Deathly Hallows, chapter 16

[anehan]

Godric's Hollow

* The long-awaited trip to Godric's Hollow. Bit of a let-down, to be honest.

* So, Ron is gone. Good riddance, I say. But then again, I don't like Ron. YMMV.

* I've said it before, but I'm going to repeat it: why would Hermione and Ron have thought that Harry knew what he was doing? The boy's not noted for his creative ideas, and besides, he told everything he learned from Dumbledore to them.

* In their new hiding-place, Harry performs the protective enchantments that Hermione usually does. What is she, their house-elf? I bet she always cooks the food, too, and takes care of the dishes. Not to mention the laundry, and packing, and so on and so forth.

* Hermione's turned into a watering pot. Pull yourself together, girl. There's no time to be wasted. Voldemort gets more and more powerful, the Ministry continues to persecute Muggle-borns, and your friends go to school which is under the management of Death-Eaters. And you sit in a tent and cry.

* Harry stares at Ginny's name in the Marauders Map. Creepy, or what?

* Oh my God, Harry gets all martyrish, being staggered "to think of his own presumption in accepting his friends' offers to accompany him on this meandering, pointless journey. Meandering and pointless the journey is (which makes me think that, if Rowling recognized it for what it was, why did she write it in the first place?), but Hermione and Ron have the right to make their own decisions. Everything's not about you, Harry. Voldemort is a threat to everyone.

* So, Snape is the first Slytherin Headmaster at Hogwarts since Phineas Nigellus. Rather telling that he had to be put there by Voldemort, right? And some people say Slytherins are not discriminated against.

* "Grindelwald's mark?" Hah! So there's something Hermione doesn't know.

* Harry asks Hermione for permission to go to Godric's Hollow. He feels "exactly as he had done on the occasion, several years previously, when he had asked Professor McGonagall whether he could go into Hogsmeade, despite the fact that he had not persuaded the Dursleys to sign his permission slip." *headdesk* Come on, Harry, she's not your mother.

* Imagine if this is the effect Hermione has on Ron as well. What a marriage that will be. (In fact, I'm reminded of Molly and Arthur.)

* Harry is surprised that Godric Gryffindor was born in Godric's Hollow. Apparently the anvil-sized hint of the place's name wasn't enough to penetrate the cloud of ignorance Harry is surrounded by.

* Hermione asks whether Harry ever opened A History of Magic, and Harry replies that he might have opened it just the once, when he bought it. You remember, when he still was the knowledge-hungry little boy, eager to learn everything there was to learn about the Wizarding World. You know, that boy who disappeared as soon as he got to Hogwarts.

* A History of Magic seems to be the only history textbook that is used at Hogwarts, yet it doesn't cover anything later than 19th century. No wonder wizards are an ignorant bunch.

* Harry hadn't been thinking about Gryffindor's sword when he said he wanted to go to Godric's Hollow. For him, the attractions are his parents' graves and the person of Bathilda Bagshot. No wonder the search for the Horcruxes doesn't advance, when all Harry does is obsess about his parents and Dumbledore.

* Hmm, obsess about Dumbledore. Is this in any way similar to his obsession with Draco, when he needed so see the place where Draco kept coming secretly? Ow, ow, bad place, brain, bad place. *scrubs brain*

* Oh my god, a statue of the Potters. Worship them, O Wizarding World.

* I wonder, will Harry erect a statue of his mother and father in the lobby at the Ministry when he becomes the Minister for Magic? Tastefully made of gold, of course.

* Harry thinks he could have visited the graveyard in Godric's Hollow with Dumbledore, if only Dumbledore had told him about the connection they shared to the place. The boy really is obsessed with being "special" in Dumbledore's eyes.

* Harry would rather look for his parents' grave than investigate the connection that the old grave has to Grindelwald's mark -- mark that has to be important, considering Dumbledore drew it in the book he left to Hermione.

* Once again, I wonder why Dumbledore didn't just tell Hermione that the mark, and what it symbolizes, is important. Too fond of riddles, that man is. Maybe he thinks they make him sound wise.

* To recap, what happened in this chapter: Hermione cried, and then Hermione and Harry went to Godric's Hollow, where Harry cried. Seriously, this book is very difficult to recap because nothing whatsoever happens besides camping.

Comments

[anehan]

And people think the Malfoys are tacky.

[go-back-chief.livejournal.com]

Harry is surprised that Godric Gryffindor was born in Godric's Hollow.

This needs to be repeated. Dumbest protagonist in the history of literature?

Hmm, obsess about Dumbledore. Is this in any way similar to his obsession with Draco, when he needed so see the place where Draco kept coming secretly? Ow, ow, bad place, brain, bad place. *scrubs brain*

I'm not even going to touch this one.

To recap, what happened in this chapter: Hermione cried, and then Hermione and Harry went to Godric's Hollow, where Harry cried. Seriously, this book is very difficult to recap because nothing whatsoever happens besides camping.

Hmm, maybe the whole book could be recapped like that? With one sentence about what happens in every chapter, I mean.

[anehan]

Hmm, maybe the whole book could be recapped like that? With one sentence about what happens in every chapter, I mean.

Would make my job easier.

[seductivedark.livejournal.com]

This needs to be repeated. Dumbest protagonist in the history of literature?

Probably the dumbest one that the author didn't actually write as dumb. If Harry's cluelessness and outright stupidity had been knowingly played, this could have been a funny series instead of the horror it became.

[oscarthewild.livejournal.com]

Staring at her name. Yup, not creepy. Not creepy at all.
Why is there a statue of the Potters? Surely other people have died too....

[anehan]

Why is there a statue of the Potters? Surely other people have died too....

But, but, they are the Potters, you know. The Potters. Only Saint Lily sacrificed herself for her baby; no one else was so full of love. *gags*

[aasaylva.livejournal.com]

That's not the point. Rowling wanted the well-known postcard image of the Holy family, only with Saint Lily and Infant Harry for us to comtemplate. Which is presumably why Harry and Hermione had to wait till Christmas for their trip there - wouldn't have come off as well under golden September sun.

[eir-de-scania.livejournal.com]

* The long-awaited trip to Godric's Hollow. Bit of a let-down, to be honest.
***Like the rest of the book.

[anehan]

Exactly.

[seductivedark.livejournal.com]

* So, Snape is the first Slytherin Headmaster at Hogwarts since Phineas Nigellus. Rather telling that he had to be put there by Voldemort, right? And some people say Slytherins are not discriminated against.

Slytherins are the Scapegoat House. I'm surprised their mascot is the snake instead of the goat.

* A History of Magic seems to be the only history textbook that is used at Hogwarts, yet it doesn't cover anything later than 19th century. No wonder wizards are an ignorant bunch.

Maybe the Camping Trip from Boredom-land isn't the only non-event in WW history.

[anehan]

I wish something more had come from the lack of decent history education. We have these tantalizing glimpses, but nothing really comes from it.

[oscarthewild.livejournal.com]

"Harry is surprised that Godric Gryffindor was born in Godric's Hollow. Apparently the anvil-sized hint of the place's name wasn't enough to penetrate the cloud of ignorance Harry is surrounded by."

Maybe he assumed that Godric was born elsewhere and founded Godric's Hollow.

[anehan]

You give him more credit than I would do. ;-)

[sistermagpie.livejournal.com]

Now I'm wishing that while staring at Ginny's dot on the page Harry would have noticed her being too close to Neville or somebody all the time and gotten jealous and decided to go back to Hogwarts. It would have been totally in character and far more interesting plot-wise, possibly. Unfortunately Ginny already revealed, and Harry naturally accepted, that she's only interested in other guys for Harry's benefit. Now she knows her job is just to wait for him.

[anehan]

It would have been so much in character for Harry's chest monster to surface. Though I'm sure Harry couldn't imagine Neville being a threat to him in Ginny's affection. It would have to be someone cooler.

[aasaylva.livejournal.com]

That would have been magnificent. And IC. And interesting. And have provided a believable reason for them to cut to the chase and get the hell back to Hogwarts where THINGS WERE HAPPENING.
But alas, impossible because apparently, Rowling did not intend to subvert the genre of shallow romance according to which a girl is fiery and untamed until the first kiss after which she mutates to a cooking apallic womb.

[jodel-from-aol.livejournal.com]

>>Meandering and pointless the journey is (which makes me think that, if Rowling recognized it for what it was, why did she write it in the first place?<<

Well, back in the Lev Grossman interview she *claimed* that she wanted to "subvert the genre". Maybe this is her idea of what subverting the genre looks like. If so, it's as lame as anything else she comes up with whenever she stops hiding behind the skirts of elements pilled directly out of traditional folklore.

Really. For the first four books the conglomeration of recycled and redeployed folklore elements looked very clever. But gradually it sinks in that there is almost nothing of substance (apart from a few moments of emotional resonance) in the series that *wasn't* lifted from somewhere else. Usually tweaked lightly before turned loose -- and virtually always tweaked in a direction which trivializes the source.

>>Harry is surprised that Godric Gryffindor was born in Godric's Hollow.<<

Raising the question of what was the place called *before* Gryffindor was born there. (Victor Hugo was born tonight!)

[anehan]

Subverting the genre by making the readers fall asleep? It's certainly a new approach. ;-)

[eir-de-scania.livejournal.com]

Much of the charm in the earlier books came from JKR's take on the standard elements. Unfortunately, it didn't translate well from children's books to YA. The characters developed, the Potterverse and plot did not.

As for "subverting the genre", who does she think she is? Jonathan Stroud? Philip Pullman? Or Grand Old Lady Diane Wynne Jones? Of course, they don't subvert the genre - they develop it.

[aasaylva.livejournal.com]

An interesting question would be, whether her claim of subverting the genre was honest or just a pose to sound "critical" without investing any actual thought.

[montavilla.livejournal.com]

Yay! Another chapter!

* So, Ron is gone. Good riddance, I say. But then again, I don't like Ron. YMMV.
The sad part isn't that he left. The sad part is that he didn't take us with him. True, he barely has a more interesting time than Harry and Hermione, but at least we could have hung around Shell Cottage and made fun of Fleur's accent.

* I've said it before, but I'm going to repeat it: why would Hermione and Ron have thought that Harry knew what he was doing? The boy's not noted for his creative ideas, and besides, he told everything he learned from Dumbledore to them.

I think the let down isn't that Harry didn't have a plan, but that Dumbledore didn't seem to have a plan either. You'd think that they'd have noticed that Dumbledore barely taught Harry anything in a year of secret private lessons. This wouldn't have been such a drawback if, say, Harry had been able to take advantage of anyone he knew who say, had a Dark Arts expertise or worked as a cursebreaker. But, of course, how would Harry know anyone like that?

* In their new hiding-place, Harry performs the protective enchantments that Hermione usually does. What is she, their house-elf? I bet she always cooks the food, too, and takes care of the dishes. Not to mention the laundry, and packing, and so on and so forth.

And the thinking. Which is her own special House-Elf magic, since no one else in the wizarding world can think on their own.

* Harry stares at Ginny's name in the Marauders Map. Creepy, or what?

I'll bet James stared at Lily's spot, too. Especially when it was in the Prefect's bathroom.

* So, Snape is the first Slytherin Headmaster at Hogwarts since Phineas Nigellus. Rather telling that he had to be put there by Voldemort, right? And some people say Slytherins are not discriminated against.

On the other hand, there probably hasn't been a Hufflepuff Headmaster since Helga had a quarter of the job.

* Hermione asks whether Harry ever opened A History of Magic, and Harry replies that he might have opened it just the once, when he bought it. You remember, when he still was the knowledge-hungry little boy, eager to learn everything there was to learn about the Wizarding World. You know, that boy who disappeared as soon as he got to Hogwarts.

Apparently, it was all Snape's fault that Harry lost his eagerness to read his textbooks. By asking Harry questions on the first day of class, he killed any enthusiasm Harry had for any subject. Damn him!

* Oh my god, a statue of the Potters. Worship them, O Wizarding World.
Yeah, that was as sickening as that Minsistry of Magic statue of the magical creatures gazing adoringly up at the wizards--without the irony.

[mmmarcusz.livejournal.com]

Apparently, it was all Snape's fault that Harry lost his eagerness to read his textbooks. By asking Harry questions on the first day of class, he killed any enthusiasm Harry had for any subject. Damn him!

I don't get why those questions made him eeevil. It showed that, unlike everybody else, he wasn't going to kiss Potter's feet. It also scared his students into studying.

[tdotm.livejournal.com]

- Godric's Hollow, what a slog. That’s the problem with a lot of DH, especially this part. With Books 5 and 6, even if there was a lot of old tat, there was a lot to snipe or laugh at. DH just inspired a sad silence. It wasn’t just bad, it was really boring. Because I despise Harry, I couldn’t care in the slightest if he saw his parents’ grave. I don’t feel his pain (not least because JKR is crap at expressing it). I don’t care about this hideous petulant whining incompetent, or his appalling psychopathic shrew of a best friend.

-Sorry to disagree, but Ron is my favourite of the Trio (though that’s not saying much) because he occasionally makes me laugh, and he comes across as normal. When he left, the camping section reached its nadir. (I agree with Montavilla – when he stormed off, I actually begged ‘Can I come too?’ But he didn’t answer, because he doesn’t exist. ) Without his sulky b*itching (which I heartily agreed with) I had to endure more of JKR’s desperate attempts at despair, and thwarted longing for Ginny.

- Why were the Potters so esteemed and honoured? Because they failed to stop Voldemort? I know he was the baddest baddie evah, (at that time anyway) so I don’t blame them for that, but what makes them so special? It’s not as if they were the only ones who died in the war, there must have been lots of martyrs. Was it because James apparently spent so much of his private fortune for the cause? That is a good thing, but I don’t think it’s that. I’m depending on this re-cap and my memory, so apologies if I’ve got it wrong, but I have another theory.

- I fear it’s because they were the parents of the Boy who Lived. Yes, in the absence of any apparent religion in this community (Christmas appears to be a tradition more than anything) we have the new Virgin Mary and Joseph(or is it God?). The Jesus comparisons come frequently in this book. Does that make Dudley St John the Baptist?

- I do laugh when things like Harry not linking Godric Gryffindor to Godric’s Hollow comes up. It’s just example 463853748 of JKR not bothering to protect her characters or storylines. Why make him look so incredibly silly? Why not have Hermione mention it, Harry roll his eyes and say of *course* he’d noticed, but as Godric died 1,000 years ago it wasn’t relevant. Hermione could say no stone unturned and off they’d go. JKR seemed to believe that for the readers to learn something, Harry *always* had to learn as well. That's rubbish, he must have had a million thoughts we didn't witness.

- It’s like (for the thousandth time!) putting RAB on the note at the end of Book 6 and no-one (including Hermione) working it out. I know the readers had two years to think, but it *really* didn’t take that long. I still think that a crest would have been better, as Harry could spot it when he was in Regulus’ room in Book 7. Instead she made them look slow. Better still would be for the note to be anonymous, then Harry could recognise his writing when in his room – that would actually be quite smart and observant. Something Harry hasn’t been since 1999.

- Still, it’s Bathilda next chapter, I believe - with Harry and Hermione really being on the ball. More proof that lots of action can completely fail to get your heart pumping. As if the Ministry fiasco wasn’t sufficient.

[montavilla.livejournal.com]

- I fear it’s because they were the parents of the Boy who Lived. Yes, in the absence of any apparent religion in this community (Christmas appears to be a tradition more than anything) we have the new Virgin Mary and Joseph(or is it God?). The Jesus comparisons come frequently in this book. Does that make Dudley St John the Baptist?

I think St. John the Baptist would be Hagrid. And Voldemort, of course, is Herod. Since Ron deserts Harry, he would be St. Peter. Zacharias Smith plays the part of Doubting Thomas.

And Neville plays the part of Jesus's smarter, older brother. No wait. Isn't there someone who trod upon the serpent? Or am I thinking of St. Patrick?

[aasaylva.livejournal.com]

Hi, happy to see you are back!

I've said it before, but I'm going to repeat it: why would Hermione and Ron have thought that Harry knew what he was doing?
Thank you. I had discussions to this effect and still don't understand why it was Harry's fault that Ron and Hermione decided he knew something although he never even hinted that was the case and always told them about his lessons with Dumbles.

...that Hermione usually does. What is she, their house-elf?
(g) You know what? When the issue of house-elves arose for the first time back in CoS, my immediate idea was they were a metaphor for house-wives. Seems I was more right than I thought...

Harry stares at Ginny's name in the Marauders Map. Creepy, or what?
Fact is, this might have worked IF JKR had established that relationship in an at least somewhat engaging way. Then it would have come off as the romantic trope of the young hero, sitting in wild moor and fen, beneath moonlight, pining for his beloved maiden. Like it is, it comes off like Harry watching Ginny in a petri dish - expressing perfectly (though involuntarily) his way of seeing her "from the outside", with no empathy involved at all.

but Hermione and Ron have the right to make their own decisions. Everything's not about you, Harry. Voldemort is a threat to everyone.
Another case of Rowling trying to show Harry's uber developped sense of responsability - he feels responsable even where he really is not! Might have been a good idea if she had shown him to be a little responsable where his own underwear was concerned, then.

Come on, Harry, she's not your mother.
Damn right, she is his mother's future sister-in-law!

Imagine if this is the effect Hermione has on Ron as well. What a marriage that will be. (In fact, I'm reminded of Molly and Arthur.)
Funny thing is, I've been bothered by Rowling's depiction of "happy-meant-to-be-couples" for some time (like a lot of other people), but I never realized where I knew that from, until it hit me: it's Agatha Christie all over again. Happy couples are NOT equals, but have a parent-child dynamic. Now, whereas with Christie, it isn't difficult to see the connection with her own biography, I'm not sure what's the case with Rowling. Or maybe it's just another instant where she lifted an idea from someone else's work without thinking it through.

Oh my god, a statue of the Potters. Worship them, O Wizarding World.
Well, it's Christmas. And here we are, having the post-card idyll of Mary, Joseph and the Infant Harry who's come to save the world. I'm sort of an agnostic myself, but this seems nauseating even to me.

Harry thinks he could have visited the graveyard in Godric's Hollow with Dumbledore...
So he could, if it had entered his head for the past six years to ask anyone where they were buried. Seeing there is a touristy memorial there, you'd think everybody in the WW including their kneazel would have known about it. In fact, I wonder why there were no daytrips for Hogwarts students organized.

[mmmarcusz.livejournal.com]

(g) You know what? When the issue of house-elves arose for the first time back in CoS, my immediate idea was they were a metaphor for house-wives. Seems I was more right than I thought...

From GoF on I saw them as a rather creepy version of "the Good Negro", in that, despite their stupidity, ugliness and pidgin English, they are still very happy to serve their natural masters.