Name: Lizzy reviewed
Third on Apr 19, 2007 03:41 pm
I must say that beforehand I wasn't at all confident in the idea of H/G being a huge misdirection. It was an idea I appreciated, especially since the romance in book 6 was a huge disapointment both emotionally and morally, but I never had much faith in it. But, now that I've read this, I'm sold! Book 7 is looking even better than ever now.....
Name: hmm reviewed
Third on Nov 24, 2005 08:08 pm
very good theory. researched well./
Name: ErinC reviewed
Third on Sep 07, 2005 05:17 am
Brilliant essay, really! It is giving me and my husband some hope afterall. I just couldn't bear it if the "obvious" came true. Where's the fun in that? I'm rooting for conspiracy theories galore!
Anyway...your essay reminded me of something else that appeared in Book 1. You quoted Molly when she says "...he isn't something you goggle at in a zoo..." or something to that effect. Now, if I'm not mistaken, later that same night, Harry has a dream about being an exhibit in a zoo! I know that during that dream, there is some Draco/Snape symbolism too. Maybe a sharp brain like yours can find some further clues in that passage! Thanks for writing your ideas down and posting them for us to read!
~Erin
Name: creamtea reviewed
Third on Aug 31, 2005 09:13 pm
SARAH K: Thanks for your comments, very reasonably put. I don’t think the canon analysis is stretching it – it’s reading HBP as though it were a detective novel (which JKR specifically equates HP to – ‘it reads like a detective novel’), and when you do that, Love Potion shenanigans is what you get. H/Hr was constructed largely from symbolism (as is H/G to a large extent, certainly in its so-called foreshadowing) – and I’ll have no truck with symbolism, symbolism is wishful thinking. I don’t really accept that H/G was a victim of ‘short book syndrome’. H/G never ‘happened’ on the page (we never saw the relationship, we just get told about it). Saying that we think it happened that way bercause she ran out of pages is an unverifiable ‘off-canon’ solution. We don’t know she did at all – what we know is on the page, and we can only deal with what is on the page, by finding the answer in other stuff that’s on the page. Besides, IMO if JKR wanted to put out a 1000 page HP book, at this stage in the game her publishers would just suck it up. Long gone are the days when she had to argue to keep the Troll Fight in PS – these days I think JKR calls the tune. The Love Potions DO look like comic relief, the are played like comic relief, the Wizarding World treats them as comic relief … except when they actually happen. Merope was not comic relief – she ended up dead and LV ended up being born. In GoF Love Potions are not treated as comic relief by Molly or anyone else when Rita Skeeter publishes that Hermione has been using one on Harry – then it’s not funny at all, then vengeance is extracted. And those things are all canon, we don’t have to assume them, they are on the page. JKR played smoke and mirrors with Draco, I don’t see any reason why she wouldn’t do it again. LUTTER: yes I do believe there will be some H/L in Book 7. As I tried to hint in my essays (though I didn’t flat out say it as I didn’t want to be dragged down into any shipping arguments), Harry gets’ re-set’ back to his normal state of ‘zero-Ginny’ when he meets Luna (on the train and at the party). Only after his scull is cracked does that re-set fail to function. In her interview JKR pulls Luna and Neville in from out of nowehere – you’ve got to wonder why.
Name: Sarah K. reviewed
Third on Aug 31, 2005 08:47 pm
As much as I despise H/G, this feels a little like the overanalysis that got the H/Hr people in trouble. Not that I'm equating this with some of their more off the wall suff. While I agree completely with the misdirection concerning Draco (I fell for the "unimportant, soon to be phased-out bully" thing big time) and I think a lot of the analysis here is really interesting, it all seems like a bit of a stretch. I think HBP was a victim of JKR holding back for the sake of a lower page count. We got a tighter story and a fan interview, but we lost a fuller H/G storyline, as well as time at the Burrow, and time with the Dursleys. The love potions are in line with the rest of the Weasley twin products, like U-No-Poo: they are all comic relief. Like I said, I detest H/G - it means safety, ease, and familiarity for introverted!Harry, and Star-struck teen girl pay dirt for CenterofAttention!Ginny - and would have prefered to see Harry and Luna's friendship (at least!) explored a little more, I don't believe this is an elaborate game of smoke and mirrors. Why can't H/G be another go nowhere relationship, like Harry and Cho? And if they DO ride off into the sunset together in the end, whats the big deal? Its about time the Canon!bug up the HP fandom's butt died.
Name: veruca reviewed
Third on Aug 31, 2005 01:45 pm
Wow. Thank you, thank you, thank you. I remember reading Book 6 H/G and thinking; WTF? I almost lost faith in JKR's writing abilities. Wonderful essays, both of you. *Prints the entire thing and runs out of paper in process*
Name: michelle_31a reviewed
Third on Aug 31, 2005 01:43 pm
Well, this is unquestionably well thought out and a definite possibility for what might yet come to pass. I know some people want to forge ahead blindly with "canon" to the exclusion of any other deviations in their preferred, "plotted" storyline, but this is both very open-minded and, to me at least, eminently plausible. I think my favourite part was the reasons behind JKR's insipid writing of H/G -- I just can't believe she would have written it so badly (and unconvincingly) if she had really intended for it to be true and everlasting. No, I do belive there's something major coming that might well shock the fandom (and exhilirate others!)
Wonderfully contructed essay :)
Name: Lutter reviewed
Third on Aug 31, 2005 12:15 pm
OK, I'm convinced! I don't how u do it....but u've done it AGAIN.
I see that u brought up Luna in this article, do u think there will be any H/L in Book 7?
Name: sweetproserpina reviewed
Third on Aug 30, 2005 07:29 pm
Well done! I have really enjoyed the very well-researched theories that you have laid out. One point that I couldn't agree more with was:
"She quite clearly holds strong views on this and thinks that women are deluding themselves if they think ‘I’ll be the one who changes him’. IMO she is right in this, but then I find it very difficult to see how she can hold that view whilst genuinely expounding in canon that a girl should hold on for some boy for five years, in the belief that things will change, and then attempt to change herself to get the boy."
That bothered me quite abit in HBP, JKR does not seem like a women who would encourage years of hero-worship in hopes of waiting til the bloke notices, especially when she 'tsks' at fangirls in her interviews. It's contradictory as you explained so well. As we know, JKR does not purposely put morals and mesages into her books, but she tackles a lot of issues that teach her readers to be strong, tolerant, and responsible people. Pining Ginny finally getting what she yearned for doesn't seem to fit JKR's overall message.
Once again, well done, I hope this isn't the last we hear from you!