Did Harry Notice?
Carol
justcarol67 at yahoo.com
Thu May 15 05:18:07 UTC 2008
No: HPFGUIDX 182900
> > Carol:
> > "Fictional fact," right?
>
> Jack-A-Roe:
> Sorry but I'm not sure what you mean by fictional fact. <snip>
Carol again:
Sorry to be unclear. Apparently, I've spent too much time reading the
transcripts of the JKR vs. RDR trial, where that term is used rather
frequently. What I meant by it in this instance was that the action or
event you mentioned was a "fact" in the the sense that we're supposed
to take it as really happening as opposed to being Voldemort's
interpretation. The part about James being too trusting, in contrast,
is Voldemort's interpretation of the "fictional fact," which the
reader, even in passing and even more so on a rereading, is free to
accept or reject.
> Jack-A-Roe:
> So it seems to me that our basic difference is that in order for
James to be redeemed you needed to see it happen while I accept the
general theme presented to us early in the series that James was a
good guy, who once his ego was deflated turned out fine.
Carol responds:
Yes, I think that sums it up. For me, and I realize that you don't
agree, SWM left a very unfavorable impression of James (and Sirius)
which not only supported the view that Snape had always held of James
but was actually worse than he indicated. And Sirius's and Lupin's
fond memories of "fifteen"-year-old James rumpling his hair and so
forth did nothing to justify his behavior. I wanted to *see* him
transform into the brave and noble Order member that everyone
remembered, and I had hoped, along with other posters in this group,
that rescuing Severus from the transformed Remus was the first step
toward that developing maturity. That didn't happen. And I had also
hoped to actually *see* him defying Voldemort a fourth and fatal time.
That didn't happen, either. So, to me, he remains an undeveloped
character whose reformation is unconvincing.
I wonder if the James in JKR's head is a good guy and she forgot that
we need evidence on the page to have anything like her view of the
characters. (A lot of us don't agree with her view of Lily, either.)
>
> Jack-A-Roe, who loves reading Carol's view of things even if we
don't totally agree
Carol:
Thank you very much.
Carol, who still thinks that a Browning is one of a pair of Victorian
married poets ;-)
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