Now that the dust has settled, the children have torn and discarded the cover to your copy of Deathly Hallows, and the discussion has moved on to the literary merits and sources of the Harry Potter novels, let’s close the door on the speculative madness of the Interlibrum period with nominations for the Best Prognosticator, pre-Deathly Hallows. Millions of us thought and wrote for two years about what we thought had to happen in the series finale. Who do you think did the best job now that we have the real thing? I offer the following three categories for your nominations. Please write your arguments in support of your candidate(s) or some explanation:
(1) Best Speculator: Who stretched your thinking into areas you never expected to explore? Who consistently drove you back to the books for another look at the text because you couldn’t believe you missed the detail this writer thought was a telling one? So what if their theories proved not just wrong but absurdly wrong or just barely wrong; where did you go when you wanted to read something you knew would be based on clear thinking, an excellent grasp of canon, and a certain wildness?
(2) Biggest Bulls Eye: Who hit the nail on the head with a Deathly Hallows prediction? Extra points for being all alone with the theory, for being there first with a canon-proof argument, and for being considered way-out-in-left-field for the guess.
(3) Weirdest Speculation and Oddest Review: What was the strangest idea you read pre-Deathly Hallows of how the series would end? (No shipping, please; it’s a family site…) What idea before and review after Deathly Hallows made you pinch yourself and ask if you were living on the same planet and reading the same books as the speculator/reviewer?
HyperLinks, of course, are much appreciated so the HogPro All-Pro Panel of Judges can see the context of your nominations and verify the evidence of your arguments.
My nominations for your comments and corrections are:
(1) Best Speculator: Joyce Odell, Red Hen Publications. Ms. Odell’s command of canon, her understanding of narrative misdirection and several genres of fiction, and her eclectic way of writing about the Harry Potter novels makes me believe, even though I love Deathly Hallows, that a Red Hen written alternative ending would be as interesting and perhaps more demanding on the reader. Ms. Odell’s “Changeling Hypothesis” gave her readers everything but Horcruxes pre-Half-Blood Prince and the woman predicted in a 2002 Harry Potter for Grown-Ups post that Snape would kill Dumbledore on the Astronomy Tower. Her contributions to and design of Who Killed Albus Dumbledore? (Zossima, 2006) made it the hands-down best speculative book published during the Interlibrum (pardon my bias).
(2) Biggest Bull’s Eye: The obvious candidate here is Cathy Leisner, who offered up “Stoppered Death” on the Barnes and Noble University discussion room in July, 2005, and then disappeared from Fandom, never to be heard from again. This theory, as championed here and elsewhere, gained such currency that when we read about in “The Prince’s Tale” it wasn’t much of a surprise. Without Cathy’s noticing all the references to that first Potions class in Half-Blood Prince, our experience of Deathly Hallows may have been very different.
Merlin at MuggleMatters.com deserves special mention here, if only because his thoughts about the importance of the Expelliarmus spell and the detailed exegesis of his reasoning and canon support for his conclusions seemed so way-out-there to me. How important, I thought, can one spell be? Pretty doggone important and Merlin had this one drilled — and all to himself.
(3) Weirdest Speculation and Oddest Review: I want to keep this friendly so I’ll restrict my nomination to a site that I like, namely, Harry Potter for Seekers. The host, Hans Andrea, is a friend and his site, though the posts can have a Twilight Zone type feel to them, is always tolerant and encouraging of the most esoteric theories. I think Xenophilius Lovegood would like it, too.
Perhaps the oddest speculation I heard or read, though, before and after Deathly Hallows was published came from the West Coast. A magician I know, Joey Pipia of Port Townsend, WA, predicted the end of the last Harry Potter novel — the very last sentence, word-for-word — in February as well as two other impossible-to-know facts and put them in the safe of the local newspaper. He was right in all three of his predictions.
Two requests:
First, please restrict your nominations to positive comments of your favorites. Feel free to disagree with other nominations, but only with charity and in support of your candidate’s relative speculative virtues.
Second, please explain after your nomination(s) how the heck did the magician guess the last sentence of the book in February?! Spooky stuff…
I just totally and wholeheartedly agree with you, John, about Cathy (#2). She wins the House Cup all by herself!
ZR
How’s this little gem, from a truly bizarre site:
http://www.exposingsatanism.org/harrypotter2.htm
Ah yes, Harry is a blasphemous parody of Christ.
I don’t do fandom, so I vote for John enlightening me to the hilt on all things Potter and Christian edifying literature. Also, I thought John pretty much hit the nail with the seventh book predictions, so I am prejudice. Thanks John for your wonderful books and this website. I sure do miss the personal boards too.
BIGGEST BULL’S EYE: I’m sure there will be many posting these links on Snape and the true reason Snape’s worst memory was his worst memory, but here they are (I found after much searching). Oh, man, I hope I did this right.
http://www.hp-lexicon.org/essays/essay-snapes-change-of-allegiance.html
http://www.mugglenet.com/editorials/madampuddifoot/edit-rlabozetta01.shtml
http://chipcullen.com/2007/07/20/is-snape-good-or-evil/
As to the magician? Probably knew someone who knew someone, and a spoiler got out. Unless this was before she finished it?
Perelandra Says:
September 5th, 2007 at 2:14 pm
How’s this little gem, from a truly bizarre site:
http://www.exposingsatanism.org/harrypotter2.htm
Ah yes, Harry is a blasphemous parody of Christ.
_______________________
That letter’s gotta be a parody, even if the site itself is not. Lurlene Tyranna Shores (Tyrannosaurus)?
1) Felicity’s 8 essays make her “Best Speculator” in my book. She consistently drove me back to the text, and I consider her “misses” not so much off-the-wall theories, but legitimate alternative directions in which JKR could have gone and not diminished one iota from the quality of the book. She was a voice in the wilderness championing Nagini as horcrux, and she nailed it.
2) Cathy Liesner, far and away, with special thanks to you, John, and to Felicity for your helpful out-working of the implications of the theory.
3) I always found Joyce’s theories to be the weirdest. Quite clever, of course, but weird, not fitting the overall feel of the series, nor its details, the way I read the series.
Is the Exposing Satanism article on Harry Potter serious? It’s so ridiculous, it seems like it has to be satire.
The Exposing Satanism article struck me that way, too. WAY far out, poorly written, completely illogical, and even self-contradictory. Lucius Malfoy as an angel and Harry as the evil one? If that isn’t a completely backwards understanding, what is?
I recall that Lurlene Tyranna Shores article is a joke written by someone on Journalfen to see if she could get accepted to the Exposing Satanism site with the most ridiculous article ever. I don’t know if the actual site is for real or not, but I certainly hope it’s a fake. It claims Rowling is using descriptions of colors to control children’s minds, especially green, Satan’s “favorite color.”
Well the byline on the Exposing Satanism article was almost certainly fake, but the site was full of stuff like that on all the subjects dear to the nutty-wutty heart.
I’ve thought of “exposing” the Satanism of a popular collectible by pointing out that a sought after example bears the model number 666 and another is in the shape of a pentagram. But I won’t, less the joke get repeated as true, ala the infamous ONION satire on HP.
If the ExposingSatanism.org piece is satire, it is the most clever piece written by a Harry Hater that I have read. As a send-up of the symbolist interpretations I have made, it’s drop-dead funny. Unfortunately, it seems to be consistent with other postings at the site (i.e., totally off-the-wall and very serious). I think it has to be the clear leader for “Weirdest Speculation/Oddest Review;” Thank you, Perelandra, for this find.
I should have included a category for “Magnificent Maven,” the web site leader or blogger that you enjoyed reading during the Interlibrum. I didn’t lest I seem to be begging for compliments (or have my feelings hurt if no one mentioned me). Now that Rumor has pre-empted the category by her applause in my direction, let’s open it up for general comment.
In the sub-category of Maven-Prognosticator, I nominate Travis Prinzi of Sword of Gryffindor. The Full-Blood Prinzi’s site has been a constant refuge of sanity and challenging commentary from its beginnings post HBP until today. I envy the man his energy, his insights, and his WeBlog, not to mention his Hog’s Head PodCasting!
In the sub-category of Maven-Resource Par Excellence, I nominate Lisa Bunker of Accio Quotes. While writing my books or posts on this site or lectures for FanCons, I found myself almost always able to find the answer I needed from the brilliantly organized and idiot-proofed systems at AQ. The one time I couldn’t find the interview source I was sure existed, I wrote Ms. Bunker. She replied within the hour (!) with the AQ url with the interview note I needed. I asked how I missed it in my searches; she said she had just found it herself and posted it after my query.
Top that.
Hats off to all those nominated so far!
I looked it up and the Tyranna Shores article is definitely parody by HP-fan Camillabloom, but the web site is serious and apparently thought she was too!
Delightful. Now imagine if you can the reverse: a Harry Hater parodying a Harry Hallower so well that the post is featured on a Potter Fan site.
More nominations?
Peg Kerr over at the Michael O’Brien thread just posted a nomination for “Oddest Review” that I think is the potential champion of a very crowded field. Read it at http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2007/sep/07090503.html. What’s your bet that the good doctor/reviewers worship in the same Star Chamber as Michael O’Brien and the other RadTrad LifeSite Savanarolas?
The two Doctors responsible for bringing the world the “psychopathology” of “abortion survivors” that colors the entire postmodern world attempted in 2003 (1) to interpret Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone and (2) explain Pottermania in light of Rowling’s tapping into this psychopathology.
I think we have a new leader for “Oddest Review”! Here is the conclusion from the Drs. Ney:
Using coded language, Rowling has been able to put into written form the unrevealed and unspoken fears of the abortion survivor. She expressed in writing psychological conflicts that generally only appear in nightmares. Many of the struggles experienced by children, and which she fantasizes about in her Harry Potter series, have been expressed in the terrifying dreams of abortion survivors. For example:
– somebody tried or wanted to kill you (Harry’s teacher, Mr. Quirrell, trying to kill him)
– the feeling that one is surrounded by invisible people, some of whom are hostile and wish your death (Harry looks into the mirror and sees a whole crowd of people standing right behind him)
– shedding blood, murdering your sibling (in fantasy), so that you can live half a life (Mr. Quirrell drinking the blood of an innocent, pure victim to stay alive, although at a terrible cost)
– the feeling of being burdened by a parasite, a hostile sibling who hangs on to you and prevents you from living (Mr. Quirrell, a man with two faces, carrying a half-dead Voldmort who explains that he has a form only when he can share another’s body and who dreams to create a body for himself)
– and, of course, the terrifying reality that somebody is angry at the survivor for being alive (Voldmort’s anger at Harry Potter)
Ms Rowling also appeals to the abortion survivor, because she briefly touches on some of the deepest yearnings of all humans for life and meaning. (Harry finally finds somebody who watches over him). However, having opened up this yearning, she sends the reader away empty-handed. She remarkably and accurately describes and expands on the dark side of a humanity without God. The themes she develops are anti-thetical to the glory of Christian revelation. She illustrates the morbid fascination abortion survivors have for control and power, even if these are dark and frightening.
Harry Potter looks for the stone that confers eternal life. This is clearly opposed to Christian revelation. He experiences a mother’s love that is so strong, it is capable of burning and destroying the enemy, a caricature which is quite obvious.
Ms Rowling appeals to the more pathological dreams of the abortion survivors. She describes transfiguration as one of the most complex and dangerous kinds of magic. She describes a world of magic and of power. “There is no good and evil, only power and those too weak to seek it.” In the Harry Potter world, there is the mirror of Erised, which shows us what we want or want to see. A world where one can be special, if one is marked as having survived.
The inventor of Harry Potter describes with great accuracy the world of the abortion survivors. However, in a truly satanic fashion, she leads these broken people in a downward spiral into a world that is not life-giving, but one of death and despair. She shows them the way to an illusion of power, which is without life and which is the realm of Satan.
Harry Potter can become a cult, making people feel they are understood and will understand the truth and then deliberately lead them away from the source of Life and Truth. The psychopathology associated with being an abortion survivor is real. It needs to be understood by those involved in the new evangelization. We now need people who are saintly enough to descend into the pit of hell where they are and who can bring them to the light. Preaching Jesus Christ is a work of love, healing and life. It is a work of mercy.
As valuable or silly the psychopathology they describe, as book reviewers the good doctors need to begin by reading the rest of the series and work on sharpening those literary criticism skills. I recommend “Unlocking Harry Potter: Five Keys for the Serious Reader.”
I know enough about stage magic to completely distrust any stage magician claiming to have gotten things right and “locked away” his answers. There are several ways he could trick us. Only if his answers were revealed *before* the book was published would I take them seriously. Fooling people is what he does for a living, after all!
And count me as another vote for Cathy Liesner. I found myself wondering, on my second readthrough, how it might have felt to read Deathly Hallows *without* having read her Stoppered Death concept, how it might have felt to have been surprised rather than already knowing what was coming….
LibraryLily at “A Church in Godric’s Hollow” has to be mentioned for her almost perfect prognostications pre Deathly Hollows. Check out her 19 July guesses at http://librarylily.blogspot.com/.
My nomination for best prognosticator is Swythyv’s series of essays, “Kings Invisible to See” (the first essay can be found at livejournal.com/hp_essays/197330.html). These essays began with the deceptively simple premise that the words “wizard,” “warlock” and “sorcerer” as used in the HP books had very different meanings, and that those differences were significant. What then proceeded was a brilliant and intricate journey into the history of the wizarding world and government, and who the “chosen one” really was. While I disagreed with Swythyv’s ultimate conclusion, I was enthralled by the essays and the imagination of the author. The essays weren’t so much a prediction of what would happen, as they were a foundation for everything that had happened and would happen. They very much enriched my HP experience and I am greatly indebted to the author.
As for weirdest (and most wonderful) prediction, I would like to nominate the creator of the “Stubby Boardman” theory. The theory is that Regulus Black faked his death and went into hiding with a new identity as Stubby Boardman (lead singer for the Hobgoblins), which is why Luna Lovegood thought that Sirius Black was Stubby Boardman in Book 5 (family resemblance, you know). The theory went on to posit that Luna would be crucial in Book 7 as the person to make the connection and unite Harry with Regulus and the location of the locket horcrux. I loved this theory as it seemed so much in the spririt of JKR’s writing — witty and playful, making unexpected connections, and rattling our assumptions about who’s crazy and who isn’t. I have not been able to find a link to the original essay. I am hoping that someoneelse can provide it, so that the creator may have proper credit for his/her wonderful imagination. Since I don’t have the original essay available, I apologize in advance if I have misstated it.
Gotta add an honorable mention for category #2. The Presbyteer wrote a potential ending for the book back in Sept. 2006. At the time, I linked it at SoG and said, “It’s well-written, and it’s definitely not what JKR will do.” Obviously, it’s not exactly what she did, but it’s tremendous foresight on the part o the Presbyteer, given that Rowling did give us an “afterlife” conversation with Dumbledore, the relevance of the sword, AND no scar during that afterlife scene.
Thanks to John for his kind words. Of course, I’d have never started on any of this had it not been for the inspiration of his brilliant work in the first place. HogPro and SoG will remain sister sites until no one’s paying any attention to HP anymore (and then my guess is John and I will keep writing anyway).
1) John!!!
2) Cathy Leisner. Like Janet said above, I found myself wondering if the read would have been more exciting had I not heard the Stoppered Death theory beforehand. I am truly amazed at her foresight! I tip my hat to her and to you, John, for furthering/championing the theory. I would have never heard it otherwise.
3) I don’t remember where I first heard the theory that Dumbledore on the Astronomy Tower was really Slughorn, but for me this plot line always seemed rather overdone for Jo. I just don’t see her as that kind of writer.
The Doctors Ney have my vote too. They should be pulled over and ticketed for scribing without a poetic license. No understanding of imagery at all.
“Harry Potter looks for the stone that confers eternal life. This is clearly opposed to Christian revelation.”
Oh, yeah? Sez who?
“This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. ”
Hmmm…. the “head of the corner,” eh? Maybe an essay on the thesis that Michael Corner is the only Christian in HP…?
Hi, John,
I just had to come by and say thanks for the compliment! That made my day. Only since Deathly Hallows’ release have I really started to read Harry Potter blogs, but yours is one of my mainstays.
Travis, your site is the other one I visit regularly! You and John should certainly keep writing, because I plan on being around awhile …
I plan on being around also.
I have to nominate John Granger for best speculator…. 😀
First, I don’t go to many HP websites; I just don’t have time. I’m a regular here though and have thus had opportunity to appreciate Travis Prinzi, SOG. I also enjoy the many links John provides which has widened my exposure to other engaging (and laughable Anton Ego) writers.
Best prognisticators:
1. John. You brought out the greatness of this series with your incredible work on structure. Without your classical insights the trip wouldn’t have been nearly as fun. You’ve done amazing work. I can’t wait for the final Looking for God and Unlocking Harry Potter: Five Keys for the Serious Reader. Thanks for the great, great books and all your hard work. And for being fun. Rowling owes you.
2. Got to give it to Cathy, too. Biggest bullseye.
3. Janet Batchelor for story/reader payoff.
Interlibrum, I also enjoyed Joyce O’Dell’s WKAD? essay on the interlibrum timeline and Wendy B. Harte’s The Curse of the Black Family Tree, and the following essays from The Harry Potter Lexicon: Ginny Weasley: A Gryffindor and a Match for Harry by Tim Lambarski; Snape’s Eyes by Edmund B. Kern; Generations in the Wizarding World by Ebony AKA AngieJ. Also, on John’s original site, ‘Good Snape’ is not a ‘Square Circle’ By H.M. Ketcham and (I’m not sure if you posted this, John) Severus Snape: Not Voldemort’s Man, An original editorial by Anthony Goldstein. LibraryLily, I’ve just added you to my Favorites and will return–great prognistications. I’m also enjoying Professor Mum at Chamber of Mom.
While I’m no prognosticator, I confess my jaw dropped when I read Voldemort could undo the evil Horcruxes through remorse. In humorous little prediction pieces posted on this site, I wrote under an epilogue interview, “Lord Voldemort Exclusive”–
Rita Skeeter: So Lord Voldemort, we’ll just say the ending of the story was a complete surprise.
LV: Yes, no one expected me to repent.
RS: It was rather a shock.
LV: My Death Eaters were quite disappointed (high-pitched laugh).
RS: From sociopath to savior of the Wizarding World. What a resume.
LV: Yes, nothing like a little irony to upset the fans.
I guess we have to be happy Voldemort didn’t take this course or there would have been no long book to enjoy!
I have to add that I so enjoy everything on this site; the caliber of discussion and debate, the creativity, the intelligence, the courtesy, the “adultness” of it…why, if you’d told me two years ago I’d be part of an online community, I’d have laughed hilariously. Participating with you all is such thoughtful fun. What a delight to interact with such great Christian thinkers. Could some of you move to my extremely conservative-Christian town?
Little Flako better move or Fullatricks is going to attack him…
Travis, I’ve been catching up and now had time to read The Presbyteer’s ending. Now that’s just eerie. Thanks so much for sharing this.
The kitties don’t like eerie, their tails are fluffed…
re: Voldemort’s repentance:
Not to blow my own horn, as I spoke to no one but my 2 daughters about this, but quite some time ago I pondered the possibility of a repentance theme in the last book. After all, it is through repentance that we heal our own souls and this was the only way I could see Voldemort repairing his and ending the conflict without Harry having to kill him. I was very pleased to see this in the book!
Then a stanger thought occured to me which seems unfathomable and the consequences of which I can’t yet seem to wrap my head around. Is it possible for Satan himself to repent?
John, I’d like to add that I believe your work will stand the test of time and be the reference materials for reading the books. Speculation, even wild stuff, was fun. But the academic work you contributed for understanding and predicting these books is what will last. My chapeau is so off to you!
Kittlies like laps more than chapeaus…
James P, whoa. The age-old circular “can Satan repent?” argument! Regrettably, he’s certainly shown no signs so far. Perhaps Rowling’s portrayal of LV demonstrates why.
Our prophetic peek in the book of Revelation (no matter the interpretation) shows he won’t repent and will go down fighting.
Good prediction, by the way. Mine was just a humorous lark, without serious thought behind it.
Kitties don’t know from repent, they simply look at you with those sweet, innocent eyes, and do what they want…
Do these reviews have to be totally favorable, or can they be critical? Not to be immodest, but I probably travel as much or more than any of you around the fandom, and I’ve seen a lot of odd things.
I don’t know if it’s the oddest review but this one made me laugh…a lot. The poster goes by the name of Professor Mum.
http://community.livejournal.com/hp_essays/239017.html?view=5268393#t5268393
Daniel Hemmens also had an interesting review at FerretBrain. It’s in four parts. The first part is here:
http://ferretbrain.com/articles/article-146.html
I’m a little late to the game, but I wanted to (humbly) submit our Deathly Hallows prognostication: http://www.hpprogs.com/2006/12/22/how-harry-potter-will-end-the-deathly-hallows/
We got the Deathly Hallows part wrong, but we got the plot part down pretty close.
John, do you think it’s possible that you may be responsible for the deaths of Tonks and Lupin? As soon as I read that Tonks was pregnant, I knew that she and Lupin were goners. Thanks to your explanation of the structures and themes of literary alchemy, I understood the need for a “philosophical orphan” to complete the cycle. Turns out, Tonks and Lupin were supposed to live, and JKR changed her mind. Obviously, something persuaded her to alter the original plan, and have the story end with Teddy Lupin being an orphan. We’ve seen a few snippets of evidence in the past that JKR may have been aware of your theories, so who knows…
Scary thought! I think if you’re going to give me credit or cite me as an influence in the death of M/M Lupin, I’d rather you say that I saved the lives of M/M Bill Weasley. I predicted, after all, that the Alchemical Wedding couple would beget the Philosophical Orphan and die by book’s end. Given Ms. Rowling’s alchemical bent, I doubt I pushed her to the murderous edge; if anything, my prediction may have moved her target.
All of which speculation is laughably self-important and unfounded (not to mention “flattering;” thank you, Mary N, for the much needed ego boost). We have no evidence that Ms. Rowling has even heard of John Granger or anything I’ve written. I requested an interview with Ms. Rowling (with Lisa Bunker of Accio Quotes) and Arthur Levine’s office sent me a form note saying Ms. Rowling was unable to meet with fans or do any interviews not already scheduled on her trip. They closed the note with their hope that I would “continue to enjoy the books.”
For any of you who want to think Ms. Rowling is aware of you or me or anyone not on the First Tier of Fandom (the one-name group: Melissa, Emerson, Steve — any others?), I think this Levine Imprint farewell is an excellent goal to keep in mind. I hope, when you awake from your day dream, that you continue to enjoy Ms. Rowling’s books.
John, pretty sure I’m not in Ms. Rowling’s creative compost heap
I know my theory is a longshot, and I appreciate your natural modesty. But I don’t believe Bill and Fleur were ever targeted for destruction. Mr. Arthur Weasley is the character who is said to have gotten a “reprieve.” If memory serves me correctly, he was supposed to die back in “Order of the Phoenix,” but JKR couldn’t bear to kill him.
I wonder, then, why Tonks and Lupin had to die? Ms. Rowling said she studied “a ridiculous amount about alchemy” in order to “set the parameters and establish the stories’ internal logic.” Perhaps she came to the conclusion on her own that she needed a philosophical orphan. I, too, expected Bill and Fleur would die, but as soon as we learned about the Lupin pregnancy, it was clear that the target had shifted.
I knew they were goners the moment Harry was made the Godfather. I liked Lupin…. I miss Snape more though. Idiot Voldemort.
Levine sent you a fan form note? Incroyable! I’m simply stunned. For shame. What was in his coffee? This is a major insult to the person who has done more to literarily explain and spiritually elucidate Rowling than anyone. As I wrote earlier, your books will stand the test of time as companion pieces for understanding the complexity, structure and themes of these books.
Luscious Badboy has his claws out for you anytime…
I miss Snape, too! Funny how JKR “couldn’t bear” to kill Mr. Weasley, but had no trouble whatsoever offing her most intriguing creation! I know this may sound like heresy to the elite and erudite commentators on this site, but does anyone know of any DECENT fan fiction out there with an alternative ending? I would love to replace that image in my brain of Snape gasping out his last breath in a pool of blood in the shrieking shack. Even just a conversation between Harry and Snape’s portrait would satisfy me.
Uh-oh, the twins are riding their bikes IN the house. Gotta go!
Mary N., I can sympathize with your loss; Snape was absolutely compelling, honorable and sympathetic, though, to me, not likable.
I feel Snape was, always had been and always would be a very lonely, unbalanced, pinched and unhappy person who, instead of working through and growing beyond old hatreds, clutched them unhealthily to himself as a salve. The only happiness he’d ever known was in Lily’s company, but that was increasingly mixed with anxiety before she cut him off. His life was hard and I imagine it took a great toll. Perhaps both Spinners End and the Shrieking Shack were metaphors for his own heart.
While I was sad to see him die without resolution of these things, I think death was a gift to him. I believe he finally found happiness and peace in the afterlife and I like to think of Severus finally happy and at peace. And I’ll bet Harry did visit with him in his headmaster portrait (after making sure there’d be one) and told him he’d named his son after him.
So for me, Severus’ death was both a sad and a happy ending.
Cleverpuss likes happy endings, especially in the form of treats…
A blast from the past: For “strange and long” honors, this epic screed from CultureWars.com.
http://www.culturewars.com/2002/potter.html
Arabella-
Thanks for your kind words of condolence. I didn’t really mean it about the fan fiction. Forgive me for the momentary lapse. Obviously, I’m still working through some grief issues from Deathly Hallows, although overall, I absolutely loved the book, and was very happy with the final resolution. I think the whole Snape thing is just my maternal instincts kicking in. I just want to make everything better for the poor, lonely, rejected kid.
I always enjoy your cat stories. I could sign off my posts with twin stories, and trust me, I’d never have to make anything up! Right now, they’re naked on the trampoline again. . . I’m beginning to think I should have named them Luscious Badboy and Fullatricks!
John, I promise I’ll stay on topic next time.
MN
Why, Mary, I didn’t consider your wishes a “lapse.” You authentically echoed the sad feelings of many who feel a loss with Snape’s death. I still can’t think of Dobby without choking up. And I’m ticked that Jo killed off Fred. The team of Fred & George was one of the best parts of the series and it’s hard to think of that ended. I cried buckets, seriously, when I first read Les Miserables and Valjean laid Cosette’s clothes on the bed and wept into them. Also at the end of Lord of the Rings, the first time I read it, because of the partings. When a book can affect us so strongly, that is a great book.
I’m glad at least someone enjoys the cat signoffs. I’d love it if you signed off with the twins. I’ve laughed both times.
The kitties on a trampoline, sailing up and down, what a hilarious sight that would be!
Mary N….I’m not a Snape fan per se but I’ve run across some fanfic which would definitely meet your criteria. If you haven’t already been sent a bunch of recommends, email me at @yahoo.com .
Here, for a change is a positive reaction to HP from a highly orthodox Catholic leader, Archbishop Pell of Sydney:
http://www.sydney.catholic.org.au/Archbishop/STC/2007/2007916_1619.shtml
John, the more I think about the Levine thing, the bigger holes I see. First, there is no evidence your letter got beyond a frontline drone. There has to be a better way to break through the lines, somehow. You sent your books to Jo and were told they were sent on. Perhaps she has read them.
I’m sure her American tour was planned to the minute ages ago with no spare time. I’m wondering if you could approach her for a future interview through Bloomsbury. While she likes to discuss the books with kids, I can’t help but think she would find an interview with you more intellectually stimulating and on her level, going beyond plot points to structure. I’d think she’d love to talk about the alchemy and structure. Surely she must realize she has adult fans interested in such a level of discussion.
You’ve written books which will be referenced and built upon for decades. And you got there first. I surely hope you might have an interview with her in the near future.
He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Tamed has a pounce from Hairy Plotter in his near-future…hoo, boy!
I have no way to prove this, but from book one, I speculated that Snape would die from a wound to the neck. I had a hard time figuring this out, as very few wizards in the series die in violence. But in seeing how the names of characters proved an important key to thier identity, as I continued to read, I saw no other possibility for the death of Snape. Severus Snape or Sever His Nape, must die from a wound to his nape/neck.