unicorns and religious references in HP (was checking out the library book / Love -- massively OT, mostly)

[Penny & Bryce]

Hi --

I decided to change the subject line at long last!  :--)  

David asked about whether unicorns are a Christian symbol of some sort.  Indeed, the unicorn has long been a symbol of Christ (allegory -- the hunted unicorn with its head on the lap of a virgin as depicted in medieval tapestries is said to represent the Virgin Mary with the Christ child).  My daughter has a recent fascination with unicorns and we've been reading the tale "The Unicorn and the Lake," which also has some pretty clear Biblical overtones in the battle between the serpent and the unicorn.  

Of course, the unicorn is also a symbol for other things as well, and as many people have noted before, symbols are a bit loosy-goosey to some folks (they can both mean different things to different people, and of course, there's the argument that some "Christian" symbols pre-date Christianity and are pagan in origin).  The question though is whether Rowling considers a unicorn to be a symbol of Christ or not I suppose.  We don't know one way or another, but as Granger notes, Rowling "either is a Christian author or she has a remarkable fetish for Christian imagery and teaching." 

Granger states that the griffin, unicorn, phoenix, stag, centaur, hippogriff, red lion and the philosopher's stone itself are all symbols of the qualities and/or person of Christ.  The phoenix or resurrection bird is perhaps the most obvious symbol, with the lion as a long-standing symbol of Christ as a close second in my mind (interesting that the lion and the unicorn combine in the British coat of arms).  

Changing the subject:

David signed an earlier message with: <<David, wondering if by any chance it is R/H that is 'obviously' canon>>>

In that particular case, yes.  :--)  But, I think that the notion that any fan can irrefutably declare what is canon and what is not based on "implied structure" and/or "authorial intent" is ludicrous, whatever the context.  I just think it's ........ presumptious in the extreme.  

And, lastly, to Kneasy: Apologies for mis-reading your post.  I still think that it's not clear that you were referring to Johnson's History of the English People when you told Pippin to "go read the book," but I'm perfectly willing to take your word for it and call it "my bad" since Pippin doesn't seem fussed about it.  

Incidentally, is this Paul Johnson the same author who wrote "The History of the American People"?  Also wondering why you're so sure that Pippin has never read it -- I can see from amazon that it's out of print, but if it's the same guy, his other works are readily available and fairly well-known over here.  Ah, yes, it is the same guy -- it appears from a quick skim of amazon reviews and other sources that the author is considered highly biased and selective.  So, why ought we to trust this as source for the assertion that the English have never been particularly religious as a people?  That's honestly counter to my own perception, though of course I know that modern Britain is more secular than not.  For example, see:

http://slate.msn.com/id/3054/

If I've read the thread correctly, the original contention was Kneasy saying that Rowling's novels are entirely secular and Pippin has pointed up many examples of religious references that are, in the minds of many readers, replete throughout the novels.  I added in that there are a number of authors who've found strong Christian currents running through the books.  Somehow or another we got bogged down in whether nuns, cathedrals, souls, friars and the like could have other non-religious connotations and are merely "background color."  It again gets down to whether Rowling herself would agree that she used those references in an entirely off-hand secular way.  I personally don't think so, but I'm sure we can all concede that we don't know her intent in that matter and so it's possible.  There seem to be a number of questions in the same ilk being suggested for the Leaky/Mugglenet interview with Rowling next month.  Perhaps we'll learn more!  

Penny

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