Said creature under the bench..

[urghiggi]

No: HPFGUIDX 176045

Ken:
> Voldemort was given a chance very few will get and
> still he refused it. That simple gesture by Harry was one of the most
> noble acts you will ever see. It's a different thread really but for
> me the Harry that came to the understanding and compassion it took to
> try to rescue Voldemort from his own horrific future has moved way
> beyond being an auror. In terms of magical skill Voldemort reached a
> plane that no other achieved and as Harry says the few others who
> might have, knew better than. Harry reached an equal height, but in
> the dimension of spirituality. I don't know what that makes him in the
> WW but in the Muggle world he bids fair to be a Saint.
> 

Julie H:
I only quoted a bit of your excellent post, which to me appears to be a fair analysis of JKR's 
theological mindset with this scene and what follows. According to canon the "baby" is 
indeed what LV will be if LV does not repent. It's not the LV soul bit that was in Harry. The 
seed of this scene is planted way back where Hermione reports what she's learned about 
Horcrux construction/destruction/remedies, where she introduces the idea that remorse 
could be a fix for Horcrux damage. Harry, JKR's point of view character, seems pretty 
insistent that remorse could help LV's soul. LV is of course staggered by this idea and 
ultimately rejects it. Better to risk eternal torment than be forced to show earthly humility. 
Better to reign in hell than to serve in heaven. ( I know JKR's read Dante, I'm expecting her 
grasp of Milton is equally good...)

Now, a good bit of the debate here hinges on whether this was a fair thing for Harry (and 
by extension JKR) to expect LV to be to accomplish. It's been pointed out that the 
character is a sociopath and can't possibly be expected to respond to the good/bad, 
moral/immoral paradigm presented here. The deck's so stacked against him; he's not a 
complex character by any means, and completely unimaginative from a metaphysical 
standpoint. (And of course as a storyteller JKR would face significant ramifications if she 
actually depicted repentance on LV's part. It'd be the repentant Darth Vader all over again, 
minus the paternal aspects. I don't think she was ever going to 'go' there, which also 
argues for the idea that remorse was never a real possibility.)

However, I think canon tries to insist that, at the very least, within the world of the story, it 
WAS a possibility. LV's refusal makes his death seem even more inevitable (and of course, 
as Ken pointed out, has the corollary effect of making Harry look merciful). Theologically, 
it's a coherent scenario, though some are not going to like the theological message being 
presented by any means. In this theology there really is evil that needs to be fought and 
that ultimately puts itself beyond redemption. It's not that nuanced a view -- certainly not 
a view that the wicked and the good aspects of a person (or a society!) all need to get 
themselves integrated, for instance. But it's coherent, as far as it goes. Whether we find 
this good, or repellent, depends a lot on what we bring to the books as readers, IMO....

Julie H, chicago