How we read HP books WAS :Re: Half-Blood Prince

[dumbledore11214]

No: HPFGUIDX 183860

> 
> Pippin:
> It seems to me that's a matter of personal taste. JKR has corrected
> the text where an error in "fictional fact" makes the storyline
> impossible to resolve, for example the Wand Order and
> Ancestor/Descendant flints.  But where a logical explanation can be
> devised even if not intuited, why not leave it to the reader? 
> 
> Some of us enjoy that kind of thing, and rather than taking us out 
of
> the story, it leads us deeper in. It seems to me JKR *wants* us to
> take those steps, for example, ....<SNIP>

Alla:

I think you touched on something very important here Pippin, 
something that I am essentially in agreement with you, but let's hope 
I can elaborate more. I maintain and always did that imagining 
something more that is on the page, **based on what is on the page** 
is a perfectly valid way to interpet the text and not going into 
realm of AU or fanfiction.

I snipped your example, I also want to add one of my all time 
favorite examples of Yarsley (?) and somebody else (HAHA and I do not 
remember name right now) working at the Ministry. I mean if one 
reader wants to say that this means nothing, that's fine, but if 
another reader like me thinks that it is  part of very well 
constructed takeover of the Ministry, I think it is an argument to be 
considered as text based argument, just the argument based on the 
subtle hint, rather then spelling something out. I mean, when I read 
two DE are working in the Ministry, I right away think that there is 
a **reason** for them to be there, even if text does not tell me that 
reason.

I do like example with Sirius' letter as well. I also as I am sure I 
mentioned before see no reason whatsover to think that Hermione 
abandoned her passion for public service and I am not even talking 
about only elves here. Why? Because Hermione did not give me a reason 
to think so, not once in the text, therefore the next step where my 
imagination takes me is to come up with any possible profession for 
her in the field of magical public service. I mean, I accept 
interviews for that, but even if I did not, I see that in canon.

I absolutely think that even when canon is closed, books do drop 
hints in some situations and invite our imagination to reconstruct 
the whole chain as we see fit, as long as it does not contradict the 
main ending, I suppose.

I am used to read like that, as I also mentioned before I read books 
like that for the most part of my life. Endings are abrupt, whole 
storylines are not resolved sometimes and reader is invited to think 
about what would happen next. And sometimes the fact that nothing 
would happened next is the whole point of the story. 

Does Eugene Onegin in the novel by Pushkin joins Decembrist rebelion 
or not? Consensus seems to be that he does, even though Pushkin is 
not saying **one word** about it in his last unfinished chapter of 
the novel. What did Pechorin in the Lermontov's "Hero of our time" 
figured about himself and life and society? I think nothing is the 
answer to that question. 

And as I said several times, the list in the russian literature of 19 
century can go on and on. I am not just talking about unresolved 
storylines, since I agree that main storylines in HP are resolved, I 
am talking about moments that are briefly touched upon and everything 
else is left to the reader.


JMO,

Alla