Once you hit page 500 of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, it would take a heart attack to tear your eyes away from the pages that remain, and even then, you’ll probably be dragged to the cath lab clutching the book in your hands. As soon as the pace picked up around the chapter on horcruxes, I began searching for the resurrection scene and the accompanying Christ symbol (see point 8 in this Granger article if you don’t know what I’m talking about). Having learned early on in the book about the inferi and not having encountered them yet, I expected them (being dead, you know), to figure heavily into the resurrection scene.
As Harry and Dumbledore descended into the cave to eliminate the locket horcrux, I sensed resurrection scene, and indeed, all the elements were there: underground setting, figurative death, self sacrifice, and escape from death. The only thing that was missing (or so I thought) was a Christ symbol. In my “initial thoughts,” I suggested Dumbledore as a possibility, but what threw me there was that Rowling had yet to use a human as a Christ symbol for a resurrection scene. In the first 5 books, the Phoenix was used 3 times, the white stag once, and the Philosopher’s stone once. But John Granger has convinced me that Dumbledore could serve as a Christ figure. Very interesting read, that article. So there’s option number one for our resurrection scene – underground cave, inferi, and Dumbledore.
Granger shocked (and initially appalled) me at the idea that Snape may serve as the Christ figure of Half-Blood Prince. But if you’re convinced Snape is on the good side still (and I am), the idea has some merit. “Half-Blood Prince,” as Granger notes, could perhaps refer to “Double-Natured King.” In that case, the resurrection scene would include the near-killing of Harry by the Death Eaters and Snape’s rescuing of Harry in that moment. This is an awful notion to some Harry Potter fans, since a good number of readers hate Snape with the same passion as Harry. (Rowling is brilliant at making us feel whatever Harry feels and taking his side in all things). But if indeed Snape is on the good side (a thesis I’ll work on in a later post), then certainly he is making quite the sacrifice in giving up his life to be a spy among the Death Eaters. Snape makes option number two.
Granger admits in his article But Obviously Dumbledore is not Jesus that these options for Christ symbol are not like the ones Rowling previously used, and so he suggests Buckbeak, the two natured hippogriff who drives Snape away at the book’s climax, as an alternative. But this rests on the assumption that Snape is evil. And furthermore, Snape was not attempting to kill Harry at the time. This renders this particular suggestion highly unlikely. Buckbeak is our doubtful option number three.
If left with only those three choices, I think I’d go with the first. Scott Moore from Common Grounds Online suggested one or two other possibilities in a comment at my other blog, one of which I find very attractive, and neither of which I’ve heard anywhere else yet. I’ll include his two suggestions here for your consideration:
On resurrection: I think that there are (at least) two ways of reading this. The more plausible is that Harry and the reader must experience the full weight of Dumbledore’s death. If there is to be a resurrection here, we will have to wait until the next book. As the disciples wondered what would become of them without the Christ, so the Order of the Phoenix awaits a new day without Dumbledore. I think JKR wants us to experience the full horror of Dumbledore’s death. A less persuasive (but still possible) interpretation is that we do get a figurative death and resurrection of Harry when Dumbledore freezes Harry, Harry is forced to watch the entire saga play out as if he were dead (he can’t do anything about it), and only coming back to life after Dumbledore dies. In both cases, the Christ symbol present is the Phoenix with his mournful lament. Remember, it was the song of the Phoenix which sustained Harry in the graveyard at the end of HP4. I expect we’ll hear it one more time. (We are, of course, not done with Dumbledore. Not only does Harry remember his words that he will never be gone as long as there remain those who are faithful to him, but also all of the previous Headmasters of Hogwarts have their portraits hanging in Dumbledore’s office. They all speak and are pledged to assist the current Headmaster. I wouldn’t be surprised if Harry gets more advice and consolation from Dumbledore’s portrait in HP7.)
I find the first idea very attractive, and the second one at least plausible (though I agree, not as likely). The advantage to these possibilities is that Rowling would remain consistent in her use of non-human Christ symbols, utilizing the phoenix once again. A resurrected Dumbledore will not happen, as Rowling herself has said (though there are some who believe he’s not even dead to begin with), but as Scott points out (and I agree), it’s very feasible that we’ll see Dumbledore again in Book 7. And if there were ever a time for her to break the normal pattern and extend the resurrection scene, it would be between books 6 and 7. Book 6 did not end in like format compared with the rest of the series.
Whichever option we choose, JKR breaks her regular resurrection and denouement form in Book 6. For those who are in agreement with Granger’s basic thoughts on the resurrection theme/outline of the books in the series, which option seems best to you? Or do you have another?
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Like in C.S. Lewis’ “Chronicles of Narnia” books, I feel there is much more Pagan symbology than Christian. The Phoenix, unicorn and white stag are older symbols than Christianity. There is also the theory that when reading a book, the reader can interpret to any degree, whatever message they want. If someone looks deep enough, and believes in their own faith/cause enough, of course they can find elements symbolic of their faith.
Paul, thanks for your comments.
I’m not sure if this way of looking at it stands to reason, though. It’s not simply a matter of adding up symbolism, and whoever has more, the pagans or the Christians, wins. Certainly the phoenix is an old symbol, but it was picked up very early by the Christians as a Christ symbol.
It really can’t be denied that C.S. Lewis was writing a series that was intentionally Christian, especially given his belief that Christianity was the “true myth.” J.K. Rowling has also professed belief in the Christian faith.
So I’d say it’s not as much about us trying to find our own faith in the books’ symbols, but in attempting to find out about the author him- or herself and what he or she intended.