Keeping Secrets (was Re: CHAPTER DISCUSSION: PS/SS 2, The Vanishing Glass

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 187791


Potioncat wrote:
> So is secrecy/failure of communication a motif or a theme in JKR's work?
> 
> Here are 2 definitions from UNC, Pembroke
> http://www.uncp.edu/home/canada/work/allam/general/glossary.htm#a
> 
> motif (moh-TEEF): a recurring object, concept, or structure in a work of literature
 A motif is important because it allows one to see main points and themes that the author is trying to express, in order that one might be able to interpret the work more accurately. 
> 
> theme (theem): a common thread or repeated idea that is incorporated throughout a literary work. A theme is a thought or idea the author presents to the reader that may be deep, difficult to understand, or even moralistic. Generally, a theme has to be extracted as the reader explores the passages of a work
.The ability to recognize a theme is important because it allows the reader to understand part of the author's purpose in writing the book.
>
Carol responds:
Good definitions. Thanks for the link, which I'll bookmark. Literary analysis, hard as we try to base our inferences and conclusions from the text itself, is always subjective, and not all critics use exactly the same definitions or use these terms in exactly the same way. However, I tend to agree with the definitions you quoted. A motif, as I said before, is a recognizable (usually thematic) element. It can be an object or objects like the Horcruxes or something more abstract like, say, the Half-blood Prince's spells or Dumbledore's passwords, or a recurring phrase (e.g., "honored above all others"), but it can also be a concept like miscommunication or unintended consequences. Usually, it's distinct from a symbol (such as the Elder Wand), which has significance in and of itself that can be interpreted by the reader and sensed (though not usually overtly expressed) by the author.

A theme is more major and more prevalent, and can usually be expressed in a sentence. For example, you could argue that the theme or a theme of the HP books is that love is more powerful than the darkest spell. Or you could say that the/a theme is that evil can never be permanently defeated but must always be fought. JKR would probably state the theme of her books, the main point she was trying to make, in similar but not identical terms. An author is usually conscious of his or her main themes. Motifs, however, may occur deliberately as part of the plot structure or may evolve out of the story as it's being told without the author's being fully and consciously aware of the links to themes and concepts in the storyline.

At any rate, I would call miscommunication a motif rather than a theme. It occurs repeatedly, sometimes as a deliberate device on the part of the author to mislead the characters and/or the reader, sometimes out of the nature or motives of a character. (Snape, for example, must subtly mislead Voldemort and the DEs to survive and to continue usefully serving Dumbledore. It would be fun to write an essay--or a whole book--on the topic. The problem would not be finding examples--they're everywhere--but putting them all together and determining their significance.

Carol, giving Potioncat an A+ for her extra credit homework assignment <wink>