Connecting the dots

[Barry Arrowsmith]

--- In the_old_crowd at yahoogroups.com, "nkafkafi" <nkafkafi at y...> wrote:
> 
> JKR lists all the times and dates that are known to be important for
> the plot in story internal time. For example, Tom's releasing the
> basilisk happened "50 years before" the year of CoS. So if it turns
> out that the NHN dating is off by (say) two years, nothing terrible
> happens except that Tom's last year at Hogwarts, for example, will be
> listed in the Lexicon as "Y-45 (1943)" instead of "Y-45 (1945)",
> meaning it's still 45 years before Harry was born, but actually in
> 1943 – two years *before* Grindelwald was defeated. The dates that JKR
> lists using absolute RL dating are mostly for adding color - this
> international convention of warlocks in 1567 or that goblin rebellion
> in 1748. In this sense, JKR listing the year of defeating Grindelvald
> as "1945" not only makes it difficult to synchronize it with the
> story's timeline, it also suggests that defeating Grindelvald is a
> detail of the second type, and not something important for the plot.  
> 
> 

You (and part of the Lexicon) may be right in your assumptions; though
you may not be, 'cos another entry seems very specific with dates.

 http://www.hp-lexicon.org/wizards/voldemort.html

It too may be wrong - because no-one can be quite certain - yet.
And while there's a loophole I'll exploit it ruthlessly, nay, shamelessly.

OK - we're at one of the major divides in fandom, and it's one that has
very little to do with right or wrong but goes to the basic question of
"Why are we all here getting slightly obsessive about an imaginary kid?
What do we get out of it?"

The study of the fans can be almost as entertaining as studying the books.
Now I can only speak for one person - me,  though it's not unreasonable
to assume that others will fall more or less into the same category. By the
same token, observation can give a fair approximation of the differing 
attitudes of still more.

My philosophy can be boiled down to seven simple words:

I'm making hay while the sun shines.

And if the hay turns into mouldy silage then that's OK, the exercise
was good for me - and I've no horse anyway.

There is a possibility that the HP series is indeed intended for children.
The conclusion may turn out to be trite or undemanding or facile. 
We all hope this won't be the case, but it cannot be totally discounted.
It'd be a disappointment to many, though some have expectations
that'd be difficult to realise no matter what.

Meanwhile (and bolstering the hopes of most of the adult fans) it *seems*
to be stuffed full of plots, sub-plots, clues, hints and nudges that run
counter to this possibility. To those of a certain mind-set this looks like
an invitation to let their imaginations off the leash, to soar off into the
wild blue yonder with theories, hypotheses and speculations galore.
More comforting still, JKR seems to actively encourage these practices.
As I've stated time and again and again it doesn't matter a damn whether
these ideas turn out to be correct or not - it's actually constructing these
theories that is the fun part, hostages to fortune though they may be.
HP is just the excuse for letting the imagination run riot.
Which, when you're in your 60s, supposed to be mature, sensible and
all that other rubbish, is an opportunity for fun not to be denied.

Cobbling these ideas together sometimes requires assumptions to be 
made (as with timelines for example), which is OK so long as fixed
canon is not trampled in the dust - though sometimes even 'fixed'
canon is contradicted within the text. What it boils down to is that
unless something is definitively ruled out then it's fair game for the
theorisers.

Others prefer not to play this game. Fair enough. Their choice. I'm
none too sure whereabouts in the spectrum you yourself fall, but I'd
be surprised if you were of the fraction that has no patience with any
speculation whatsoever, those that consider that what is written is
immutable and not open to further interpretation. This group, who
could be considered as the ultra-FAITHs may be correct, but the
boards would be pretty boring (IMO) if we all took that view. They'd
be little more than a succession of "Isn't Sirius lovely, isn't Snape horrible?"
type posts.  That's no fit occupation for a grown lad.

Unfortunately it's more or less certain that after book 7 hits the book-
stores, that's exactly what most of the posts will become -- critiques
of character and plot. No  doubt fans will  still manage to disagree
vehemently with each other, but the arguments will be pretty sterile;
there will be no linking of possible insights into the past and potential 
future developments - which is really what most speculation is about.

Meanwhile I'll try to think of six impossible (HP) things before breakfast
and inflict them on the long-suffering members. Contrary opinions are 
welcome, indeed encouraged. I hope you take the same stance. But to 
return to the points that we were discussing before I launched into this
 ... whatever it is - the speculations in the Lexicon (for that is what they
are) won't persuade me to abandon speculations of my own - though a
really gob-smacking, compelling counter-theory might. 
Very sad, this seeking after sensation.

Speaking of which - must go, Talisman's post needs looking at.

Kneasy