[HPforGrownups] Re: Philosophy of Dumbledore (was:Moody's death...)

[Sharon Hayes]

No: HPFGUIDX 179567


Mus:
<SNIP>My problem isn't that I have to figure out what is Good and what is
Evil, rather that there's no coherent answer to that question in the
books. I have no objection to a universe with no answer to that
question, but in that case I think it's wise for the author not to
tell me there's Good and Evil. It's contradictory. So either JKR is
being astonishingly cynical, or she never thought the thing through to
begin with.

Sharon:
I can see your problem, but I have to say that I don't have that problem myself. I love it that the answers aren't there, that I am left wondering about the nature of good and evil. The books seem to depict good and evil, not as a "black and white" dichotomy, nor even as a continuum, but as shades of grey that overlap each other in various ways. Individuals or houses may tend towards certain characteristics of good or evil, but noone is that dark or light. The individuals are all a mixture of both, in varying degrees. Now I understand that your problem is: how can we even contemplate that if we don't know what exactly good or evil consists of? but again, I think that is OK. The novels let our imaginations and our own moral senses try to come to terms with the contradictions. The fact that there are contradictions give us pause to think about the nature of morality and of good and evil. That JKR doesn't give us answers doesn't make the questions any less worthy of discussion or contemplation (OK, I know you'd agree with that :-) I guess it just doesn't bother me that the definitions aren't there - -in fact I think it enriches my ability to use my interpretive imagination in coming to terms with the key themes of the series.

Tolkein was a christian and his books show that morality, but that isn't what makes his books great. Sometimes excellent novels also depict dark and confusing moralities--Anne Rice's books, for example, or Stephen King come quickly to mind -- though I know y'all will scream at me for comparing them to Tolkein! LOL, sorry in advance. I'm afraid I am not precious about "literature"-- but it is not the depicition of morality that makes them good books either.