Less than 1000 posts in a month - why now?

[Carol]

No: HPFGUIDX 180188

Carol earlier:

> > Ron knowing about the Hand of Glory that
> > Draco supposedly owned 
> 
Eggplant:
> There was no scene in the series where Harry bought a pair of shoes,
> and yet Harry wore shoes, and this inconsistency has ruined the
entire series for me.

Carol:
Of course, buying shoes and other mundane matters (like Harry's having
glasses) are not dealt with in the books. But the Hand of Glory is an
important object, introduced into the story early (CoS) because it
would play a role later (just as Sirius's flying motorcycle is
introduced in SS/PS). Unfortunately, JKR has Harry see Lucius
*refusing* to buy it for Draco, then later takes for granted that
*Ron* would know that Draco owns the Hand his father refused to buy
for him. She could at least have had Harry mention the Hand of Glory
to Ron, but she never does even that much. It's just one example of
JKR's forgetting what she actually wrote and not bothering to consult
the earlier book. Another example is the mention of skulls in the
Slytherin common room in DH, when in fact, no such skulls are
described in CoS. Possibly she was thinking of Borgin and Burkes. (And
her statement in an interview that the Slytherin common room has an
eerie beauty is not consistent with skulls, either.)
> 
Carol earlier:
> > I don't think that the HBP books are great books. Certainly, JKR
is not a great author.
> 
> Then one cannot help but wonder why you spent so much time with
them, and wrote about them so much. 

Carol:
Because, as I said (and you snipped), they are *good* books which have
given me a great deal of enjoyment--at least until JKR's
pronouncements and changes to the tone of this list took much of that
enjoyment away.

Eggplant:
My theory is that the reason so many are angry with JKR now is that
she stopped writing. Well, I always said her biggest flaw as a writer
is that every one of her books is too short, and 7 books is indeed too
few. 

Carol:
I think those of us who are angry with JKR, or perhaps annoyed with
her is more accurate, feel that way for a variety of reasons. I can
think of at least four posters, probably more, who were severely
disappointed in the books, apparently because JKR's interviews led
them to expect DH to be something other than it was. (I, for one,
never expected the House-Elves to be freed, but I do wish it had been
clearer that at least one Slytherin student fought for Hogwarts. I
hated McGonagall's chasing them all out. I also hated Harry's casting
the Crucio, but neither incident ruined the book for me. Dumbledore
came near to doing so, but I've reconciled myself to him and to
Snape's death.) It's clear from their posts that the books being too
short is the least of their concerns. They're looking at themes, at
what JKR says she's writing about, and failing to see those themes
carried through in the books. I don't agree with those posters; I
think the focus is on Harry and on his growth as a character,
especially his learning to see others more clearly (as symbolized by
the absence of his glasses in "King's Cross," but I understand why
they feel as they do. No doubt they would have had different
expectations if they hadn't had time between books to hope and
speculate, and if JKR had not yielded to the pressure to participate
in impromptu interviews and chat sessions. If she had to make public
proclamations between books, a carefully prepared statement would have
been better. As it is, we now see not only inconsistencies among the
various books but between interview statements and the books. It would
be better if she had never attempted to interpret the books herself
but had left that job to her readers. (It's like a student grading his
own performance on a test.)
> 
Carol earlier:
> > I think, frankly, that the Peter Principle has overcome her, [
] I
wish I could respect her, but I can't 
> 
> It's odd, if you had said that about another member of this group
the moderators would be all upset; I know that from personal
experience because I have been slapped down for saying far less
insulting things about other posters. And yet you can say that about
the very person who created the universe that has given all of us such
pleasure for so many years and apparently that's just fine. If they
won't say it I will, I think that is small of you.
> 
> I hope you have the good taste to be a little ashamed of yourself.

Carol responds:

I would never say that about another poster, nor would I say that
they're being "small" and need to be ashamed of themselves.
Fortunately, my feelings aren't hurt since I know you're standing up
for the author whose books this forum is based on, my own former
favorite author. 

I'm Sorry, Eggplant, but her attitude of knowing everything about the
books and not allowing us to interpret them really does make me think
less of her and I have lost respect for her as both author and person
because of her "it's my ball and I make the rules" attitude. And I
have every right to say that on this list. I am not, after all,
sending her hate mail or threatening her with physical harm. I am
merely reacting to her attitude in her recent interviews and assessing
her capacity as a writer, which is not what I thought it was, at least
as evidenced by DH, whcih seems to be constrained by a plot outline
made many years ago and not altered to fit the growth of the other
books and characters. (The inconsistencies, such as the date of
Sirius's letter to Lily in relation to the date of her death, not to
mention the mere presence of that letter at 12 GP, seem inexcusable in
the final book of a series. Not only does she have all those notes,
she has the printed text of the works to consult. And, though this has
little to do with DH, she's only just now coming to realize that she
may have misplaced twenty-four hours back in SS/PS.)

Which does not mean that I didn't enjoy the books, including the
much-criticized DH. I've spent many pleasurable hours with them, and I
fell, like many other readers, under Snape's spell. I don't, however,
regard them as great literature, only as good fun while it lasted.
I'll grant her Snape as a "gift of a character": I think he and
Dumbledore have made their mark on literature and popular culture, not
because of her remarks about them but because of their words and
actions in the books themselves. I just wish she would realize that
her characters and the WW are no longer within her control. She's like
a person who gives a Christmas present and then claims it as her own
because she bought or made it. Wrong. The books belong to the readers,
to interpret as they will (preferably in accordance with what's on the
page). When she realizes that and publicly acknowledges it (and
concedes that the books contain inconsistencies that can't be
explained away), I'll respect her again. But, meanwhile, I think she
exceeded her capacity--and that of most people--by writing a
seven-book series in the first place, failing to realize that her
characters--and Slytherin House--had outgrown the roles she originally
planned for them. And she needs to realize that an author's intentions
do not automatically translate to the page and that it's neither
possible nor desirable to answer every question, much less to dictate
the reader's interpretation of characters, groups, events,symbols, and
motifs.

Carol, who is sorry to have offended a fellow poster but stands firm
in her view that JKR underestimates her fans' capacity to interpret
her words and imagine the scenes and characters for ourselves without
accepting her view of them or her "intentions" as definitive