[the_old_crowd] Re: Luna or Diana

[sean dwyer]

On Sun, Sep 12, 2004 at 02:13:17PM -0000, Nora Renka wrote:
> Oh, not saying that there's not symbolism there and she doesn't use 
> it--perhaps I was not clear enough.  I'm the deep skeptic about the 
> attempts to map the clear mythological/historical/whatever patterns 
> onto the characters to predict future conflicts or plot resolutions.  
> (The perpetual chestnut of how Arthur and Lucius both have names 
> derived from Popes and thus are destined to fight it out is a prime 
> example--alas, I don't even remember all the details).

Point taken, and well put.

> Luna is important to the plot, but aspects of her character seem 
> pretty obviously clear (at least to me)--she's really rather spacey, 
> she inhabits something of her own world, she's extremely intuitive, 
> and is thus the anti-Hermione, etc.  The best suggestion I've seen 
> lately for her importance was actually over on that other list that 
> we all frequent every once in a while.  The suggestion was made that 
> Luna, in part, represents faith--her 'don't you hear them? it's not 
> like we won't see them again'.  Throw that in with the self-confessed 
> Christianity of the author (hello potential flamewar, I know), and 
> you have some real resonance.

I like that - the anti-Hermione :) JKR must be in rebellion against the '60's
or something... I too think that the Christian tendency waxes, which would be
heavy irony considering the continuing masses of Harry is the Devil-type
websites.

> But any detailed and specific links to a mythological moon figure?  
> Not really JKR's style.  No, she likes to modify her sources--Romulus 
> and Remus are related to wolves, but there's no lycanthropy anywhere 
> in that story.  With Sirius, the best you can get is that it's the 
> brightest star in the sky, and the Dog Star--given that, she's 
> extrapolated those lovably doggy traits onto the character, but 
> dumped most all of the other associations.  

Note also that JKR used the 'black dog' symbolism not common to US
readers as an extra joke. She'll probably have fun with moon jokes then.

> The symbolism and allusion hunt can go on forever, but this isn't Vergil,
> where all of them are meaningful.  The trick is to find out which ones are,
> and to what extent the original sources can tell us much of anything.  It's
> always worth a giggle where you spot an original source, but it doesn't
> always tell you much.
 
That was my view also, hence my dumping of as many associations as I could dig
up. I'll know something's up if she dresses in red. 
 
-- 
We... know how cruel the truth often is, and we wonder whether delusion is not more consoling. 
     -- Henry Poincar