The editor was sobbing

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 166915

Eggplant wrote:

> For the very first time a human being other than JKR has read book 7
> and commented on it, and he said he was sobbing, not crying, not
> tearing up a little, but sobbing; I believe that has some
> significance. As the interviewer said, that must mean a character we
> readers love dies, nobody is going to get very choked up if Argus
> Filch dies. What character do we readers love above any other?

Carol responds:
He said he was "sobbing" because "it's a very emotional
book"--carefully evading the question, "that means somebody we like
dies, doesn't it?"

We already *know* that "somebody we like" is going to die, not
including those two previously unplanned deaths (the weasley Twins)?
Personally, I think the "somebody we like" is someone JKR likes,
probably Hagrid. There's no reason to think that it's Harry. In
contrast to the interviewer, who for some reason thinks Harry is going
to die ("It doesn't look good for Harry), I think the cover looks very
good for Harry. He looks hopeful and expectant, reaching out for
whatever is coming, in contrast to Voldemort, who appears to be
shielding himself from it. (Of course, the interviewer hadn't yet seen
the full spread when she made her muttered comment, which, IMO, merely
reflects her preconceptions, not anything in the artwork itself.)

Regarding "sobbing." As Levine said, it's bound to be "a very
emotional book," and many scenes that make readers cry (going by my
own reactions and those others have shared with me) don't involve
death or are related not to the death itself but to other people's
reactions. I do cry for Cedric, but I also cry (sob) for his mother,
whose grief is too deep for tears. I cry at other moments that I find
moving, a few silly tears when Ron and Harry make up after their
argument in GoF, tears of something like sadness and anticipated loss
when Dumbledore says, "I'm not afraid, Harry. I'm with you" (where's
that box of Kleenex?). I didn't cry for Dumbleore's death (I was in
shock and worried about Snape), but I cried when Mrs. Weasley and
Fleur had their moment of understanding in Bill's hospital room. Tears
and sobs don't have to relate to death. (Which is not to say that I
don't expect a character I care about to die. If it's Snape, I may go
into a depression for two weeks like I did when I first read about
Gandalf falling into the abyss. Okay, I was fifteen then, so maybe not.) 

What I'm trying to say is that "a very emotional book" does not
translate to a lot of characters we like dying, much less to Harry's
death at the end. A few deaths spread through the book and a number of
other moving moments, including quite possibly the revelation of
Snape's loyalties or of what happened at Godric's Hollow, in addition
to the sense that Levine also clearly had that we'll be saying
good-bye to all these characters regardless of what happens to them in
DH, is more than sufficient explanation for Levine's "sobbing," IMO.
And good for him for not answering that interviewer's questions or
responding to her innuendoes. I agree with Lupinlore that he gave
absolutely nothing away.

Eggplant:
> <snip> some of the most successful works in literature and cinema
have ended with a dead hero, Hamlet, Oedipus Rex, The 300, and
Titanic. <snip>

Carol responds:
I haven't seen "The 300," but I understand that it's about battle on
an epic scale. Of course, lots of people are going to die. "Hamlet"
and "Oedipus Rex" are tragedies. Of course, the hero is going to die,
as the result of his own tragic flaw. That's a requirement of the
genre. "Titanic" is, well, an exploitation of a historical event in
which we know that many people are going to die. It combines a love
story with "tragedy" (in the debased sense that a main character
dies), rather like "West Side Story," which in turn is based on "Romeo
and Juliet," which would be a romantic comedy if it weren't for the
ending and a few other deaths along the way.

The Harry Potter books are not tragedy, nor are they the cinematic
exploitation of a tragic event. The genres I see are Bildungsroman (in
the form of boarding school story), mystery novel/detective story, and
heroic quest, none of which requires the protagonist to die (or even
go off to the Undying Lands to be healed). JKR is certainly taking
advantage of the *possibility* that Harry may die to create suspense.
Some readers, like that interviewer, are actually hoping for his death
or taking it for granted.

JKR, however, is very fond of Harry, and my sense is that she feels
almost guilty for subjecting him to so much suffering. I would not be
at all surprised if she rewards him at the end with the happy ending
he himself would like best--a normal wizarding life with the woman of
his dreams. The good guy gets the girl. Yes, I know it's trite (and
somewhat sexist in the view of some readers), but killing off the hero
is equally hackneyed. I'm much more interested in seeing him defeat
Voldemort without dying himself, even if it's the result of Fawkes
saving the day as deus ex machina.

Carol, who always expected Harry to survive and is still more
convinced by both the cover art and the Levine interview