CHAPDISC: DH33, The Prince's Tale

[superlyndsi]

No: HPFGUIDX 184830

Carol:
> 3.  Lupin and Tonks lie "pale and still and peaceful-looking,
> apparently asleep beneath the dark, enchanted ceiling." This
> description seems to echo that of the dead Dumbledore in HBP--
> "Dumbledore's eyes were closed; but for the strange angle of his
arms
> and legs, he might have been sleeping"—and that of his peacefully
> sleeping portrait. What do you think JKR is saying about death
> through these descriptions? Do they seem to refer to death in
general
> or only to these particular deaths?

Lyndsi:
I think this is a generalization of many of the deaths in the
series.  Upon reading this question, the thing that immediately
popped into my mind was a Dumbledore quote from PS/SS:  "[death]
really is like going to bed after a very, very long day...to the well
organized mind, death is but the next great adventure."  This seems
to be setting a non-threatening tone of death which is echoed in the
peaceful descriptions of many deaths later in the series--
particularly those of DD, Lupin, Tonks and even Dobby.

Those that died were simply doing what needed to be done to further
the cause of the good guys.  DD's death was arranged; Lupin and Tonks
knew that the dangers of the battle could likely result in their
deaths; Dobby was terrified, but still acted bravely, fully aware of
what might happen to him at Malfoy Mannor.  IMO, those that appeared
the most peaceful were simply the most prepared and accepting of "the
next great adventure."

I am curious if Mad-Eye would have also been described as peaceful if
we had seen more of him than just his eye after his death.  I like to
think that he would have;  in his line of work, death was daily a
very real possibility.

Carol:
> 16. Aside from not wanting to repeat a nine-page scene in detail,
why
> do you think JKR condenses Snape's worst memory to a single
> paragraph? Is the tactic effective? (The relevant paragraph is on
> page 675 of the Scholastic edition and page 542 of the Bloomsbury
> edition.)  Note especially the last line, "Distantly, he heard Snape
> shout at her in his humiliation and his fury, the unforgivable word:
> Mudblood."

Lyndsi:
First, we already know all the other details, so repeating them is
not a necessity.  Secondly, this version highlights why exactly this
is Snape's Worst Memory.  In the first reading of SWM, there are so
many humiliating things that happen to Snape.  I, like Harry, focused
on James and Sirius' treatment of Snape, rather than Snape's
treatment of Lily.  Now that we know Lily and Snape were very close,
this slur of Lily is much more powerful.