mean, primarily, "cross" (and
secondarily "torment," as in the Cruciatus Curse, crucifixion,
excruciating, etc.).

Without at all arguing that this reading is "correct," I suggest that
JKR may have intended the Horcruxes (horrible objects associated with
the fear of death and the desire for *earthly* immortality) as a kind
of anti-cross opposed to the True Cross, symbol of eternal life
(secularized to "the next great adventure" and experienced by all
those who dare to pass through the Veil rather than clinging to the
shadow of their former life by becoming ghosts). This same suggestion
can be seen in the choice of holly (symbolizing eternal life) for
Harry's wand and yew (symbolizing earthly immortality) for Voldemort's.

No one *has* to read the books this way and I have no way of proving
that JKR had any such etymology in mind. Nor, even if this reading is
correct, do we need to read any symbolic significance into Harry's
baptism. According to egodparent.com, the (Christian) responsibilities
of a godparent are to

1. Pray for your godchild regularly
2. Set an example of Christian living
3. Help him/her to grow in the faith of God, Father, Son and Holy
Spirit, in which he was baptized
4. Give every encouragement to follow Christ and fight against evil
5. Help your godchild to look forward to confirmation.

With the possible and partial exception of item 4, it seems to me that
Sirius Black (encouraging Harry to fight against evil and helping him
do it at the MoM) did an extraordinarily bad job of carrying out these
responsibilities. And as someone (a_svirn?) pointed out, it's highly
unlikely that Sirius Black was brought up as an Anglican (or a
Christian of any variety).

Christmas trees, chocolate Easter eggs, the word "God" in a Christmas
carol or two, the curse words "damn," "hell," and "bloody," the
expression "bless them!", the painting of monks and the existence of
the Fat Friar all suggest a secularized Christian heritage similar to
that of Muggle England, but we see no signs of prayer or organized
worship in the WW. Apparently the baptism was done in a Muggle church
(Muggleborn Lily would know of the custom even if James and Sirius
didn't--as Harry does) or there's a whole hidden religious life that
we never see in the HP books. (Do any scenes occur on Sunday mornings?
Maybe they've all been attending religious services and we just didn't
know it? That seems extremely unlikely and more than ordinarily sneaky
on JKR's part.)

So back to applicability vs. allegory. The root "crux" (cross) is
certainly *there* in the name of the object, which we are told is
created by the Darkest of dark magic and is inseparable from an act of
deliberate murder. It's also associated with a violation of the soul,
which, DD tells us, is supposed to remain intact. We have suggestions
(the voices beyond the Veil, the fate worse than death of having your
soul sucked from your body) that the soul is eternal. Voldemort, who
fears death (because he doesn't understand its nature?) has violated
the sanctity of the soul at least five times (not counting innumerable
other murders not associated with Horcruxes). The kind of immortality
obtained through a Horcrux, like the half-life attained by killing a
unicorn and drinking its blood, is evil, unnatural, Dark. If I'm
correct in my deductions, it's the antithesis of the true death, which
paradoxically is not death but the eternal life of the soul, that DD
is now experiencing.

I keep thinking of John Donne's "holy sonnet," "Death Be Not Proud."
(for anyone who's interested, it can be found at
http://www.bartleby.com/105/72.html ).

Again, symbolism is not allegory. A symbol *suggests* a meaning beyond
itself rather than having a one-to-one correspondence with some
concept (as in cross = salvation). The Horcruxes undoubtedly symbolize
Dark magic at its darkest, the wrong kind of immortality, and our
understanding of their significance is bound up with our understanding
of Voldemort. But their exact meaning is not pinned down and
immutable. Unlike, say, the sign of the cross made by a priest on a
baby's head at baptism, it is subject to interpretation. Even if JKR
*intended* it as an anti-cross, the reader is not bound by the rules
of literary analysis to see it in those terms. It's only one reading;
one veil that we can choose to lift in the vain hope of seeing the
full meaning more clearly--or ignore because what it reveals doesn't
enlighten us or perhaps even repels us. It's equally valid, and
perhaps more helpful, to see it as symbolizing Voldemort's ignorance
and fear (in connection with the reading of Voldemort's name as "fear
of death").

In short, I don't think that Harry's baptism is significant, but I do
see certain Christian implications in the etymology of the word
"Horcrux" that may or may not be illuminating to other readers, just
as I see Albus Dumbledore, whose first name means "white," as the
antithesis of the explicitly Dark Voldemort.

Carol, intending to transform out of McGonagall mode immediately so
people won't start avoiding her posts