death to capslock

The redeemed individual in HP

2020-08-08T19:38:00Z

Posted by: elanor-x.livejournal.com

Declaration: I do not agree with all statements made in this article and, as a non-American, am hardly a political expert, so this link does not mean endorsement of any 'non-HP things.'

Why is this article worth reading?

What stood out to me was the interesting reading of OoTF. It has always been my least favorite HP book. After waiting for years for its publication, I remember practically suffering and wanting to shut the book down every time Dolores Umbridge or Harry's anger made an appearance. Since one of the two, of most often their combination, are ubiquitous in OoTF, you may imagine the 'joy' of reading.

Renee Gorman's interpretation of Harry's evolution in OoTF at last reconciled me to this part of the series.

QUOTE from the article

Harry’s frustration stems from both the fact that he knows the truth and that he is being punished for his virtue: an injustice that is difficult to swallow. But he is also battling with his loss of popularity and celebrity. Though Harry consistently claims to hate the limelight—and though he genuinely does at times—he also secretly prizes his famous persona.

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Love in HP

2019-02-06T20:20:00Z

Posted by: torchedsong.livejournal.com

Since Valentine's Day is close by, I thought this topic would be fitting to bring up ~~and ramble about until I get it off my chest.~~

Here comes a few (potentially) silly questions I have about love as a reoccurring and major theme in the HP books: is love a redemptive and saving force? Is it a reflection of our inner nature and morals? Does it make us better or worse than we are? Is it proof we’re capable of good? Or is it simply a nice message to have in a children’s series i.e. love is more powerful than anything?

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Why DH left me disappointed with one of my favorite characters

2019-01-08T12:07:00Z

Posted by: torchedsong.livejournal.com

(I've been lurking in this community for a couple of days now, reading posts from way back and enjoying the discussion [and snark]. I know this topic has been done before numerous times, but I hope it's okay for me to offer my thoughts as well.)

It is over a decade later and I am still disenchanted with how Severus Snape was flattened as a character in DH by having everything connect to Lily. I rarely encounter fans of Snape on Tumblr who feel the same way, so I decided to post this here to find other people who can empathize.

From books 1-6, I found Snape to be a fascinating character. He was a mean teacher and a bitter man, but also (seemingly) on the side of the good guys with his own mysterious agenda. Despite his cruel nature, he was presented as capable of protecting and helping those whom he loathed or did not care for. He had a sense of right and wrong when it counted, even while remaining bitter. This unpleasant man left a group of prejudiced and dangerous criminals because even unpleasant people are capable of stepping away from evil. All of this made him an intriguing character full of potential, and I hoped that JKR wouldn’t waste that potential by making everything he’s done be for the Love of a Good Woman that Got Away.
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Redemption in Harry Potter: Revisited

2015-01-13T20:04:00Z

Posted by: sweettalkeress.livejournal.com

This is something that occurred to me based on a couple things said by me and others about Draco's "redemption" in the comments on the latest Pottermore entry. Much has been made of how in the Harry Potter books it seems as though you are either good or evil and no matter what you do this never changes. But that in and of itself isn't entirely fair--it's slightly more nuanced than that. Near as I can tell, Dan H on Ferretbrain was one of the people who first commented on this in detail, but upon revisiting the article he wrote on the subject, I realized that this was his exact wording:

"You can't change, you can't be redeemed (unless you've already had the good fortune to fall in love with a Gryffindor)..."

Emphasis mine.

So redemption is possible in the Harry Potter books, but it always comes from external forces and never from the redeemed characters themselves. Draco might become a better person because his mother loved him and vice versa. Dudley might become a better person because Harry magnanimously saved his life once. Snape became a better person because he fell in love with Harry's mother (yes, that's likely not ALL there was to it, but that's the picture Rowling seems to have intended to paint in the books). According to the abovementioned article, Voldemort himself briefly had the opportunity to "try for some remorse" simply because Harry decided to take pity on him. It's not that any of these characters made the conscious choice to become better people--it's simply that they were redeemed by the grace of the "good guys," or "love" in general (or not, in Voldy's case). So their redemption was ultimately still fated to be, even if they technically did change a little bit. Either way, whether they were good or bad was ultimately outside their own control.

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