Epilogue (was Re: Ron and Parseltongue)

[montavilla47]

No: HPFGUIDX 183400

> Lynda:
> I don't mean to be unfairly judgmental, but I do think that some of the
> people on this list have been expecting something from JKR that practically
> no writer can deliver. A perfect book.
> 

Montavilla47:
I can see why you'd think that.  And that's a criticism that cuts, because
it puts the onus on me, as a disappointed reader.  Was I putting too 
much pressure on the last book?  Were my expectations too high?

I was certainly very enthusiastic about Deathly Hollows.  I purchased
three copies.  One for myself and two for young relatives.  I had been
sharing a mutual enjoyment for the series with my nephew for several
years.

And, objectively speaking, I should have been quite happy.   The ending
was pretty much what I predicted.  Harry lived.  Snape was good.  In the
few months before the book was published I had, somewhat reluctantly,
come into the Snape/Lily campe, so that was another feather in my 
predicting cap.  

But... but... but.  I was disappointed.  Mainly because I just couldn't get
into the Dumbledore subplot, I suppose.  Every time Harry angsted about
Dumbledore's two-week flirtation with evil in his teens, I felt like shouting,
"What does it matter?  By the time you met him, he'd been anti-anti-muggle
for a hundred years!  Plus, you don't even *like* muggles! He obviously 
changed his mind when HE DEFEATED GRINDELWALD!"

Look at that.  Harry made me go capslock.  

Every move the Trio made in the book seemed clunky and ponderous.  Every
place they went involved *weeks* of intense planning.  Planning that we never
saw, but nevertheless seemed to bog us down.  And yet, for all the *weeks*
of planning, there always seemed to be some big, obvious thing they didn't
think through.  Like Hermione packing everything in her bag (including the 
kitchen sink), but neglecting to bring food.  Or the Trio angsting about
stealing food, instead of apparating to a large town and going to the 
supermarket.  

I had imagined a big battle at Hogwarts, which we got.  The details were
fun (I liked the charging desks), but the action was... disappointing.  
Whether or not it was deliberate, I got pretty annoyed at Harry for standing
around like an idiot, watching everyone run around, instead of looking
for the darn Horcrux.  

I was disappointed that Draco Malfoy never seemed to get beyond that 
moment on the Tower when his wand drooped a tiny bit.  He spent all of
DH with his wand metaphorically drooping just a tiny bit (until he didn't
have a wand at all).  

I was disappointed that Unforgiveable Curses became not just forgiveable, 
but "gallant."  I was disappointed the Molly Weasley turned into Ripley.  I 
was disappointed that Percy's main reconciliation seemed to be centered
on the twins, when his break-up was with his father, since that was a 
reconciliation that could have ended any time in that last three books and
been effective.  

I was disappointed the Grawp's contribution to the story
turned out to be less than the trouble it took to bring him into it in the 
first place.  I was disappointed that Remus's efforts with the werewolves
came to nothing.  I was disappointed that the Power of Love didn't really
apply to Harry at all--his main advantage turned out to be a technical
one, based on his ability to grab and pull some else's wand out of their
hand.  That Power of Love actually applied to Snape--who was dead 
(Did it matter that Snape wasn't on Voldemort's side if he was dead?)

And yes, I was disappointed that the Sorting Hat's warning about unity
only applied to three of the four Houses.  

So, it wasn't really a big thing that disapointed me.  It was a lot of little
things--including the pacing of the book.

And part of that disappointment came from JKR's own statement about
having written the epilogue before starting the book, so that she'd 
know where she was going.  I took that to mean that she did have a 
grand unified plan.  Having reached the end, I don't think she did.  She
knew what was going on with Harry, but everyone else was just 
background.

Montavilla47