By Matthew
There’s not much happening in the HP universe this week so I thought I’d make up my own.
The Rugby World Cup is happening at the moment and the titanic struggle will rival the Quidditch World Cup in Goblet of fire. Unlike Quidditch, Ireland is looking wobbly and Bulgaria didn’t even qualify (Ranked 91st in the world).
And now:
Ghosts… oooooooOOOOOOOOoooooooo…
The ghosts in the Harry Potter series are interesting. Nick says that ghosts are the spirits of wizards who don’t want to continue on.
Ok.
We then have, apparently, non-human spirits like Peeves the poltergeist (ie. noisy ghost- not the ghost of a chicken, that’s a poultrygeist… boom boom).
Then there are creatures that definately appear to be spirit and decidedly evil- Dementors.
But we also have something funny going on with the Ford Anglia. An inanimate object that is… animated (an automated automotive?) and enacts it’s own will- protecting Harry, Ron and Fang from the Acromantula brood. Ron said it had gone wild.
So, did the Anglia generate it’s own spirit- reflective of the values of it’s animator Arthur Weasley or was a spirit attracted to it?
What are ghosts in the real world? Have you ever seen one?
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{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
Ah, the car. I love that car.
A car that cared about people would be less likely to hit pedestrians or endanger the passengers. I can imagine Arthur wanting to give the car just enough will of its own to protect his family and others. Physical protection (padding, airbags) only serve so well, especially when you’re flying.
And so, when the car’s powers had grown (perhaps due to the overwhelming magic of the forest itself) it went out of its way to protect humans from hazards other than itself.
Like a love potion past its expiration date (poor Ron), perhaps strong enchantments grow even stronger over time?
The dementors are perhaps the scariest creatures Rowling invented. Apart from Fenrir, who’s a nasty piece of work, the ‘traditional’ scary creatures (ghosts, vampires, werewolves) are portrayed with humour and pathos.
The dementors are another way of showing the value of a human soul. Voldemort ripped his up and we are constantly told how terrible that was. Murder tears the murderer’s soul, and Dumbledore made sure Draco wouldn’t do that.
The dementors suck a person’s soul out, and with very few exceptions the wizarding world believes that no crime fits that kind of punishment. Their physical description reminds me of the grim reaper. Even their name sounds like a combination of ‘demon’ and ‘tormentor’. They remove joy and remind you of only terrible things. They are creatures of literal and spiritual darkness. No good can come from them. Hagrid and Sirius are terribly scarred by being near them and seeing their work.
The ministry of magic is criticised for even using them to guard Azcaban. Perhaps Rowling is showing us that making use of evil, even for ‘good’ purposes can never be condoned and will never work. Evil has a tendency to get out of control. No wonder Dumbledore is so implacable in his opposition to them, especially near children. Evil cannot be trusted to stay within boundaries.
But I love the way dementors are disposed of. The pure light of a Patronus will always drive out the darkness. And the power of a Patronus comes from happiness and joy.
‘Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things… And the God of peace will be with you.’
‘Perfect love drives out fear.’
So what happened to the Dementors after Voldemort’s defeat? Do they hide in barrows and wait for unwary travellers? Do they haunt abandoned ice houses or join travelling carnivals a la Ray Bradbury? Do they put on three-piece suits and practice corporate law?
What do they eat now?
A few years down the line, if Harry’s world does enter the cultural lexicon (big if there, I haven’t seen any signs yet) someone will write a poem about the last Dementor, its robes tattered, hiding in the shadows to escape the cruel wizarding children who mock it and set their little Patronuses after it.
There are different kinds of ghosts. Many are thought-forms of living people (see Gurney’s “Phantasms of the Living: Ghost-seeing in Britain in the 1880s
(1886). This two-volume work is a huge compendium of some 700. tales of ghosts from Britain and Ireland)
Then there are the phantoms that are associated with a place, e.g., a house. Their images seem to be imprinted on the walls and grounds repeating the same actions when ever observed by “sensitives.”
My favorite category are those ectoplasmic phantoms created by physical mediums such as D.D. Home and Helen Duncan. (If I may give myself a plug: See my book “The Spirit of Dr. Bindelof: The Enigma of Seance Phenomena).
0_0
That’s a wonderful idea for a poem! Although I’m sort of reminded of The Last Unicorn…awesome movie…
*looking for ways to forestall reading “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People”*
“The Last Dementor”
There was a shaky parasite
Who “lived” on nought but wizard fright,
And laymen’s shivering, clammy fear,
But now is hiding from the light.
Once so fright’ning, this dementor
Forgot the reason he was sent, or
How to spawn, more night from night,
Now humans know what they were meant for.
Yes, humble humans, they did appear
In love, and holding goodness dear
They sought for nought but ever more;
What once was darkness now is clear.
The dark detractor shuddered,
Fast falling from the laughter
Which carried off his children,
And warmed him ever after.
He swallowed himself up
As the shadows disappeared;
He shriveled and he shattered,
Like the demon he revered.
And holding nothing in his hands:
His robe and he in tatters,
He breathed his last unbreathing breath,
And lost to all that matters.
Maybe that was two poems? Oh well…
Rena!?!?, if you tossed that off the top of your head, I’m highly envious…there’s some very good consonance in there…
Reyhan, I do think Harry is starting to seep into the cultural lexicon a little. Imitators are everywhere. Rowling has certainly etched out a clear space in our culture. In order to get my students to understand Gilgamesh, I had to frame it through the perspective of HP. He is the most clearly defined hero they know. And even the pet dog for the Bennett family on Heroes is named Mr. Muggles. I’m not sure of the etymology of “muggle”, but I’d be fairly certain the writers of Heroes aren’t sure, either.
Rena, actually, I meant there is some fun assonance in there…I hate scansion sometimes…
Sorry, don’t know why that bolded the whole thing…I closed the tag…
The etymology of “muggle” seems to be as follows. I have read that JKR chose the word based on the British slang”mug” meaning fool. MUG is an old English word, first recorded in 1570 and is believed to have come from the Scandinavian-MUGG- meaning bowl, pot, or jug. We use it in American English with “a mug of hot chocolate.” In 1708 it is recorded as meaning “a person’s face”, possibly derived from a style of designing mugs with odd, distorted faces. In 1818 the word is recorded as meaning “to beat up.”
I suggest that the reason MUG in England developed the secondary meaning of “fool” is from the MUGGLETONIAN SOCIETY. This society was founded in 1657 by a tailor, Lodowicke Muggleton. It was a minor Protestant sect in England, with much emphasis on the millenium and coming of Christ, with great emphasis put on “visions.” They devised their own cosmology and published books in opposition to Newton. Their opposition to modern conceptions of cosmology made their sect seem simple, and hence may underlie the slang word for “dope” found in England, as the sect did not exist, as far as I can tell, in the U.S.