Disappointment and Responsibility (was Re: Requiescat in Pace: Unforgivables)

[urghiggi]

No: HPFGUIDX 174882

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "lupinlore" <rdoliver30 at ...> wrote:
>
Lupinlore: 
> With regard to the Christian nature of the books, let me reveal
> that I myself am a member, whether a faithful one or not I leave
> it to others to judge, of the Greek Orthodox Church. Now,
> Christianity, viewed as a set of ideas, is ancient, incredibly
> complex, often subtle, and wonderfully heterogenous. Its
> relationships with other faiths are likewise ancient, complex,
> subtle, shifting, and difficult to unravel.  
snip 
  It is therefore not surprising that when she talked
> about being a Christian people read all sorts of meanings into
> that she did not intend, and were therefore disappointed when
> her intent was more fully revealed.
> 

Julie replies:
Ah. Lupinlore, fair enough -- for of course every reader brings an individual worldview/
bias to the work. As someone else said, JKR's written a cracking good story and that's 
satisfying and a huge achievement. But when an author starts tossing around ancient 
Christian symbolism, issues of the immortality of the soul (and souls in eternity as distinct 
personalities vs a more Eastern idea of eternity), the notion of 'communion' with the saints 
who've passed before, love vs death, choice vs fate/predestination, doing what's right vs 
doing what's easy, substitutionary sacrifice -- it's not unreasonable that a pretty big series 
of expectations is going to be raised regarding the author's likely intent. You don't toss 
around those notions if you're not trying to explore transcendent stuff, beyond just 
spinning a great yarn. Christianity is nothing if not diverse, but certainly there is an 
agreed-upon core of basic tenets. I think what some of us were seeking was a more 
coherent final message consonant with basic Christianity (not allegory), as opposed to 
various individual scenes/take-away points that might be salutary to consider. 

I do get satisfying "stuff" beyond the "cracking good story" from many, many individual 
scenes/passages. Like lizzyben and Lee K, however, I'm still struggling with the 
overarching message here, whatever that is, and pondering to what degree that's 
consonant with basic Christianity (or mere Christianity, as Lewis would've had it). To what 
degree is Harry helpful to me as a reader with a Christian worldview (after having had my 
expectations raised by the author herself)? The crumb trail is THERE, both in canon text 
and interview quotes --i didn't bring it all to the work myself. I'm still trying to figure out 
how much of a meal the crumb trail leads to.

In some respects, contemplation of Harry as a model (not a saint, but a fellow seeker) is 
helpful. In some respects, it's less helpful than I'd have preferred, especially in what I 
continue to perceive as a lack of self-reflection/growth from his experiences. (Vs a simple 
"thank goodness the good guys whupped the bad guys.")

No, I really didn't expect/want everybody to make nicey nice. I can absolutely live with 
DDM!Snape as a nasty person, and I didn't need the Hallmark moment between him & 
Harry -- but I wanted a little more emotional payoff from Harry's realization of the huge 
gap between his assumptions and the reality. And after all that stuff about the need for 
house unity -- yeah, I wanted to see some repentance from a Slytherin or two, and some 
degree of reconciliation between the houses. (Practically ANY of them would have done -- 
Nott, for example, or Pansy P -- it didn't have to be Draco.) Again, I'm looking for 
examples of growth, not a wholesale conversion to "nice." The epilogue is trying to do 
that; i just don't think it's a strong enough payoff for all the setups that came before.

But -- like every reader, I bring my own biases to the work. I don't think I was stupid to 
believe that JKR might've been going someplace other than where she went, given the 
clues, symbols, and themes that came before DH. Wrong, or wishful ... but not deluded, I 
think....

Julie H, chicago