[the_old_crowd] Re: unicorns and religious references in HP (was checking out the library book

[ewe2]

On Thu, Jun 23, 2005 at 11:08:06AM -0000, Barry Arrowsmith wrote:

> Neri voices an opinion close to my own in wondering how
> much of the 'religious' evidence is mostly cultural. It's almost
> impossible to hold any discussion of western culture without
> religion getting a significant mention since it is an integral
> component of the whole. Suggesting links between mythical
> monsters and religious concepts was high fashion a few
> hundred years back, codified iconography was an intellectual 
> game.

One of my favourite passages of Eco, is the illustration of medieval
grotesqueries as Aristotle's defence of satire. But the monsters were
supposedly instructive symbolism, no? No doubt a successful harnessing of the
pagan source material to further a Christian viewpoint. Taken that way,
perhaps the Potterverse is a kind of palimpsest, with clues to its origins
scattered throughout canon behind the ostensible story.

> Kneasy:
> Yes, no argument. But I'm wondering *how* it will be expressed.
> As a frankly religious theme or perhaps an allusion, a parallel,
> or,  and this is possible given what  she said about those with a
> familiarity with Christian themes could guess the ending, a straight
> steal of a storyline/resolution? Some would be amenable to such
> adaptions -  the Prodigal Son, for example. Familial affection and 
> forgiveness is a universally recognised theme, not solely a
> Christian one, though if enough clues are sprinkled about anyone
> with religious knowledge would cotton on immediately.
> 'Identification with' does not automatically result in 'obvious 
> expression of.'

This is the 13,273-odd* galleon question isn't it? After a chapter of HBP will
we nod sagely and remark "Ah. The parable of the good Potions Master..." or
"So the house-elves DO inherit the WW..." or will it turn into something less
fun and pointy-fingered. In the last few days it's been my sad duty to read
posts concerning Grangers and Pullmans and the grave danger of Narnia-ism. I
hope JKR's fears of being found out early are baseless, but as I've written
before, I worry that if she thinks the parallels are too obvious to hint at,
they must be obvious indeed.

* 13,273 galleons, 15 sickles, 5 knuts at current market value against
US$64,000 .

-- 
sed awk grep cat dd ..Im a luser baby ,so why don't you killall -kill me.