[HPforGrownups] King's Cross Station and DH as Christian Allegory)

[Sherry Gomes]

No: HPFGUIDX 173491

Carol responds:
Actually, it hasn't been. IIRC, you and I are the only ones who've mentioned
it. "King's Cross" jumped out at me as an obvious allusion to Jesus's death
and resurrection (cross is obvious, especially in connection with the cross
that Harry drew on the, erm, grave of Mad-Eye Moody's eyeball. I wondered
whether "King's" (which, of course, in real life relates to the unsaintly
George IV) was intended to suggest (to Christian readers, at least) "Christ
the King." At any rate, Harry's glimpse of the afterlife (and the dead but
healed Dumbledore once again wearing his benevolent facade) in what Harry
interpreted to be a version of King's Cross Station (obviously not the real,
earthly one) immediately confirmed what I already suspected:
Harry was a Christ figure (not to be confused with Christ himself, whether
you're Christian or not) who has "died" (entered the afterlife, passed
through the veil) but is not really dead and will be resurrected. 


Sherry:

Laughing at myself here, but I didn't get any Christian, or Christ Figure
feeling out of King's cross.  I just thought it made perfect sense for Harry
to find himself there in this moment.  King's Cross is the place that has
always meant going somewhere, going to Hogwarts or going back to the
Dursleys.  It's the place of departure to the place he considered home,
Hogwarts.  I thought, well, if he's going to have a sort of way station to
get the last details or to make a decision to move on or go back, that
station is the place I could most easily imagine Harry thinking of.  I must
be a simplistic reader, because that's all there was to it for me.

Sherry