Harry's happy sacrifice (was Re: The editor was sobbing)

[lupinlore]

No: HPFGUIDX 166923

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "va32h" <va32h at ...> wrote:
>
<SNIP>

> va32h here:
> 
> I'm sorry, but I have always absolutely hated this notion that it 
> will be wonderful and noble for Harry to die at age 17 and spend 
> eternity with mum and dad. Is this any teenagers idea of heaven?
> 
> Perhaps 11 year old Harry, who longed for nothing but his family 
> around him, would consider such an afterlife pure paradise, but 17 
> year old Harry, with friends, and a love relationship and hopes, and 
> a future - no, no, no, returning him to a state of infantile angel is 
> not a happy ending, and I simply cannot conceive of JKR thinking so. 
> 

Well, I suppose some people might say that JKR isn't interested in a 
happy ending.  <Shrug>.  That may be the case, but it will certainly 
send the future sales of her books and rentals of the movies (and the 
viewership of the last two movies) through the floor, -- hence 
Bloomsbury, Scholastic, and Warner Bros going thirdsies on a hit man.  
Putin seems to be scarfing up everybody with KGB experience, but there 
are probably plenty of talented ex-STASI types out there, :-).

Actually, I have always thought that JKR is being at the very least 
disingenuous when she claims to be writing for herself and not caring 
if she only has seven readers left, etc.  I suspect she cares very, 
very much.  

Besides, I agree that the Angel!Harry ending would be a cop out (not to 
mention totally over the top in a Dickensian fashion, and I don't mean 
that in a good way), and the Magicless!Harry ending would be just plain 
silly.  Maybe all of Hogwarts could just "ascend."  Wait, wrong 
series  -- I guess it's all the talk of Stargates on the book covers.



Lupinlore, who believes it was Mark Twain who said of Dickens, "Who can 
read the death of Little Nell and not laugh?"  And who answers, "Maybe 
anyone who can read OOTP and not roll their eyes."