The Role of Religion in the Potterverse

[Carol]

No: HPFGUIDX 186249

potioncat wrote:
> > I think you've brought up some very good points that have really fit with the HP story. But speaking as a Christian, I personally don't mind a reference to a fictional character to a real person. So a Christ figure doesn't bother me. What does offend me is when a portion of the Bible is taught as literature.
> 
> Miles:
> Answering as a Christian myself - they *are* literature. They are more for Christians and Jews, but for others they are "only" that.
> 
> If you look at bible exegetics, these scholars work with the same set of analytical instruments as those who work on non-religous texts. They try to find out about the authors of certain parts of the bible, when they lived, what political and cultural background they had. They try to find out when a text is written, whether a text is in it's original state, altered by "mistake" or on purpose. To work on bible texts in this "critical-historical" way (I don't know the terminus technicus in English) is crucial not least for a correct translation.
> 
> The bible is an important work of literature of this world, and it is more for those who are either Jews (partially) or Christians. I do not have problems of accepting both sides, and I would not impose other people not to merely read and describe the bible as literature.
> 
> Which brings me back to our On-Topic discussion on the term "Christe figure". While I agree with you that "Christ figure" is not a good description for Harry, I am not really happy with your rationale. In my opinion, we had a discussion about literary criticism, and "I do not like this category because it contradicts my faith" is IMO not a valid argument - your faith is not part of litery criticism, isn't it? If literary scholars use the term "Christ figure" in the way Carol tells us (and her expertise is obvious), we can discuss whether this category is helpful for general analysis or analysing Harry Potter - but whether it is right or wrong in the light of one's faith is a totally different discussion. Just my opinion and no offence meant.

Carol responds:

Thank you, Miles! I think the term you're looking for is "hermeneutics." Here's the definition from Merriam-Webster online:

"Main Entry:
    her·me·neu·tic 
"Pronunciation:
    \hr-m-nü-tik, -nyü-\ 
"Function:
    noun 
"Date:
    1737
"1 plural but sing or plural in constr[uction]: the study of the methodological principles of interpretation (as of the Bible) 2: a method or principle of interpretation"

(Carol again:)
I do think that Harry can be considered a Christ figure (though, of course, that's not the only possible way to look at him), but otherwise I agree entirely with what you've said here.

The Bible, particularly the King James version (however flawed the translation may be in some respects) *is* a work of literature as well as a religious document, and examining it in that way (or examining biblical history in connection with anthropology) in no way makes it less sacred. Our literature, including the HP books, would not be what it is today if not for the Bible, and one reason for studying the Bible as literature is to help us discover and recognize biblical motifs and phrasing in other works of literature. (It also greatly helps our appreciation of medieval and Renaissance painting.) Another is to recognize the way the parts of the Bible fit together, to see elements and prophecies from the Old Testament in the New Testament or to recognize stylistic elements like Hebrew parallel poetry (a familiar example is "Pride goeth before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall"--the same idea expressed twice in different words).

A reader can't fully appreciate Milton or "Moby Dick" (Ahab was the name of a wicked Old Testament king) or many other great works of literature without recognizing their dependence on and interrelationship with the Bible (and to a lesser extent, the Anglican Book of Common Prayer, itself a beautiful work of literature, at least until the "New Liturgy" modernized Cranmer's English). JMO!

The Harry Potter books, of course, can be read and appreciated by readers unfamiliar with the Bible and by those readers who overlook the Christian elements, but our reading of them (IMO) is richer if we're already familiar with the passages on the graves in Godric's Hollow, just as it's richer if we can see the intended parallels between Jesus and Harry (the Chosen One) even if we choose to ignore or reject them. By the same token, the series can be read and appreciated by readers unfamiliar with Joseph Campbell (I suspect that not many people on this list fall into that category), but it's richer if we can see the connections between Harry and the Hero's Journey as Campbell outlines it. (No.Limberger may want to do a search of this list for posts discussing Harry in relation to Campbell's view of the hero. It's been discussed here before.)

No single reading is definitive or exhaustive. No one reader, including JKR herself, can find everything that's there. Not every element in a literary work is consciously and deliberately placed there by the author. As the poet Shelley once wrote, "Veil after veil may be undrawn and the inmost naked beauty of the meaning [of a great work of literature] never exposed." Biblical exegesis (or hermeneutics) is one way of understanding and appreciating the Bible. Finding Christian motifs, including a Christ figure, in the HP books, is one way of understanding and appreciating them. We can also look at them, if we choose, from a Freudian or Jungian or feminist or even Marxist or deconstructionist perspective, or we can look at literary and stylistic elements, such as plot structure or themes or narrative technique (the narrator's voice and perspective and reliability) or our usual standby here, character analysis. We could even, if we wanted to, do a "Pooh Perplex"-style parody of the various schools of literary criticism as applied to the HP books. To paraphrase what Frederick Crews said of "Winnie the Pooh": "Deathly Hallows is the perfect Aristotelian work. It has a beginning, a middle, and an end."

There are many valid ways to examine any work of literature, whether it's the Bible (an invaluable influence on Western civilization) or the HP books (a wildly popular literary phenomenon which may or may not last into the next generation or the next century). We can examine it from many perspectives and never exhaust them all (and never agree with them all).

Carol, hoping that this post is sufficiently canonical and noting that we're also discussing Christ figures on OTChatter if anyone is interested