Hedwig's death (Was: 23, Malfoy Manor/What a Book)

[Carol]

No: HPFGUIDX 183553

Lynda wrote:
>
> After the iniatial shock, I no longer cry over Dobby's death. Dobby
died doing exactly what he wanted to do. Prortecting Harry Potter.
Hedwig, however still moves me to tears. Unlike Dobby, she died in a
cage. No way to escape. No chance to fight. That is what seems to me
so terriebly unfair about Hedwig's death.

Carol responds:

I agree that Hedwig's death was sad and moving--and traumatic for
Harry because he had to explode her cage and, as with Sirius Black,
has no time to mourn and no body to bury. Her death is also highly
symbolic. Along with the destruction of Harry's Firebolt, which falls
to earth at about the same time, it severs Harry's last tie with his
past and Hogwarts, along with the last vestiges of his innocence. I
imagine that JKR thought Hedwig's death was necessary. Hedwig would
either have been confined to a cage at the Burrow to keep her from
following Harry, a cruelty she would not have understood and might not
have survived, or she would have tried to follow Harry. Since she
could fly to and from 12 GP unaffected by the defensive spells, she
might have been able to penetrate the defensive magic around the
camping places, revealing Harry's whereabouts (as a less conspicuous
bar owl would not). 

JKR has said herself that a children's author, as she calls herself,
must be ruthless. She could not allow herself to "sentimentally" cling
to Hedwig. Harry's suffering must be complete, his ties to his
Hogwarts "home" (and the Burrow and, later, 12 GP) completely severed.
In her view, it had to be HRH (and, for awhile, only Harry and
Hermione) alone in the wilderness. He loses even his wand, which he
had been counting on to attack Voldemort's and which is also his
"friend" and companion as well as his weapon. (At least he gets the
wand back; the Elder Wand's last deed is to restore the beloved holly
wand.)

I realize, of course, that I'm assuming authorial intention here,
which is always dangerous. But whether JKR *intended* the symbolism or
not, and whether she intended to eliminate Hedwig as, well, a danger
and a distraction or not, her death does serve those purposes, just as
DD's death, which also serves a lot of other purposes, including
throwing the suspicion of murder and betrayal on Snape, gets the old
mentor out of the way, as JKR said herself.

Carol, who would *not* have killed Hedwig if she'd written the book
because she'd have kept the Trio at Hogwarts :-)