CHAPDISC: HBP30, The White Tomb

[houyhnhnm102]

No: HPFGUIDX 165757

> 4. It has been discussed extensively, but still. 
> Is Harry right in thinking that Snape followed the 
> same pattern as Voldemort? Does proclaiming oneself 
> a Half-Blood Prince mean renouncing one's muggle heritage?

houyhnhnm:

If Snape is the Half Blood Prince (and I'm still not 
completely convinced), then I think his calling himself 
the Half Blood Prince is the first indication in the 
books that the dour, acerbic Man in Black has a sense 
of humor, and a self-mocking one at that.  Calling 
himself Half Blood is not renouncing his Muggle heritage.  
It is a constant reminder.  And "Prince" is just a 
surname.  That is the difference between them I think.  
"Half Blood Prince" is a private joke.  Tom Riddle's  
"Lord Voldemort" is no laughing matter.  

> 5. Do you agree with Hermione that Snape held 
> his peace about the book only because by exposing 
> Harry he would inevitably expose himself?

houyhnhnm:

I don't know what he would be exposing that anyone 
familiar with his history didn't already know.  
Snape didn't have actual evidence, since Harry 
successfully hid the book.  He knew from practicing 
Legilimency on Harry that a potions book was involved, 
but he didn't have proof. I think Snape was very much 
afraid, at this point, of what Harry's actions might 
precipitate and didn't want to rock the boat.

> 8. We are specifically told that this is the first 
> funeral Harry has ever attended. Can we judge of the 
> death rites in the Potterverse by this ceremony? Since 
> Hagrid wanted to bury Aragog in order give him "a proper 
> send-off", one can assume that for Hagrid, at least, 
> burial is the proper way of disposition of the dead. 
> Do wizards usually bury their dead or do they usually 
> cremate them?
> 9. Did the funeral go as planned? Some, at least, 
> of the onlookers were genuinely shocked when Dumbledore's 
> body combusted. And another thing, did it ignite all by 
> itself, or did somebody set fire to it?

houyhnhn:

At Odo's funeral, "they laid him to rest"-sounds like 
a burial to me.  The bursting into flames struck me as 
unexpected.  It makes me wonder just what *were* they 
planning to do with Dumbledore's body? 

> 14. There is something odd about the way Ginny 
> accepts Harry's decision, while Ron and Hermione refuse 
> to do so. Even stranger, Harry does not really attempt 
> to talk them out of sharing his destiny. (And still 
> more strange seems his surprise at Ron and Hermione's 
> reaction.) Does it mean that for Harry (and even for 
> Rowling) friendship is something infinitely more 
> important than love? Even so, Ginny is not just a 
> girlfriend; she is a friend as well. 

houyhnhnm:

To me, there is something odd about Harry and Ginny's 
relationship altogether.  I'm not a SHIPPER and had no 
vested interest in any other outcome.  I can see, 
intellectually, why Ginny is right for Harry and vice 
versa, but I feel no empathy for them.  I've assumed 
it is because Rowling is not much good at writing love scenes.

I suspect that Ginny is not much interested in being 
part of a quartet.  She wants to be half of a duet.

> 15. The last two chapters of the book allude very 
> distinctly to Shakespeare's "The Phoenix and the 
> Turtle." The phoenix lament, the anthem, and the 
> central episode with the funeral fire. Is this 
> supposed to be a clue to the relationship between 
> Fawkes and Dumbledore?

houyhnhnm:

I was unfamiliar with "The Phoenix and the Turtle".  
Thanks for bringing it to our attention.  I saw a 
program sometime or other that proposed that the sonnets 
that seem to be celebrating Platonic (or possibly 
even homoerotic) love were actually Shakespeare's 
response to the death of his son.  I don't have an 
opinion on the poem's connection to Dumbledore and 
Fawkes, but I will certainly keep it in mind while 
I am reading Deathy Hallows.