It’s been one week since the release of Deathly Hallows, and there’s still so much to process. I think we’ve gotten off to a fairly good start here at SoG, and other sites have done so as well (there are now 25 topics of discussion running simultaneously at HogPro). I have much more that I want to write, and I do want to get to podcasting as soon as possible; Prophecy 2007 preparations have to come first, however.
This “Around the Common Room” celebrates the first week of celebrating and mourning the end of the series. First, your regular list of new links to check. Then, a summary list of the SoG posts from this week, just in case you’re finally finishing up Deathly Hallows and want to know where the discussion’s at!
- Who Loves Severus Snape? Interesting thoughts on why fandom has taken this character and run like crazy with him.
- Leigh McLeroy: Thank God for Harry! Good analysis of Christianity and literature as it relates to the Harry Potter series
- Pat’s not disappointed (and according to the new poll, neither are most of the rest of us!)
- Second part of Rowling interview – there are videos available on the right side of the page if you missed the interview (like I did).
- Laura Mallory gives up the crusade – “I never understood why I was involved with Harry Potter in the first place.” Neither did we, Mrs. Mallory. [She says she's going to go into youth ministry instead. Lord knows we don't have enough moralistic, culture warrior youth leaders already.]
- Hell and Harry Potter – an essay from our own Kjetil at his Virtuous Wizardry blog
- Timeline Mistake in Deathly Hallows? Jeremy looks at a possible timing gaff in the novel. What was Severus doing in the Headmaster’s office two months before he took over as Headmaster?
- Behold a Phoenix: Brief Comments on Deathly Hallows
Upcoming Essays at SoG, which may have to wait until post-Prophecy 2007. I’ve got the three presentations to work on, and we’re right in the middle of accepting an offer on our house and waiting on the offer we placed on another, which means that within the next week, before leaving for Prophecy, while continuing to work full time + part time and trying to finish the presentations, we’ll have to do inspections and mortgage approval. Oh, and did I mention Sophia’s birthday party and church membership classes? Yikes.
So, anyway, the upcoming essays:
- Snape Essay (untitled)
- “The Better Man” – an exploration of how Rowling portrayed Harry as a “better man” than Dumbledore
- “If Narnia Were Release Today” – In which I take a look at how the “Harry Haters” would have been “Narnia Haters”
- A guest essay by our own “Dave the Longwinded,” whenever he finds time for it, on the question of choice as it relates to Harry and Voldemort, wherein he will tackle difficult issues like knowledge construction in the Harry Potter books. I’m looking forward to this.
And finally, here’s a reference list for what we’ve done so far this week:
- Deathly Hallows: Initial Reactions
- Around the Common Room #1
- Deathly Hallows: The Three Temptations of Christ?
- Concerning the Disappointed
- Dumbledore in Deathly Hallows
- A Time to Kill: The Unforgivable Curses in Deathly Hallows
- The Suffering “Baby”
- Around the Common Room #2
- Harry, the Auror (and other questions answered)
- Review for Local Paper
- Little Victories: The Defeat of Evil (or Lack Thereof?) in Deathly Hallows
That’s a lot! Thank you all for the excellent discussion, and once again, welcome to all the new readers/commenters. We’re glad to have you here; your discussion has made the site a better place, and for that we are thankful.
I’ll be less and less available as the week goes on. Please forgive me if I’ve been unable to respond to questions or E-Owls. I will try to get a few posts up this week, and I will be liveblogging and maybe even podcasting from Prophecy 2007 next weekend.
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{ 13 comments… read them below or add one }
Travis you’re right. SO many fans are loving this book. Again I’m surprised .I thought it would be more controversial. But it’s most people’s favorite. Of course you’ll get those who don’t like it but every Harry Potter book has it’s haters. Look at the first two books. Very underrated in my opinion by the fandom at large. But anyway…
I find the more this book has had time to digest with it’s readers, the more people are enjoying it and the actions in which took place. I as Pat said, still find it hard to fathom why Harry used Crucio. I don’t mind Imperio as I think in the right hads the spell can be used for good things, when times require that it has to be used. But Crucio is just evil. No doubt the Death Eater deserved it… but I would LOVE for Jo to clear this up. I hope she does in the web chat this coming Monday.
Concerning the timeline mistake: I suppose Voldemort had his plans for the school and new staff members ready even before Dumbledore was killed. That’s how Dumbledore might have known that the Carrows were on the list. Or, Voldemort decided after Dumbledore’s death and Snape told the portrait in the headmaster’s office. Where else would Snape go if he needed to have words with Dumbledore?
Since Dumbledore knew that he wouldn’t survive the year and hoped that Snape would take care of the school, he might have made sure that Snape would always have access to his office and the portrait if he needed counsel.
Harry managed to get in by saying Dumbledore’s name and I doubt that this was the official password at the time. But it worked for Harry and I think it also worked for Snape. So he could have visited the office several months before he became headmaster.
Ah ja, and Reyhan, you’re a genius. You predicted that Snape would become headmaster of Hogwarts!
No ma’am.
My prediction did not take into account the circumstances under which this would happen, i.e. Voldemort ascendant.
I was actually dreaming of a happy future after Voldemort had been defeated when, with Snape’s allegiance and loyalty revealed, he would become a wise and compassionate Headmaster.
It was not to be.
I just watched all the on-line chat from Bloomsbury, which ended up being an hour and a half instead of an hour. Jo did answer the question about the Cruciatus curse, but it still bothers me.
I’ll try to paraphrase, but at the end, Bloomsbury said the transcript will be posted on their website tomorrow:
She said that Harry was not a saint and was a flawed person, just as Snape was. He was angry but was trying to protect someone who was very good against someone who was entirely evil.
So, it still leaves me disappointed, but in reality, people don’t always do the right and noble thing in the heat of battle. So I guess I can live with it. Guess I’ll have to, eh?
Overall, she gave some interesting answers and cleared up a few things–Harry was distantly related to Voldemort, through the Peverell line, but also that many in the wizarding world could trace their ancestry to the Peverells.
I think the answer I liked the best was when someone asked how Snape was able to hide his doe patronus from the other Order members. Because he was a spy, he didn’t use it to send messages, as that would have given him away to the Death Eaters, and she said something else, I think, that I’ve now forgotten.
Oh, and there’s already a contradiction with these answers and what she said in the Dateline interview. In the interview she said that both Harry and Ron were Aurors in the Ministry, which has been freed from corruption. But today she said that Ron joined George in the joke shop business. Hmmm.
Pat
Leaky has the Bloomsbury chat transcript up in rough form (some duplicates, some answers without questions, etc.). Rowling did answer some pertinent questions.
http://www.the-leaky-cauldron.org/2007/7/30/j-k-rowling-web-chat-transcript
Felicity,
Thank you very much for that link, that was exactly what i needed and more then I could have ever asked for from Jo so soon after the book was released.
Happy Birthday Harry Potter!
This just in: a 16 year old high school student in France (Aix-en-Provence) was arrested and held overnight for translating and posting three chapters of the Deathly Hallows on a website. Seems the official translation won’t be released until October 26th.
He may be charged with violating intellectual property rights.
Mixed reactions. The book – and translation right – belongs to JKR. But it seems like an awfully long time to wait for what the English speaking world already has. How do the German speakers at SOG feel about this?
Reyhan, the German edition will be released on October 27th. The poor children have to wait so long and try to remain spoiler-free. On my German message board we have a different section for discussing book seven that can only be viewed with a password. It is such fun to read how the others are still debating whether Snape is good or evil.
But I think there have always been unofficial translations online after the release of the English books, I’m not sure about the copyright infringement.
I’m also thinking that my response would depend on which three chapters he had translated. What do you bet it was Chapters 33, 34, and 35?
If so, I say let the full sanction of the law fall upon his subversive little head: you have to earn your right to read 33, 34 and 35. You can’t just skip directly to them. It would be like listening only to the famous arias in an opera, or selecting only the chocolates you like from the candy box.
Ah, Reyhan! You said you would read the ending first!
But I’m curious how Klaus will translate Fred and George’s ear-related humour. Holy – holey? ‘ear, ‘ear? That’s quite a challenge…
Actually, I paid Deathly Hallows the honour I reserve for a select few writers: I read it from beginning to end. I was not even tempted to look. I was conscious, as I read, of a deep sense of significance and sadness, knowing that these moments were never to be repeated. I treasured each page, and hated to turn to the next even as I did so. You can well imagine my reaction, when I came to Chapter 34, and then Chapter 35, to find that what I was reading surpassed my highest hopes in the extent of its beauty and pofundity.