unicorns and religious references in HP (was checking out the library book

[Barry Arrowsmith]

--- In the_old_crowd at yahoogroups.com, "annemehr" <annemehr at y...> wrote:
> 
> Anne:
> And then we have that curious anti-Christian beastie in the dementor
> who can lose your soul *for* you, just for the sin of being unlucky
> enough to fall into its clutches.  I always wondered how to take that
> -- whether it's a question Jo brought up with the intent to solve
> later, whether it was a bit of hyperbole to illustrate how
> soul-destroying depression can be, or whether it's merely as foreign
> to my Catholic roots as the doctrine of predestination is (at least at
> first glance).
> 
> I never got anywhere with that question; I just file it under Fate
> Worse Than Death and read on.

You were more right than you realise.
Dementors are the physical manifestation of Depression, according
to Jo. The real stuff, not just sadness. She admits in her interview of
23rd Oct 2000 that she herself was very badly affected at one time,
and it was only her thoughts for her daughter that stirred her  to
find a way out of it and made her realise she should talk to a doctor.

Odd that a traditional English phrase refers to severe depression as
'The Black Dog' - and often used by Churchill who was prone to attacks.
So in HP we have Sirius tormented by Dementors, a Black Dog with a 
attack of 'The Black Dog'.
Not accidental, I think. 

Kneasy