Well, as to what I expected, I do *not* think DH is "wonderfully in line with its children's book predecessors". You'll have gathered that from my essay. At least four or five previous/contemporary children's/teen series offer a deeper morality, a greater artistry, and more hopeful and positive lessons for life than DH - I mentioned some of these in my essay and comments, I think? Even Lewis, rigid and doctrinaire as he can seem to some non-Christians, offers more hope, love and forgiveness than Rowling. There is *nothing* - absolutely nothing - in Rowling's work that even approaches the story of Emeth.
As to what I would have liked DH to be, what I expected, and the bits that I thought were missing - I went into some depth about what I thought should happen in two essays and one fanfic. The essays are "To Love and Be Wise" and "Severus vs Sirius: a Short Meditation on the Nature of Love", and the fic is "The Last Horcrux". They are all at my livejournal.
But, to sum it up really briefly, I expected love to conquer all, but I expected the final battle between love and hate to be fought by Harry alone, in his own heart and soul. I expected that Harry would eventually be offered the choice of taking his revenge on Snape, and thereby becoming Voldemort, or forgiving him, and thereby conquering the Dark Lord. That was the spiritual quest I saw. I also thought that Severus and Harry would have to reconcile if they were to conquer, and that they would have to kill Voldemort together. In short, I thought this was going to be a truly Christian story about the transformative power of forgiveness, and the need for it in our world. Instead, we got something rigid and doctrinaire and divisive, IMHO.
And I really thought that either Harry, or Severus, or both of them, would lose their magic. Because, as I said, I don't see magic in Rowling's universe as positive in any way. I just don't know what she means by it!
And I agree that the book, as it stands, doesn't convey anything special. It's pretty hateful, actually. At least, I think it is.
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Date: 2007-10-14 04:24 pm (UTC)As to what I would have liked DH to be, what I expected, and the bits that I thought were missing - I went into some depth about what I thought should happen in two essays and one fanfic. The essays are "To Love and Be Wise" and "Severus vs Sirius: a Short Meditation on the Nature of Love", and the fic is "The Last Horcrux". They are all at my livejournal.
But, to sum it up really briefly, I expected love to conquer all, but I expected the final battle between love and hate to be fought by Harry alone, in his own heart and soul. I expected that Harry would eventually be offered the choice of taking his revenge on Snape, and thereby becoming Voldemort, or forgiving him, and thereby conquering the Dark Lord. That was the spiritual quest I saw. I also thought that Severus and Harry would have to reconcile if they were to conquer, and that they would have to kill Voldemort together. In short, I thought this was going to be a truly Christian story about the transformative power of forgiveness, and the need for it in our world. Instead, we got something rigid and doctrinaire and divisive, IMHO.
And I really thought that either Harry, or Severus, or both of them, would lose their magic. Because, as I said, I don't see magic in Rowling's universe as positive in any way. I just don't know what she means by it!
And I agree that the book, as it stands, doesn't convey anything special. It's pretty hateful, actually. At least, I think it is.