Return to Potterville
Last night Janice and I decided to give the Werewolf movie a big miss so we drank coffee, visited with Walter until he headed off to the opera, and then we settled down for a discussion of THE DEATHLY HALLOWS. Janice was very disappointed in the book, and I admit that this is the first time with Rowling that the more I think about the book the less I like it.
I’ve been very careful not to dispense any spoilers, but I think I can safely rant about how she didn’t do right by Snape. I wanted Harry to have to deal with the fact this man he has hated was in fact his greatest protector, far less manipulative than Dumbledore, and in fact loved Harry. I also wanted Snape’s death to mean something. It just seemed like an afterthought.
I’ve been thinking a lot about Lord of the Rings, and how at the end the Shire is saved, but Frodo can never be at peace in the place he loved and saved. We needed that for Harry. I never thought she would kill the character, but here is the end I had envisioned. I thought that in order to defeat Voldemort Harry was going to have to give up his magical powers and become a muggle. Then we have a sacrifice that doesn’t smack of Christian ressurection, and ends up feeling like a cheat. Harry would then be dealing with the truth about Snape and Dumbledore (I really like how she showed that Dumbledore was not this living saint), and the fact that he must give up all that he loves in order to save it, and I would have found that bitter/sweet and far more satisfying than the epilogue she gave me.
Melinda
August 17th, 2007 at 8:37 am
Snape does not love Harry. Snape’s love, such as it is, is totally for Harry’s mother. He can’t get past Harry’s father to extend his love of Harry’s mother to Harry. Harry, with his “eyes like his mother’s,” is all that is left of Lily. Lily is clearly the only person who was ever the object of Severus’ affection and it is his guilt about her death which binds him to Dumbledore’s plans. Much as we would like it to be that Severus secretly loves Harry, it just isn’t true. But he is a very skilled wizard and has used that skill for the greater good, which Harry does recognize (”the bravest man I ever knew.”)
Being in bed for six days gave me the opportunity to read all seven books back to back to back, and I’ve been particularly pouring over the end of six and the end of seven to get everything sorted out.
August 18th, 2007 at 8:40 am
Melinda, I like your ending better than Rowling’s, but I think she gave us the ending she intended to give all along.
I guess we’ll just have to wait for your book in the spring! Please remind us of its title?
–Kathy H.
August 18th, 2007 at 9:32 am
Hi, Chris, I know you told me that Rowling said that Snape was incapable of love beyond Lily, but that isn’t how I read what she put on the page. Page 687 to be exact. Snape is horrified at how coldly calculating Dumbledore has been. I guess Snapes line of “Always” could be only about Lily, but that isnt how it reads in context.
The title of my novel is THE EDGE OF REASON.
As to Star Trek being a difficult show. There were 47 writers over seven years. That is unheard of in Hollywood. Most staffs are far more stable than that. That should give you some idea.
August 18th, 2007 at 9:34 am
I may be off on the 47 writers. Ricky and Hans did a “Wall of Shame” that had a list of all the writers on Next Generation and that was only through the first three seasons. I just don’t want to be accused of making stuff up, so I will put in the caveat. If anybody has an exact count as to the staff turn overs on Next Gen I would be interested in seeing it.