Further thoughts

[Barry Arrowsmith]

Right.
It's five weeks since we donned the steel toe-capped boots, sharpened  
the elbows and stormed the bookshops, terrorising small children and  
sluggardly shop assistants in our determination to brook no delay in  
getting the latest volume of HP into our trembling hands. Now comes  
the crunch question: Are we any further forward in the quest to  
determine what it's all about?

Er.... no, not really.
All the old questions remain - GH; the 24 hours; Grindelwald; DD;  
Peter; Snape; Malfoy; Dobby; House Elves in general; the significance  
of green eyes; why young Potter seems eager to throw Crucio! curses  
about; why Hermione is such a pain in the neck, etc., etc., etc. OK,  
the last book is yet to come, but didn't herself say that it was the  
time for answers? Anybody notice any of significance?

Instead it gets worse - new questions and complications have been  
added to the list; Herscluces; Patronus-swapping; Unbreakable Vows  
and old Snapey as the HBP - dunno about you but I'm definitely not  
swallowing that one without a lot more evidence - preferably from  
someone other than Sevvy.

There's been a lot of posts about those hearseclux thingies, and  
brooding in the fastness of Schloss Kneasy I've come to the  
conclusion that I don't like 'em. Too convenient as a plot device  
whilst not having much credibility - whoever heard of 'splitting' a  
soul? A theological impossibility, I'd expect. Bit like splitting a  
fundamental particle or saying that life can be torn along the  
perforations and the separate bits neatly tucked away for use when  
required. Or is what Jo refers to as a 'soul' something different to  
our everyday understanding of the word? Not even any consistency  
regarding them in  the plot so far, either - the Diary bears little  
resemblance to what the other constructs are presumed to be or how  
they function.

According to Jo, the reasoning behind the "He who must not be named"  
bit was the common belief in primitive societies (and by extension  
the WW - otherwise why make a big thing of it) that knowing a  
person's name gave power over them. How does this fit in with off- 
cuts of Voldy scattered hither-and-yon around this sceptred isle? By  
rights one should be able to summon him, or a bit of him by invoking  
his name or by injudicious handling of his artifacts - a variant of  
M.R.James' "Oh whistle and I'll come to you my lad." The Diary can be  
said to fit this pattern but from what we're told  the other horlicks  
probably don't function in a similar fashion. Can't think why not.  
IMO it'd make for some entertaining storylines, OoP could have been  
brightened up no end by an evil artifact or two. (As an aside - just  
imagine what M.R.James would have done with HP. Cor! The mind  
boggles! Untold millions of adolescents afraid to put out the light  
at bedtime.)

With the release of a new book it's natural enough to dive in, pick  
it to pieces, trawling for information that may confirm or refute  
theories that have been suggested by fans.  HBP hasn't been a great  
deal of help  in this respect, about the only suggestion that can be  
scrubbed is Vampire!Snape and that was only even part-way convincing  
to a minority anyway. The rest of it is as uncertain as it ever was.  
So  while the book of  itself was enjoyable it was disappointing in  
the overall scheme of things. It really hasn't helped much at all,  
the number of loose ends  don't diminish and the phrase "too clever  
for her own good" is starting to form at the back of my mind. Hope  
I'm wrong.

Kneasy