PDay Minus Four — Prediction #4: Through the Veil

July 18, 2007 by 7 Comments

I have written at some length about the likelihood of Harry Passing through the Veil in the Department of Mysteries and expanded on the Christian Symbolism of the Veil even more recently.

In brief, Ms. Rowling has repeatedly had Harry go underground in his annual Hero’s Journey, which epic heroes do, as a rule, to visit the dead. That link and its constancy through six books points to a trip underground to see the dead in the finale.

Ms. Rowling’s comments about the seventh book (a) revealing her faith and (b) revealing how near we can get “to the dead” also point to an afterlife experience that has “shades” (ouch) of a Christian cosmology.

Let’s go to the “high spots” from my post on the Aeneid and Harry’s possible trip through the Veil…

Six Reasons for believing Harry will Pass Through the Veil

Here are six reasons taken from the top of my head for thinking Harry may go through the Veil in Deathly Hallows:

(1) In every novel so far, Ms. Rowling has had Harry descend before the climactic battle either underground quite literally or to a place of the dead. We can take this as something of a fetish, a coincidence, or a pointer to the last book when Harry will, at last, “do an Odysseus/Aeneas/Dante” and head into the real land of the dead. All previous descents would then be understood, not as mechanical check-list satisfaction for her hero’s journey formula, but as dramatic perumbration of one of the most memorable events in the story’s closing book.

(2) Ms. Rowling is by training a classicist. If she majored in French at the University of Exeter, [Read more…]

Filed Under: Unlocking Harry Potter

Chiastic Structure of the Novels?

July 18, 2007 by 4 Comments

Two very thoughtful men have weighed in on the chiastic structure of the Harry Potter books, a theory I think I first heard at Nimbus 2003. In brief, it is the idea that the novels are something of a circle or loop in which books 1 and 7, 2 and 6, and 3 and 5 are each a paired set and book 4 the “turning point” with elements of the three sets. The Red Hen has been discussing this sort of thing for some time with the rest of Fandom.

Pastor Joe Thacker has given his version a decidedly alchemical look and HogPro All Pro “Merlin” the Seminarian has pulled out all the stops in his exegesis over at Muggle Matters, which began here in 2006 and continues here this summer (scroll down to Thursday, June 14th: “The 3-4-5 Insanity Chiasm in the Harry Potter Series”). Both versions are worth your time, if only to begin (or review?) your thinking about how the books work as a series or one unit.

Contrary theories are welcome and will be posted, time allowing!

Filed Under: Hog Pro Notes, Ring Composition

The Order of the Phoenix film: A “Trailer for the Book”?

July 18, 2007 by 8 Comments

I was scheduled last week to be the moderator of an Enlightening 2007 panel discussing the Order of the Phoenix movie. This, of course, put me into something of a panic; I know nothing about movies beyond what my mother taught me (“Sit quietly in the the theatre during the film, Alan, and try not to drop too much popcorn. It’s very hard for the nice man who works here to sweep up.”)

Fortunately for me and the people listening to this panel discussion, I have a friend who is both a Harry Potter maven and a professional screenwriter. Janet Batchler not only has a batch of great movies she and her husband Lee have written to her credit, she also teaches this celluloid magic craft at USC. I wrote Janet for help with questions for the panel. Being the charitable woman she is, I received these brilliant ideas via email almost immediately.

Thank you, Janet!

Yesterday, she gave me permission to post them here. I urge you to read Janet’s notes about the movie over at Quoth the Maven and then post your thoughts about the movie and answers to the questions below in the comment boxes here. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Hog Pro Notes

“Harry Potter and the Dubious Hullabaloo” — The Red Hen Speaks

July 18, 2007 by 4 Comments

Joyce Odell, the Red Hen, has posted this fascinating theory that the spoiler text now available on many internet sites is actually a Joanne Rowling inspired if not written product to keep real spoilers from appearing during Potter Week. Ms. Odell has locked up her Red Hen Publications site from any changes now lest she be accused of having seen the foe/faux manuscript online so this appears on her never-before-used Live Journal page. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Hog Pro Notes

Guest Essay5: “If the Wand Chooses the Wizard…”

July 17, 2007 by 8 Comments

From Beth Priest, HogPro All-Pro, old school:

One question I’ve been puzzling over for ages: If the “wand chooses the wizard,” then why on earth did Voldemort’s wand choose him? since it’s got a tail feather from Fawkes! Apparently there have only ever been two such wands in existence. (Where they made at the same time? And on what occasion did Fawkes decide to donate two of his feathers for such a purpose? Did Dumbledore have anything to do with those wands being made? And why were there two?)

It’s just always seemed very odd to me that a wand, seemingly so connected to a bird of beauty, rightness, and power, a bird symbolic of resurrection, a bird connected so deeply to a powerful Gryffindor, would choose an orphan boy with a penchant for cruelty and a huge fear of death who also happens to be the last remaining ancestor of Salazar Slytherin. Decidedly strange. Remember when Harry first chooses his wand; or rather the wand chooses Harry? Red and gold sparks actually fly out of it! It’s hard to imagine that green and silver sparks would have flown out of Tom Riddle’s wand, made with the same core. Unless….

Here are my two ideas. One is a new idea for me, and the other is an old one I’ve played around with for a while. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Hog Pro Notes