[HPforGrownups] Why was Lily's sacrifice the important one?

[Kemper]

No: HPFGUIDX 149912

sugaranddixie1 wrote:
>
> ET-
> In other words, why does her giving her life for Harry turn out to be
> be what protects him?  James also sacrificed his life to try to protect
> both Lily and Harry. So why the almost total emphasis on Lily? The only
> thing I can come up with is that it had something to do with
> the "purity" of Lily's character- her ability to see good in anyone...
> Or was it because she was given the choice of stepping aside & didn't
> take it?  Did her making that choice make it the ultimate sacrifice?
> As far as I can tell, James wasn't offered that sort of chance....  Any
> thoughts?
>


Kemper now:
This has been answered (satisfactorily or not is up to you) in the
Mugglenet/Leaky interview of JKR.    See below...


*ES (Emerson from Mugglenet): This is one of my burning questions since the
third book - why did Voldemort offer Lily so many chances to live? Would he
actually have let her live?*

JKR: Mmhm.

*ES: Why?*

JKR: [silence] Can't tell you. But he did offer, you're absolutely right.
Don't you want to ask me why James's death didn't protect Lily and Harry?
There's your answer, you've just answered your own question, because she
could have lived and chose to die. James was going to be killed anyway. Do
you see what I mean? I'm not saying James wasn't ready to; he died trying to
protect his family but he was going to be murdered anyway. He had no - he
wasn't given a choice, so he rushed into it in a kind of animal way, I think
there are distinctions in courage. James was immensely brave. But the
caliber of Lily's bravery was, I think in this instance, higher because she
could have saved herself. Now any mother, any normal mother would have done
what Lily did. So in that sense her courage too was of an animal quality but
she was given time to choose. James wasn't. It's like an intruder entering
your house, isn't it? You would instinctively rush them. But if in cold
blood you were told, "Get out of the way," you know, what would you do? I
mean, I don't think any mother would stand aside from their child. But does
that answer it? She did very consciously lay down her life. She had a clear
choice -

*ES: And James didn't.*

JKR: Did he clearly die to try and protect Harry specifically given a clear
choice? No. It's a subtle distinction and there's slightly more to it than
that but that's most of the answer.

*MA (Melissa from Leaky): Did she know anything about the possible effect of
standing in front of Harry?*

JKR: No - because as I've tried to make clear in the series, it never
happened before. No one ever survived before. And no one, therefore, knew
that could happen.

*MA: So no one - Voldemort or anyone using Avada Kedavra - ever gave someone
a choice and then they took that option [to die] -*

JKR: They may have been given a choice, but not in that particular way.
Full interview can be found at:
http://www.quick-quote-quill.org/articles/2005/0705-tlc_mugglenet-anelli-1.htm


-Kemper


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