Deathly Hallows: Initial Reactions

July 22nd, 2007 · 171 Comments · Albus Dumbledore, Gryffindor Common Room, Hogwarts School of Theology

SPOILER ALERT!

Where does one begin a post like this? There’s so much to say in response to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, I’m not even sure what issue to tackle first.

Let’s start simple: I loved the book. There are a few disappointments, perhaps, but on the whole, it’s a tremendous novel, and it finishes this epic series powerfully. Simply put, Rowling has succeeded in writing the fairy tale-myth of our time. She ended it well.

The Christian Content of Deathly Hallows

This is a good place to start, since this was the initial stated goal of this weblog. Let’s say it plainly: The debate is over. Rowling so clearly told the Christian story in Deathly Hallows that one wonders how anyone will ever protest the series again. (They will, of course. It’ll just be all the more ludicrous). Lev Grossman has got to be kicking himself.

This book was not only filled with Christian imagery and themes, but with Scripture itself: Jesus Christ and St. Paul got quoted directly.

On the grave of Kendra and Ariana Dumbledore, we read the words of Jesus from the sermon on the mount: Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also (Matthew 6:21). On the grave of the Potters, the words of St. Paul: The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death (1 Corinthians 15:26). We even get Hermione’s exegesis of the text after Harry thinks it sounds a little bit too much like something a Death Eater would say:

“It doesn’t mean defeating death in the way the Death Eaters mean it, Harry…. It means…you know…living beyond death. Living after death.” (p. 328)

Then, of course, Harry “dies” and comes back from the dead, in a much more than figurative sense (though not necessarily completely and finally). And where is he in that “afterlife” period of time with Dumbledore? At King’s Cross. Can’t get anymore obvious than that, can it? Harry is murdered by Voldemort, without so much as raising a wand in protest; he let himself die at the hands of evil men on behalf of the Wizarding World, spent a short time at King’s Cross, and then came back from the dead to defeat evil.

The effects of Harry’s death and resurrection parallel Jesus’ almost perfectly. In Jesus’ death, the power and evil and Satan are vanquished, and Satan is “disarmed” (Colossians 2:15). In Harry’s death, the same thing happens: Voldemort’s powers against the Wizarding World fail, because Harry died on their behalf:

“I’ve done what my mother did. They’re protected from you. Haven’t you noticed how none of the spells you put on them are binding? You can’t torture them. You can’t touch them. You don’t learn from your mistakes, Riddle, do you?” (p. 738)

Someone here at SoG said his would happen ages ago; I can’t remember who or when. The only point he/she missed was Harry’s resurrection. Whoever you are, if you’re reading this, show yourself! You are to be congratulated.

Oh, there’s more we could say: The cross that Harry draws on the tree next to Moody’s buried eye, the Sword of Gryffindor lying in the pool (with the clear Arthurian reference, Ron ["king"] getting the sword out of the water!), which Harry at first thinks is a “silver cross,” and more. But this is supposed to be the short review, so let’s move on.

It’s All About the Trio

One thing Rowling did quite clearly in this was remind us all of one important thing: This series is about Harry, Ron, and Hermione. I’m quite certain that coming into this, most of us thought this book would be primarily about Snape, and I was convinced Hagrid would have a much bigger role. I was also quite convinced that something would happen that would cause the trio to be back in school for the year; I really didn’t think she planned to break her structure. She did! And in doing so, she effectively removed us from Severus Snape and any other plot-stealer for the majority of the books. Sure, it felt like they were in tents for a very, very long time. But we’re experiencing this with Harry, and that whole portion of the book needed to happen for one key reasons: to build the plot surrounding Dumbledore.

The Dumbledore Plot

I couldn’t be more pleased with this book for the simple reason that Dumbledore was so prominent, and Rowling did a magnificent job with his backstory. I didn’t think we’d get his backstory. But now we know why Dumbledore is so keen to forgive, don’t we? Jesus said that the one who is forgiven much loves much. Later tonight, I will start my analysis with a lengthy post on Dumbledore (I know, suprise, right?), so I’ll not say more here.

Severus Snape

I began speculating in PubCast #20 that, due to the nature of the series - its popularity and the vast amount of analysis and speculation over the 10-year period - that Rowling would not be able to pull off the Snape surprise. For those of us in the HP world who have been analyzing the whole thing since Half-Blood Prince, it turns out I was correct. I was talking about Snape being in love with Lily just a couple days after I read Book 6. By the beginning of August, the Snape-loved-Lily and Stoppered-Death theories were already out, and those two theories comprise the big surprise Rowling was going for with Chapter 33: The Prince’s Tale.

I’m certain plenty of Fandom was surprised, of course. But anyone who’s been following Cathy Liesner’s “Stoppered Death” theory and the subsequent speculations by John Granger, Janet Batchler, and Felicity saw this coming a mile away (2 years away, to be precise).

Here’s a prediction: Big time Snape fans are going to be terribly unhappy with this book. We barely got to see the greasy git, and his death just suddenly happened. They’re going to feel robbed.

I don’t, though. I thought it was well-done.

House-Elves

So, my Ollivander theory didn’t come true, but the house-elves did fight! I’m not sure why they used kitchen knives instead of their own magic, though. Perhaps Dobby only learned how because of his desire to be free?

I love the way Rowling did this, especially as it relates to Kreacher’s development - or should I say, Harry’s development in his attitude toward Kreacher (and other oppressed magical brethren). I didn’t think Rowling would make us end up liking Kreacher; this might have been the best surprise of the book!

The Deaths

Dobby’s and Fred’s were absolutely gut-wrenching. I cried at the death of Hedwig and the deaths of Lupin and Tonks. But when Dobby and Fred died, I shut the book and walked away. I had to pull myself together. Moody’s death didn’t particularly strike me, but that was the one that had most obviously, and without a doubt, been spoiled for me.

Unanswered Questions

There are going to be a lot of complaints about unanswered questions. I’ll start with one: What’s on Draco’s left forearm? There was a lot of time spent on this in Book 6, and it was not answered. I’m guessing the Dark Mark. Anything else, and she would have worked it into a surprise. Draco almost entirely disappeared in this book. More analysis later.

How about this one: What did Harry’s parents do for a living? I figured we’d get that one answered.

I suspect there’s also going to be complaints about Harry’s use to two Unforgivable Curses. My response? I said this a long time ago: It all depends on who’s doing the “forgiving” and “not forgiving.” They’re “unforgivable” by the Ministry.

But even if we call them “Dark Magic,” I think it’s fair enough to say that Harry is still a flawed human being; he’s been so since the beginning, and he always will be. Just like the rest of us.

I’ll leave it at that for now and write more analysis later. Bath time for Sophia!

Comments will remain moderated for a while, so please be patient! Thanks!

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171 responses so far ↓

1 Boggart // Jul 22, 2007 at 7:51 pm

Who was it that used magic late in life?
was that unanswered
2 korg20000bc // Jul 22, 2007 at 7:59 pm

Excellent things happen throughout the book.

It’s taken me a while to sort it out. I’m becomming more satisfied with the book.

The unforgivable curses thing… Harry and MacGonnagal both use “unforgivable” curses. It shows that there’s situations where hard things are called for. It really shows that it is difficult to know what to do- what is right and what is easy is exteremely confusing at times. That’s a good lesson for readers.

Matthew
3 colorless.blue.ideas // Jul 22, 2007 at 8:24 pm

Very nice analysis.

Alas, due to time constraints, I do not get to the HP websites often, so these may be dumb questions or comments.

Has anyone done any analysis of Hermione as somewhat representing Hagia Sophia — Holy Wisdom, a term for the Holy Spirit in some Christian traditions? It seems that she often has that role to play: if not Wisdom per se, then common sense often. Did I miss that?

No, not perfectly — but then Harry-as- Christ is far from perfect, either.

I think a main objection to this line of thought may be that such might force a Trinity allegory on Ron/Harry/Hermione. I don’t see that working well.

Second thought. I see that there’s been talk on the postmodern nature of J.K. Rowling’s writing. I’m not competent enough in the field of literary criticism to have a valid opinion on that. What I do see is some evidence —faint but there — of what Martin Luther would call /larva dei/: the masks of God, or often translated “the hidden God”. The basic idea is that God seldom operates directly and explicitly with His power. Instead, He operates through various means: people mainly. To me this appears to be a small factor.

I’m sure others will be much more capable or writing about other themes: Harry and Ron’s baptisms in the pool (with, of course, the analogy to the purifying washing of a candidate for knighthood), etc. There is just so much!

Thanks again for the post and your blog.
4 Travis Prinzi // Jul 22, 2007 at 8:28 pm

I just added a few more paragraphs above.
5 korg20000bc // Jul 22, 2007 at 8:37 pm

The Department of Mysteries also seemed to figure in many people’s speculations.

Nada.

The mysteries were revealed without it.

I was really moved when James, Lily, Sirius, Lupin came to Harry on his walk to the cross. Being surrounded by a cloud of witnesses?

Matthew
6 Travis Prinzi // Jul 22, 2007 at 8:44 pm

Matthew, yes, I think that moment was the 5th time I cried. I’m a weenie, apparently.

Yeah, no DoM. You know, within a month or two after HBP, I had firmly settled on Stoppered Death, Snape-loved-Lily, Harry-as-horcrux AND an 7th horcrux, believe it or not. Too bad I didn’t stick firmly to the last two! I even argued that Dumbledore had good reason for not telling Harry until a later date.

Oh, well. Thankfully, it’s not about what predictions we got right and wrong!
7 korg20000bc // Jul 22, 2007 at 8:48 pm

Did Hermione’s bag just seem a bit too much like Felix the cat’s magic bag. to me it seemed a bit of a cop out from Rowling. “How do I explain how Hermione had this needful object?…Oh yes, she packed it in the bag before she left the burrow…”

Am I alone on that?

Matthew
8 korg20000bc // Jul 22, 2007 at 8:50 pm

Travis,
Are you a fan of the movie Fandango? Your weenie comment brought that back to me.

Matthew
9 Christopher // Jul 22, 2007 at 8:55 pm

How did the Gryffindor sword get back in the sorting hat?
10 Travis Prinzi // Jul 22, 2007 at 9:05 pm

Matthew, in response to comment #7, I didn’t have that particular thought about the bag, but I did have similar thoughts at points throughout the book. There were a few really “convenient” plot turns - how many times did the trio have something completely lucky come along to save them?

On the second question, no, never seen it.

Christopher, it got there the same way it did in CoS: A true, brave Gryffindor (Neville) pulled it out of the hat in a time of need.
11 shadowquill // Jul 22, 2007 at 9:11 pm

As soon as Harry whispered to the snitch I began sobbing, although to be quite honest, I think they were happy tears for the most part. Rowling has certainly hit us over the head. I’d been expecting just a tiny bit less subtley, but instead she basically ditched it! I was so happy at that. Right from the start we had George joking about feeling “saintlike” and “holey”. I knew it once that began: it wouldn’t stop. And it didn’t!

Anyone notice Harry’s borrowed wands both had wood that ended in “thorn”? I believe the first that Ron fetched for him was “blackthorn” (please correct me if I’m wrong) and then Draco’s was “hawthorn”. Thorn.

I was seeing religious references all over the place, and I agree that Grossman will definitely be kicking himself. There is no way you can deny from where Rowling’s inspiration has come now.

Deathly Hallows is now my favorite work of fiction. I cried countless times, and (weirdly) enjoyed crying. To use a phrase my English teacher always did: it’s cathartic. It’s like a cleansing process.

Oh, and symbolism aside…I knew Snape had to be good as soon as Nigellus mentioned Ginny and her pals had been sentenced to detention with HAGRID by Snape. I don’t think Snape would have overlooked that special bond. He’s way too observant.

I’m just shocked that Voldemort allowed most of the staff to remain, including Hagrid. Favor for a new favorite DE?
12 korg20000bc // Jul 22, 2007 at 9:17 pm

Was there an error?

Hermione says she did a memory charm on her parents then later said to Ron and Harry that she hadn’t done a memory charm, but knew the theory.

I didn’t really get the bit about the ring at the end where Harry asks Dumbledore’s opinion about retrieving it from the forest. Can anyone explain it to me? My wife is reading our copy and she’d growl if I snatched it back.

Matthew
13 Travis Prinzi // Jul 22, 2007 at 9:22 pm

Matthew, I noticed that, too. I wondered if there was a difference between memory modification magic and memory erasing magic. Seems like the former would be easier than the latter, though. I’m sure Rowling will get that question soon enough.

There was another similar moment where I thought there was an error, but I can’t recall it now.

The deal with the ring, I think, was this: Harry was presently in the possession of two Hallows. To have the third would mean to face the temptation that both Voldemort and Dumbledore faced - immortality. And probably even more than that, it would mean the temptation to call his parents, Sirius, or Dumbledore any time he wanted. I think I’d have wanted to use it just once to call Snape back and thank him, but the temptation to hold onto it and misuse it would have been too great.
14 korg20000bc // Jul 22, 2007 at 9:25 pm

Shadowquill,
I think Voldemort still had respect for Hogwarts and what the founders had set up. I think he believed in the house system, and valued the magical knowledge of the staff. The professors must’ve been purebloods and as long as they toed his line they’d be ok.

Matthew
15 Travis Prinzi // Jul 22, 2007 at 9:29 pm

Yes, good points, Matthew.

Voldemort’s whole goal was Wizard rule over Muggles. I don’t think we wanted the powerful Hogwarts staff against him, because he did not want to lose wizards who were potentially an asset to his quest to overcome the Muggle world. He probably hoped, through Severus, to bring them into submission.
16 korg20000bc // Jul 22, 2007 at 9:33 pm

Travis,
I thought that it was Dumbledore’s point that Harry was the better man as he was able to posess the hallows without the desire to use them for his own gain. Kind of like the puzzle Dumbledore put on the mirror of Erised.

The chiastic structure was extremely evident. It seemed a little laboured at times too. Like she felt she had to get x number of sililarities in there.

That’d be a good topic to look at in a post, Travis.

Matthew
17 Travis Prinzi // Jul 22, 2007 at 9:36 pm

Well, yes, and no…Dumbledore did want Harry to stay away from that Mirror for that very reason. And he did mention a few times in DH that he was trying to prevent Harry from facing the same temptations.

What made Harry a “better man” was that he did not yet have a desire for those things. I don’t think he’s beyond the realm of temptation.

Yes, the chiastic structure. My favorite parallel was when Hermione said to Ron, “Are you a wizard or what?”
18 BHT Matthew // Jul 22, 2007 at 9:39 pm

Sweet, I can bury it in the middle of what’s sure to be over 100 comments

I was wrong about Snape. There, I said it.

However, Rowling didn’t have to go and rub my nose in it by having the Potters give Snape’s name to Albus. Low blow.
19 BHT Matthew // Jul 22, 2007 at 9:53 pm

PS - I read pretty fast on my first time through so I can’t remember the answer to this question if there is one: What happened to Umbridge after the locket was taken?
20 Travis Prinzi // Jul 22, 2007 at 9:56 pm

BHT Matthew, we never returned to that subject, so we don’t know.
21 Michael // Jul 22, 2007 at 10:01 pm

Okay Travis. I to thoroughly enjoyed this book. LOVED IT! I don’t have much time as of now BUT with the DoM… I think it was suppose to be left unanswered. THAT was the point. Witches and Wizards were trying to find out the mysteries of death and life, of space, time, etc for centuries. And I think again, (Not sure if this is a Christian message, or more of a theme) but Harry didn’t find those out. If wizards and witches centuries before him couldn’t do it, why would Harry have? He couldn’t. Those things we saw in the DoM are part of God’s wonders, his creation .We only find out what happens in death once me die… and that probably goes for the mysteries of time and space and all the other wonderful things hidden in the department. And again the same could be said for the power of love. It’s such a powerful beautiful force… who would want to figure it out? It’s God’s gift to us humans. That very same gift saved Harry when he was one. That very same gift gave him the courage and strength to die for the wizarding world.

Just my two cents on that subject.
22 Paul Dato // Jul 22, 2007 at 10:03 pm

I am no literary expert and this is my first post, but I thought I noted parallels with Tolkien’s Lord of the Ring e.g., personality changes, especially in Ron when he wore the Horcurx locket, and also,as noted in #13 above when Travis mentions leaving the “ring” in the forest, otherwise it would be too much a temptation. A nod to another Christian writer?

Paul
23 Boggart // Jul 22, 2007 at 10:03 pm

Hey guys who was the person who used magic late in life?!
Ive been skimming through and i cant find a single mention.

Plz help
24 Michael // Jul 22, 2007 at 10:04 pm

Oh and it also shows us that even with magic, these wonderful creations are still a mystery to wizards. Again I think that was Jo’s way of telling us… that perhaps we shouldn’t have to find out these answers. They are the true magic that surrounds us every day?
25 Travis Prinzi // Jul 22, 2007 at 10:05 pm

Paul, yes, I did find the locket’s effect on Ron to be eerily similar to the One Ring.
26 Doug // Jul 22, 2007 at 10:08 pm

Good initial points Travis, although I liked the book less than you seem to have done. I was indeed a big Snape fan, and as you predict above, I was very unsatisfied with how she handled that plotline.

On the other hand, I thought that the “Deconstructing Dumbledore” plotline was well-conceived and well-executed. For me, the conversation with Aberforth was among the high points in the novel.

I’ll confess that I think she sacrificed this plotline a bit with Harry’s resurrection. I mean, Albus basically did what Aberforth (and Snape) accused him of - he knew that Harry would have to die to defeat Voldemort, but withheld that unpleasant bit of information from Harry. Albus gets off the hook only because Harry cheats the Killing Curse a second time.

One other negative note for me was that I was VERY disturbed by the Unforgivable Curses. OK, it was certainly foreshadowed that Harry was going to use them. But there was no reaction or consequences or reflection about actually crossing that line. And then for Minerva McGonagall to casually cast one? That’s literally Unforgivable!
27 Kambria McLean // Jul 22, 2007 at 10:11 pm

For me, the biggest unanswered question was internal: What was going on in King’s Cross with the flayed baby? I get much of the potential symbolism here, but what/who *was* it?
28 Travis Prinzi // Jul 22, 2007 at 10:13 pm

Doug, I don’t think she sacrificed the plotline, because Aberforth was wrong. He was right to be mad at Albus for what he done as a teenager, but Albus had long, long since changed.

What Albus knew that Aberforth didn’t was that it’s better to die fighting Voldemort than to live having not opposed him. Death is not the worst thing that can happen to a person, and Harry knew it, too. Aberforth, on the other hand, just wanted to give up, told Harry to run away.

I knew we’d get to this point, but the response is easy: Dumbledore didn’t withhold that information from Harry. He planned, all along, to give it to him - it just had to be at the right time.

And especially when Albus learned of the blood transfer. Once he had that bit of information, he knew full well that whenever and however Harry died, Harry would be able to return to finish the job.
29 Travis Prinzi // Jul 22, 2007 at 10:17 pm

Kambria: I think the little suffering creature was Voldemort’s “hell,” what he would become after he died. One page 741, Harry challenges Voldemort to try some remorse, and he says, “I’ve seen what you’ll become otherwise.” I think he was referring to that little suffering thing in King’s Cross.
30 Kambria McLean // Jul 22, 2007 at 10:19 pm

Travis,
That makes tremendous sense, particularly in light of Dumbledore’s repetition to Harry that he (Harry) can’t help the baby. Thanks!
31 Boggart // Jul 22, 2007 at 10:22 pm

I didn’t like the book that much actually.

I can see where Travis is coming from, but It still disturbs me how Dumbledore’s mentality was so blaze towards Harrys life.
There was never a certainty that Harry was as skilled as he was. Harry couldve easily died doing a fools errand that only led to his death.
32 Paul Dato // Jul 22, 2007 at 10:29 pm

Travis,
I personally do not see a major problem with the “good guys” use of an Unforgivable Curse. They limited their use to the Imperius, and as far as I can recollect, Avada Kedavra (murder) nor Cruciatus (torture) were not used. Please correct me if I am wrong. There is such a thing as just war and at times requires the judicious use of techniques that during any other time would be unforgivable.
33 Christina // Jul 22, 2007 at 10:29 pm

So glad this post is finally up. I got the book and midnight and read it through in 4 1/2 hours. So I have been positively itching to get here and discuss!

I cried like a baby when Snape told Harry to look at him before he died…so he could see Lily’s eyes as he passed. I cried even harder, though, when Harry came back from death and spoke to LV as clearly as Jesus spoke to Satan. You can’t touch them now. I paid the price. Those who doubted before will not have a leg to stand on.

I knew there would be deaths, but I had no idea that JKR would allow both Tonks and Lupin to die after they had just had a child. And does anyone know who raised him after they died? Harry was the Godfather but they only mention Teddy visiting the Potters in the last chapter.

I am not sure if this is what you were looking for, Travis, but I will “show myself”, as you requested, in hopes that this is the post you are thinking of…here is my post form the “Is Harry a Horcux?” blog…

From post #289…”Harry will realize that his scar is a Horcrux and allow himself to be sacrificed to save the world from LV. Just like Lily sacrificed herself to save Harry. And with that love comes the magical protection it releasesâ€¦so will Harry have to really die? I donâ€™t think so. I think that the love that spared his life from the start will sustain him when he has to remove the Horcrux from himself to save everyone else.” The funny thing is I made that prediction a year to the day of the book release. Spooky!

I wasn’t right about a lot of things, but I am the most happy that this was right-on, not for my own glory in making a good prediction, but for everyone who hoped that Harry would survive.
34 Boggart // Jul 22, 2007 at 10:37 pm

Paul Dato,

actually Harry and Mcgonnagal used the cruciastus curse at least once. I totally agree with you though about how circumstances change.
35 Ben // Jul 22, 2007 at 10:38 pm

Wow,comments are coming in like crazy,I read this post not long ago, and there were only a few comments.

Paul, I agree with you, it didn’t bother me to see good guys using the unforgivable curses. Also, I could be completely wrong, but I think at some point, a good guy used cruciatus.

Christina, 4.5 hours? Wow, that is fast, I finished about an hour and a half ago.

Ben
36 Chip Bennett // Jul 22, 2007 at 10:46 pm

Travis,

Re: #27 - my take is similar to yours, though I think more that it was a glimpse of what was left of Tom Riddle’s soul: utterly beyond help, and pitiable. I think it was Harry’s pity for the thing that enabled him to face Voldemort in the manner in which he did in the Great Hall (even asking him to seek some remorse in whatever was left of his shattered soul).

A lot of people seem to be questioning the Sword of Gryffindor; I don’t have a problem with it. The Sword proved that Gryffindor - not the goblins who forged it - was indeed the rightful owner, and responded to the will of its owner in coming to the aid of Neville, just as it had done so with Harry.
37 Doug // Jul 22, 2007 at 10:47 pm

Travis said…: What Albus knew that Aberforth didnâ€™t was that itâ€™s better to die fighting Voldemort than to live having not opposed him. Death is not the worst thing that can happen to a person, and Harry knew it, too. Aberforth, on the other hand, just wanted to give up, told Harry to run away.

All that may be true, but the charge against Albus, both as a teenager and as an adult, was not that he was a bad person. It was that he was tempted by power, and was far too willing to use others to further “the greater good”.

Harry would have consented, had he known the truth - he really was willing to die to defeat Voldemort. But Albus never bothered to tell him the truth in any of their heart-to-heart chats. Instead that was left as yet one more unpleasant task on Snape’s plate, to be done only at the last possible moment.
38 Ben // Jul 22, 2007 at 10:47 pm

Btw, I got spoiled around midnight at the bookstore; I did what Travis said he was doing, and I turned up the volume if my iPod high enough where I couldn’t hear anyone. Unfortunately, there was a group of people there with spoilers written on their shirts. And, the sad thing is, my Dad, my brother, nor myself had spoiled up to that point.

Ben
39 Liz // Jul 22, 2007 at 10:55 pm

I hated it.

I had the feeling that she originally wrote a different ending where Snape’s sacrifice was more noble and Harry died. Perhaps her editors pressured her to re-write it. Then she had to write the epilogue because she had told everyone it would end definitively and there would be no more.

I thought Snape’s death was a throwaway. And it was creepy when he asked to look in Harry’s eyes when he was dying (presumably because they were “just like Lily” - eeww). The only part that was emotional for me was when Harry was walking to his “death” and his parents were by his side. I think this is the chapter she said she wrote at the beginning. (Definitely NOT the epilogue!)

I assumed Mad Eye would be alive, or at least his body be found. No resolution (other than the eye). I assumed that if she’s going to kill major characters like Lupin and Tonks that she’d at least give them a scene to die in. Nope. I assumed Harry would have to face the Weasleys again after the death of their son. Nope again. She dodged all the emotional bullets.

Plus, why did Snape even go to Voldemort? If he really was a good guy and so smart and things were coming to a head, why just go meeky to the slaughter? Geez…Hermione had more tricks up her sleeve than Snape did.

Ron and Hermione disappear for two critical chapters, reappear with the basilisk teeth…and then they’re never used (except on the cup, and we don’t see that)? What was that about? And the tiara (oops, sorry, diadem - forgot this isn’t Disney) gets destroyed by Crabbe, the worst magician of his class? Pretty weak magic for a Horcrux!!!

Neville…the confusion over the Chosen One of the prophecy…why set that all up and not pay it off? So Neville cuts the head off the snake. Big deal. That’s why he’s in the prophecy for seven books? What about HIS need for revenge and Bellatrix? While it might have been cute to have Molly take the last swipe, it was Neville’s place to do it.

And yes, I AM p**ed that Harry gets to rip off goblins and throw Unforgivable Curses and just walk away. But then, I guess everyone walks away at the end in this book, even the Malfoys. No real Nuremberg in this one.

Harry and Ginny just smile and look on as the next cycle of Malfoy bullying comes into being in the epilogue. How wonderful.

Come on, Travis. Tell me why this is all wrong as you always do. Bottom line to me is…if you’re going to use Christ mythology, then you gotta put someone on the cross. Otherwise, Voldemort’s taunt about everyone else sacrificing for Harry is true. Willingness to perform an act of sacrifice is NOT the same as sacrifice. You just can’t be Aslan and Luke Skywalker all in the same chapter.
40 tasses // Jul 22, 2007 at 11:01 pm

Excellent review !!!
41 Boggart // Jul 22, 2007 at 11:03 pm

I LOVE YOU LIZ!!!!!

you said everything that crossed my mind!

The whole novel just seemed like a fanfic or smt
42 M T // Jul 22, 2007 at 11:07 pm

Loved the book. It was like a roller coaster ride. There were so many good things about it that I was willing to overlook the overly convenient plot developments (the worst one was when the three wizards and the two goblins just happened to come near the tent and the Trio overheard that the Sword of Gryffindor in the Gringotts Vault was a fake).

I loved seeing several theories we had read here and on other sites play out, especially when there was a twist that was not quite expected (example - Kreacher, Regulus, and the locket horcrux).

I too was surprised that we didn’t end up back in the Department of Mysteries, especially with the veil, but I’m glad Rowling did it the way she did.

There were several things I would have liked to see handled differently, but it would have taken a lot more than 759 pages to do it. Dobby is a good example. It felt right that he gave his life saving Harry (and the whole burial scene and gravestone were fitting tributes), but it was all just too quick.

I too didn’t like the “good guys” using the unforgiveable curses, especially when Harry again manages to defeat Voldemort using Expelliarmus, of all things.

Loved it when Neville came out of the tunnel as the leader of the DA resistance, and again when he pulled the Sword out of the Sorting Hat.

Overall, a very satisfying end to the series.
43 Travis Prinzi // Jul 22, 2007 at 11:20 pm

Liz, there’s really no need to spend a lot time “telling you why this is all wrong.” You clearly have your own ideas about how it should have ended, and they are different from Rowling’s. I very much prefer Rowling’s to yours.

But of course I can’t resist responding to at least a few comments. But I’d like to ask this, first: you’re obviously quite mad - can we try to keep the tone of the discussion calm? Thanks.

Ok, here goes:

I think this was Rowling’s ending. No way she wrote an ending and let editors talk her into something different. Not happening.

Seeing as lots of people have confessed to having shed lots of tears during the reading of this book, I have a hard time with the criticism, “She dodged all the emotional bullets.” Yes, Lupin and Tonks were sudden. But she’s done the sudden death before. And I think Mad-Eye’s resolution was quite horrifying: he was found by the Ministry, and Umbridge stole the eye.

“Why did Snape go to Voldemort?” What reason would he have not to? If he had NOT gone to Voldemort, not obeyed his orders to come to him, wouldn’t Voldemort have been suspicious? It wasn’t time for Snape to blow his cover yet. He couldn’t have possibly risked disobeying a Voldemort order at that point. And clearly Snape wouldn’t have had any reason at that point to think he was in danger of being killed.

Confusion about the prophecy? What confusion? Neville wasn’t the subject of the Prophecy. That got cleared up two books ago. But I honestly can’t believe that you can say, “He got to cut the head off the snake. Big deal.” It was the last horcrux. The last barrier between Voldemort and death. He pulled the sword from the hat just as Harry did in Book 2. It was a truly heroic moment. When I read it, I said, “Yes. Neville finally had his day.”

Harry didn’t rip off goblins. Do you remember Bill’s explanation of the ownership issue? Goblins think paying for something is renting it. Even if it is theft (I don’t think it is), I have no qualms about terribly flawed people being heroes. Are you a big Snape fan? It gets really interesting to watch people argue for the greatness of Snape and then blast Harry over every flaw.

But here’s the point that’s most interesting to me:

Bottom line to me isâ€¦if youâ€™re going to use Christ mythology, then you gotta put someone on the cross.

No, you don’t. It’s literature. The point is to get at the theme of it all, not retell the story exactly. There have been tons of Christ figures throughout history who didn’t “die on a cross” (or a stone table, or whatever). And Harry most certainly suffered - not in that moment, but he clearly suffered throughout this series.

Otherwise, Voldemortâ€™s taunt about everyone else sacrificing for Harry is true. Willingness to perform an act of sacrifice is NOT the same as sacrifice.

So Harry’s at fault somehow because he was willing to be sacrifice, “died,” but was saved by love?
44 cigar95 // Jul 22, 2007 at 11:28 pm

I would love to hear more “epilogue”, but leaving us to use our imaginations is OK as well. Perhaps someday Rowling will write a 50 page “expanded epilogue”. (And doesn’t it seem like a no-brainer for her to someday release “Hogwarts, A History”? I know she’s said no more HP saga, but filling in the backstory doesn’t break that promise.)

One point that she gave us that *does* appear unresolved - what is the relationship between Draco and the trio now? was that glance in King’s Cross merely one of non-hostile acknowledgment ? Or in general - has the Slytherin/Gryffindor divide been healed?

I’m also curious about Neville’s teaching post - sure, Herbology is the obvious option, but wouldn’t DADA be an interesting possibility for the newly-confident, newly-revealed Heir of Gryffindor?
45 Leslie // Jul 22, 2007 at 11:37 pm

I definitely thought that it lived up to the hype. It has happened so often to me that I have started a book or series that has a great premise and keeps me turning the pages but then falls flat at the end. I personally think that the willingness to die means as much, at least as long as you believe that you really are going to die, which Harry did. The “resurrection” worked for me because of the fact that Harry had to finish the job, as it were.

I was bothered by the use of the Cruciatus curse but not so much the Imperius curse, mainly because I really couldn’t see any other way for them to do what they needed to do. Of course, “for the greater good” is obviously not something that JKR approves of in the normal course of things.

Hey, Travis - I’m in Buffalo and I groaned out loud when you said on one of your earlier podcasts that you’d gotten HBP in Wegmans, because I was really worried that you’d given away my secret for making getting the books short and sweet. Luckily, however, the one I went to was about the only one in the area NOT having special events (probably because there’s a Barnes & Noble right down the street), so I was home by 12:30. Of course, you may not have that many listeners in this area yet, although I have told people that I think you have one of the best podcasts out there.

P.S. You’re right - you do NOT have an accent. My sister went to college in NYC and they said that had a “network” accent, which basically means none.
46 Carla Lute // Jul 22, 2007 at 11:39 pm

The “good guys” using unforgivables bothered me..particularly crucio so often…and I think it always will. Flawed is one thing, but they’re still supposed to be good guys.

Working with kids as much as I do, I was a bit disturbed by some of the moments in the book. I thought Nagini coming out of Bathilda’s neck was a bit much… it could have been done another way. And yeah, I know J.K. isn’t writing for a particular age group, but the editor should have nixed it. I’m really hoping after this libraries and bookstores will move Potter to the Young Adult section. It’s really intended for preteens and up, not young children.

It’s war, and war is violent, understood. The final battle was handled very well for the most part. I’m glad we didn’t have to watch Tonks and Remus die. It was bad enough seeing their bodies.

I believe J.K. said in an interview that James was indepently wealthy, so Petunia was right saying that he “didn’t work”. I think he focused on fighting Voldemort/raising Harry after leaving school.

I’m coming to look at the book as “fuzzy allegory”. There’s not a direct parallel, but a cycling of certain very important Christian themes, particularly the power of sacraficial love. I thought about Lewis’s idea of being “Little Christ’s” from Mere Christianity.

I’m giving the book a B+. There are things that I believe should have been tightened up, there needed to be some sort of post battle report on the wizarding world, the epilogue was rather thin…

But I’m not giving up on an Auror Training Trilogy. Maybe that’ll sate me.
47 Travis Prinzi // Jul 22, 2007 at 11:57 pm

Carla, my wife was quite rattled by the Bathilda/Nagini thing, too, and said the same thing about children’s lit. I’m glad no editor nixed it, though. I’m not sure it’s that much more horrifying than a lake full of re-animated dead people, after all.

All: I’ll get to the Dumbledore essay tomorrow. I’m sleep-deprived! Check out HogPro if you get a chance, as Mr. Granger has started a series of discussion points.
48 Boggart // Jul 23, 2007 at 12:36 am

Ok the book for me was preety bad, but ill leave you all to your opinions

Unresolved plot points
1.What did Draco have on his arm?
2.Who used magic late in life?
3.What happened to S.P.E.W (just because Dobby died won’t change the whole wizarding worlds mentality)
4.I thought the weasleys flying car would appear
5.Why does Dumbledore have a scar shaped like the London underground
6.Rowling had said that the shape of Harrys scar was important, what happened?
7.Why was it that Sirius had to die?Rowling said we would know.

I might have missed some things or be completely mistaken about others if so plz tell me

There are probably many more but thats all i can thnk of.

Anyone else?
49 Maggie // Jul 23, 2007 at 12:39 am

Can anyone help me out in understanding the cover art (US edition). I just finished the book - head still spinning - but I cannot for the life of me figure out where they are!?
50 Boggart // Jul 23, 2007 at 12:46 am

they are in the Great hall at Hogwarts at the moment when harry disarmed Voldemort.

Harry is reaching to catch the wand while Voldemort is flying back-dead.
51 Reyhan // Jul 23, 2007 at 12:57 am

To those who felt queasy because of Nagini and Bathilda: think how glad John Granger will feel that his prediction of a decapitation came true. For myself, I could have lived without it. But she’s the author. If she wanted a decap, a decap she got.

On a different note, I would like to be the first to say that I think JKR has out-allegoried C.S. Lewis. Harry’s walk in the forest, accompanied by James, Lily, Sirius and Lupin was incredibly moving (one of two places I cried). For me, it left Aslan’s walk in the woods with Susan and Lucy in the shade. It had none of the heavy-handedness because it felt completely natural that the people he had loved best would walk him to his death. It also perfectly resolved the dilemma (along with the King’s Cross chapter) about how close Harry would get to the dead without actually dying. He did not cross the veil - the ones on the other side came to him.

I loved - totally loved - the King’s Cross chapter. I had publicly doubted that JKR would be able to pull of a beyond the veil scenario. And she did it perfectly. So perfectly that I could see it - and hear it - as I read. And yes she does believe in hell, and yes, she does believe that some people are beyond redemption. I had hoped that Voldemort might be redeemed after death. But obviously, she’s made of sterner stuff.

Snape didn’t get a chance to say and do much, but he had done it all before, hadn’t he? And so much was exactly as we’d thought - the love for Lily, the breach due to his affiliation with the DEs, the bargaining with Voldemort for her life, and his resolve to keep Harry safe because of his love for his mother. That one word “Always” spoke volumes. However, even here JKR surprised us: aside from one commenter who wondered if Snape and Lily were in some way related, I don’t think any of us guessed that he had loved her for almost all of his life.

I was profoundly relieved at the deaths, because I had truly expected Ron or Hermione to take a bullet for Harry or the cause. Dobby’s death made me cry - not so much his death, actually, as Harry’s reaction to it. But it was absolutely a necessary death, to give Harry a wake-up call: better to stop people from dying than find a stone that’ll bring back the dead. Also, of course, Kreacher had stepped very neatly into the role of cute CGI side-kick. Fred was doomed from the moment George lost his ear - we knew that there were way too many Weasleys for 100% survival rate, and one member of a pair of twins is almost an invitation to a cull. Tonks has never emerged as a real person for me, so no loss there. And Lupin - well I would have missed Lupin had he died at the end of PoA. But his role since has been very minimal.

I did catch one mistake. When Alastor Moody’s curse challenges Lupin when he enters 12 Grimauld Place, Lupin responds: “I did not kill you Albus”.

And to all those of you who predicted that Harry was an accidental Horcrux: well done.
52 Maggie // Jul 23, 2007 at 12:57 am

Hm. It doesnt look like that to me. They seem to be in a circular place, that seems to be outside at sunset (true the the great hall’s ceiling looks like the sky outside, but there aren’t any walls on the cover… the great hall has walls doesnt it). And there are all of those people watching, but they all are wearing hoods, like death eaters. By the time Harry and LV face off in the Great Hall, the battle has turned and most of the death eaters have been killed or run off. On the cover it looks like ALL death eaters.
53 Kelley // Jul 23, 2007 at 12:59 am

I really, really enjoyed the book and was amazed at the very obvious Christian themes and quotes. Dumbledore’s plan did not bother me. It is kind of like he knew the “magic deeper still” of the deathly hallows and knew that they would protect Harry. Would it have benefited Harry to know he was the Horcrux sooner? I think not. He might have ended his life too early and in the wrong way without destroying the other horcruxes first with the “power the Dark Lord knows not.”
54 Snno1 // Jul 23, 2007 at 2:43 am

All in all a disappointing and boring book. Yes, there were some good parts but the weakest by far of the seven books.
55 LauraH // Jul 23, 2007 at 2:56 am

Is it possible that a)JKR dropped some bogus hints in her interviews to throw people off the trail? or b)some things ended up on the cutting room floor? I join the other commenter who could NOT find where someone did magic late in life. And the shape of Harry’s scar being significant…well, was it?

Here are some things I found particularly satisfying:
1)Dudley’s turnabout
2)Kreacher’s redemption
3)not an exact quote, but roughly…on why DD gave the Deluminator to Ron
Ron: “He knew I’d run out on you.”
Harry: “No, he knew you’d want to come back.”
(that part made me cry!)
4)Luna’s all-around usefulness and resourcefulness
5)Neville turning out to be magnificent in the Battle of Hogwarts
6)Regulus turning out to have been a good guy
7)Snape not having been unmitigatedly horrible all his life
8)ditto for Petunia
9)Draco turning out less horrible than he was looking
10)the redemption of Percy (I actually woke up my husband by cheering when Percy came crashing in at the last minute!)
11)the unification of all houses in the battle
12)getting to read the word “snogging” one more time in literature

I did have one more question, besides the late-in-life deal. When Harry said that the true master of the Elder Wand would’ve been Draco, because he had taken DD’s wand from him against his will….when did that happen? I’m not remembering it from HBP.

Great job, Travis! Keep it coming!

Laura
56 Michael // Jul 23, 2007 at 3:07 am

I have more to say about everything but I do hope that she didn’t tell us those things to put us off on trail.

But now that I look at it, the more I think that she was right in not taking us to the veil or the DoM. Those are mysteries even MAGIC can not solve. It’s the beauty of God’s creation. I think the absence of the veil and the DoM spoke more volumes about the mysteries within it, than had we saw it and found about it all…
57 Michael // Jul 23, 2007 at 3:10 am

For those who don’t like the book. Jo did say that many wouldn’t. A word of note, the plot of the entire books works very well. It was the things she promised us largely in interviews that were not followed through. They had no real set up in the story itself.

I am actually far more surprised more did didn’t like it. The response is almost overwhelmingly positive (with some criticism as a side dish, but not everything is perfect.) I actually expected this one to be the most loved/hated book of the series. It’s far from that… Each person has their opinion of the books… but wow, I’m astounded at how many people really loved this one.
58 Felicity // Jul 23, 2007 at 5:09 am

Where to start? I didn’t love it completely when I finished reading (12-hours through the night with bathroom breaks and coffee refills) but I loved great deal of it and was frustrated with a lot of it.

Predictions? Well, I was right about Nagini being a Horcrux, and it turns out that it wasnâ€™t Harry or Nagini but both! My brilliant deductive work in locating the Hufflepuff cup was insane as it turns out, and the Ravenclaw diadem was the tiara in the RoR only it had nothing to do with Fortescue or Great Auntie Muriel. My Invisibility Cloak theory was rubbish. The green potion apparently showed Dumbledore his own guilt over his sisterâ€™s death (although I do think the orphansâ€™ experience fits better and still holds up). Snape did use an AK against Dumbledore on the Tower, but Iâ€™m rethinking Stoppered Death unless the potion that stoppers death is the one that contained the curse in Dumbledoreâ€™s hand (not quite the same as a macabre existence as a member of the walking dead). I do hope someone asks Rowling what the golden potion was.

I agree completely with Travis about the wonderful Christian references and ending (and good catch to the poster who noticed the thorns in Harry’s two replacement wands!), and I found the Harrycrux explanation tolerable even though I loathed the idea that Lilyâ€™s magical protection wasnâ€™t able to prevent Harry from becoming the â€œwickedest of magical inventions.â€ At least it wasnâ€™t a Scarcrux.

The most touching moment for me was when Harry whispered to the snitch that he was about to die. And I agree with the poster above that Rowling handled the Kingâ€™s Cross scene superbly; I wouldnâ€™t have found a physical trip behind the actual Veil and back convincing after being told there was no returning. And wonderful insight from the poster above that the mysteries in the DoM are really mysteries and needed to stay that way (as a Catholic, I should have seen that for myself!). I was convinced that Voldemort would be vanquished in the Department of Mysteries via the Love Room or Veil or both, but I really loved the way Harry walked into the forest to meet Voldemort, ready to give his life to save everyone else.

Dumbledoreâ€™s humanizing backstory really filled him out as a complex character although I am still stunned by his almost pathological secrecy and need to hold vital information back. Would it have killed him to give Harry the Horcrux books after the big talk about how Harry had to track down and destroy the remaining four (which was the meeting before the Cave meeting)? I thought surely Dumbledore would leave Harry word by some manner explaining how he destroyed the ring. As it was, Harry wouldnâ€™t have known about the studentsâ€™ attempted theft of the sword and the fake sword sent to Gringottâ€™s if not for the timely arrival of Griphook telling his story within earshot of the trio (prompting Hermione to get the sword information from Phineas, who happened to be in the room when Dumbledore cracked the ring), all of which prompted Harry to look for a Horcrux in the LeStrange vault. And in another wonderful coincidence, the trio were later apprehended and taken with Griphook to the Malfoys, etc.

Several times as I read through the book, I was mentally thinking of it as Harry Potter and the Incredible Coincidences. Could Rowling be playing with the idea of predestination? Or maybe it really is a fairy tale. It is one thing to overhear conversations in a castle you happened to live in, and itâ€™s quite another to overhear critical information from wandering wizards and goblins when youâ€™re changing campsites every night in randomly-chosen wooded areas.

I appreciated the Kreacher turnaround although I was a bit shocked that it only took a few compliments and Regulusâ€™s locket considering all the time he spent going around the twist listening to Walburgaâ€™s portrait. Kreacherâ€™s leading the castle elf cavalry could have used a bit of explanation (how did he know Harry was in a battle at Hogwarts since he hadnâ€™t shown up on his own any other time Harry was in trouble?). And how did Kreacher survive drinking the green potion? Are elves impervious? I was touched that Regulus insisted on drinking the potion instead of Kreacher when they returned to the cave.

What did Dudley see during the OotP dementor attack?

Who is the character able to perform magic late in life?

What happened to the unity of the four houses? Does the last-minute (highly self-interested) assistance of Narcissa Malfoy constitute four-house unity or does the unity come post-battle when we see the civil nod between Draco et al. and Harry assures his son that he could be proud to be sorted into Slytherin?

In the July 2005 post-HBP Leaky/Mugglenet interview. Rowling said Grindelwald was dead! And I would have loved a sentence or two to explain how Dumbledore was able to beat Grindelwald in a duel when Grindelwald was using the Elder Wand.

Hermioneâ€™s memory charm on her parents was not convincing. It would have been better if she had convinced them to go into hiding under Order protection like the Dursleys. Having them just think they were another couple and promptly move to Australia was too much of a stretch and it irritated me early in the book. What did they do for money? What did they do about their dental practices? Surely they didnâ€™t leave the minute Hermione cast the charm, so didnâ€™t they notice that every bill, legal document, and bank statement in their home had the name Granger on it? Did Hermione forge false papers for them as well? BTW â€“ Kingsley cast a memory modification on Marietta Edgecomb in OotP that made her forget about the DA; it was very different from the memory erasing spell Lockhart tried to use on Harry and Ron at the end of CoS.

Tonks and Lupin are obviously the couple in the alchemical wedding who die and leave an orphan behind, but it seemed very perfunctory (although I loved the baby with turquoise hair). I realize Rowling couldnâ€™t describe every heroic death in detail, but still.

There were fifty bodies in the Great Hall, all of whom fought against Voldemort. I would have liked a chapter letting us know how the members of the DA, teachers, and other students fared. I would also have liked to know what happened to Umbridge and the Death Eaters. Surely one more chapter before the Epilogue wouldnâ€™t have been a hardship.

We didnâ€™t find out conclusively who was with Voldemort at Godricâ€™s Hollow or how Dumbledore knew that Harry was alive after the attack (the missing 24 hours).

We didnâ€™t find out if Snape truly did set up Emmaline Vance. And I know Rowling could have overshadowed Harryâ€™s story by giving Snape more coverage, but damn, I really wanted to know more about his backstory. Even at age nine, he was hesitant to tell Lily that being a Muggleborn wouldnâ€™t matter, and yet his witch mother married a Muggle, so did the Princes have a history of pureblood snobbery and Eileen was a black sheep or was Snapeâ€™s low regard for Muggles no more than a response to his father? And what exactly was going on in Snapeâ€™s head that he would carry such an enduring love for Muggleborn Lily while chumming around with Avery and Mulciber and seeming to want to join Voldemort even before his falling out with Lily? And I must say I expected an additional reason for Dumbledoreâ€™s trust in Snape than merely his unrequited love for Lily (I expected that but didnâ€™t think it explained Dumbledoreâ€™s utter trust in Snape).

Also, Snape showed up when Voldemort called for him because he didnâ€™t know he was in danger. It wasnâ€™t until he was in the Shack that he noticed Nagini in a protective cage (the clue Dumbledore told him to look for), and thatâ€™s why he kept asking for permission to go after Harry (because it was time to tell Harry that he was a Horcrux). Which led to another instance of perfect timing since Harry was watching from a hiding place all along and Voldemort helpfully didnâ€™t use an AK on Snape but let Nagini bite Snape before taking off, allowing Harry to reach Snape in time to get the critical memories.

And how is it that the Order members didnâ€™t find it astonishing that Snapeâ€™s Patronus was a gentle, sweet-looking doe? And how is it that neither Lupin nor Sirius ever mentioned that Lily and Snape had been friends before Hogwarts and up to the end of their fifth year? They took walks together and a Gryffindor friend of Lily knew Snape was willing to sleep under the Fat Ladyâ€™s portrait because he wanted to speak to Lily? I feel a bit cheated that in six books, none of that came out.

John Granger got his beheading (Nagini)!

Dumbledore (PoA in Hagridâ€™s hut) and Mad-Eyeâ€™s magical eye (GoF when Harry was caught in the step after dropping the golden egg) were able to see through Harryâ€™s Invisibility Cloak, so itâ€™s not a perfect IC. Did I misunderstand or is this DH cloak supposed to hide the rightful owner in every situation?

What are the 12 uses of dragonâ€™s blood? Werenâ€™t they supposed to be important, which is why they werenâ€™t included in one of the movies?

I loved Harryâ€™s response to Dobbyâ€™s death and the little memorial to Dobby the free elf.
59 Al // Jul 23, 2007 at 6:03 am

I was wondering how closely the Deathly Hallows are supposed to be associated with the three temptations of Christ. That some connection exists seems clear enough to me. They would seem to promise a way for Harry to achieve his mission without the ‘cross’. However, could it be closer than that.

Following the account in Matthew 4, the Resurrection Stone corresponds with the first temptation (stones into bread). The temptation is that of restoring life in the wrong and unnatural manner (’man shall not live by bread alone…’). Being driven purely by a hunger for holding onto life (both your own and those close to you) is wrong. Admittedly, this one is a bit of stretch. Perhaps someone has a better idea on this one.

The second temptation (Christ casting himself down from the temple, confident in his Father’s protection) is far more clearly related to the Invisibility Cloak. The Invisibility Cloak is the ‘father’s protection’. Just as Christ is tempted to presume on the protection of his father and avoid the suffering of the cross, so Harry could rely on the Cloak of his father’s and avoid his fate, even when his ‘hour’ has come (quite literally).

Jesus walked, as it were, invisible though many crowds seeking to kill him (Luke 4:30; John 7:30; 8:59; 10:39) and could have done so again. However, both Christ and Harry have to step out from under the protection of their fathers’ cloak and face evil alone.

The resurrection stone might also relate in some way to this temptation. The spirits of Harry’s friends and relations help him as he approaches death, playing a role similar to that of the angel in the Garden of Gethsemane prior to Christ’s death (Luke 22:43). Jesus could have had spirits to minister to him throughout his sufferings and could have appealed to a legion of angels to fight his battle with him (Matthew 26:53). However, he must fight the final battle alone. Harry is in a similar position, being ministered to by the spirits of friends and family as he approaches death, something that he has to be prepared to lose as he faces his enemy alone.

The Elder Wand corresponds to the final temptation (rule over the kingdoms of the world on condition of worshipping Satan). The Elder Wand gives the greatest power in the world to its owner, being the means by which the owner can rule over all others. Jesus is tempted to grasp at rule in the wrong way. However, he must undergo the self-sacrifice of the cross. Only then will Satan be disarmed and the rule be given to him as its rightful possessor. Much the same thing happens with Harry. He must resist chasing the wand before it is given to him as its rightful possessor following his self-sacrifice.

Harry, like Christ, is given three temptations to pursue a ‘crossless’ victory. However, as he takes the way of the ‘cross’ he becomes the rightful owner of all. The last enemy of Death is defeated, but not by means of the tools that Death himself offers.

Thoughts?
60 korg20000bc // Jul 23, 2007 at 6:28 am

Al,
I think it’s an insightful post you’ve made. Viewing the Hallows as temptations away from his self-sacrifice is excellent.

That sits very well in my mind, I’m sure you’re right.

Matthew
61 Anton // Jul 23, 2007 at 7:33 am

To add another angle to this fantastic avalanche of thoughts and comments:

I am intrigued by the Bible references Travis noted. Matthew 6:21, “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” Take a look at the surrounding Bible verses to see how fascinating it is in the light of Deathly Hallows. Serving two lords, the famous Our Father-prayer… And what about these verses directly after the quoted verse:
22″The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!”

Have you noticed how the eyes keep returning in DH (and perhaps the other books too, I must check) whenever somebody dies? Mad-Eye’s magical eye pops up at Umbridge’s office and is burried afterwards by Harry. When Dobby dies, his eyes are described as empty orbs reflecting the starlight. Fred’s “eyes stared without seeing” when he died. And finally, when Snape dies there is one final moment of eye-contact between him and Harry before the light in his dark eyes fade away. (I guess that’s why it’s so important that Harry had his mother’s eye. Snape died staring in Lily’s eyes.)
62 Mrs. Weasley // Jul 23, 2007 at 7:37 am

I liked the book very much, for many of the reasons mentioned by you all above. I do have some questions too - the main one was mentioned by Felicity above: how did Dumbledore know what happened in Godric’s Hollow the night the Potters died? Apparently, there were no witnesses. And second to that, where was Baby Harry in the time between when his parents died and the time Hagrid delivered him to the Dursleys?

Another question - what happened to Luna? In the epilogue, we see five of the six friends, but no mention of Luna. Bummer.

Also, I would love to know what Harry does for a living, 19 years later, with no bad guys to fight. But I guess we’re just meant to wonder. Somehow, I don’t see him with a desk job in the Ministry of Magic :-).

I have many of the same questions as Felicity, but I do think I have one answer for you too, Felicity - I think the House unity was that so many students of all the Houses (except for Slytherin) stayed behind to fight, and even more came in. Also, in the scene in the Great Hall after Voldemort’s death, it says that Professor McGonagall had conjured up the four House tables again, but no one sat by houses - teachers, students, parents, friends, all were interspersed.

Oh, and one last question - where has Sirius’ bike been all these years? (Obviously not important to the story, but inquiring minds want to know!)
63 Michael // Jul 23, 2007 at 7:54 am

Did anyone notice that the questions that have all been left out are the ones that Jo has mentioned in her interviews? If we were to SOLEY read the books, and accept cannon for the way things were, then there would be few unanswered questions (other than what happened to everyone else, which I think Jo is leaving up to all of us.)

Weird how she did that… and she never said she’d lie… I’m guessing she has all of these answers… maybe they were edited out?

AND WOW! This just in from Mugglenet…

“In its first 24 hours on sale, Scholastic has announced that Deathly Hallows has sold 8.3 million copies in the United States. Half-Blood Prince had sold 6.9 million copies in its first day on sale back on July 16th, 2005.”

Awesome!
64 korg20000bc // Jul 23, 2007 at 8:00 am

Mrs Weasley,

I’d say that Bathilda sent a message to Dumbledore on the night the Potters were killed and then looked after Harry. She just lived over the road!

I reckon Luna got together with Dean. They seemed to share something.

Harry is a conscientous parent and lives tax-free, courtesy of the reformed Ministry of Magic.

Sirius’ bike was under a tarp at Hagrids cottage.

Matthew
65 Michael // Jul 23, 2007 at 8:06 am

And just as an update, it seems DH is getting VERY favorable with the general critics and fans alike.

http://www.metacritic.com/books/authors/rowlingjk/harrypotterandthedeathlyhallows

And on Amazon the book has 4.5 starts (out of 5.)

I can understand some won’t like the book. But that’s fine. I’ve noticed most people have issues with either the death and the epilogue but love/liked the overall plot. I don’t know why I need to keep reassuring myself of this. It’s a fantastic book. I do want to know more, but from the BOOKS have told us, Jo has answered most of her questions. It’s juts hide time she answers the ones she brought up in her previous interviews.

Some things the book DID bring up that I want clarifying… Why did RAB go and hunt the Horcruxes? I’m going with that it was the death of his father. Great pick up by Jodel there. Why did Harry so casually use the Cruciatus curse? I can understand the use of Imperio but not that one… though it could have been because he was on the tower that night and knew just how evil that DE really was.

Travis I loved the handling of the Snape plot. I know he wasn’t featured much in the book but as this is Harry’s journey, then that is acceptable. One thing that I did love… Snape being so good means that he has helped Harry as we saw in the Pensive, in more ways than Harry knew. So his presence in the other book really is now amplified. His death was so sudden. But I think people need to read this book, slower, once more and let everything sink in. More things come into fruition, etc.
66 korg20000bc // Jul 23, 2007 at 8:06 am

Michael,

Those figures are amazing.

And to consider that each of those readers have had the gospel “smuggled” into their hearts/minds. What an accomplishment and what a ripe harvest!

Matthew
67 phwest // Jul 23, 2007 at 8:32 am

Liked it enough to read until dawn Saturday to finish it. Two particular thoughts - first, I think the basis for Dumbledore’s trust of Snape is found particularly in the resonance between Dumbledore and Snape’s lives - having experienced first hand the agony of allowing a dark wizard to destroy someone he loved Dumbledore is able to understand and validate that Snape’s grief and conversion is genuine. Also, I think Dumbledore is clearly setting Snape a penance in charging him with protecting Harry, and understands that the unresolved conflict with James will only drive the obligation deeper. In that context, I found Dumbledore’s aknowledgement of Snape’s courage (I sometimes feel we sort too early) is his absolution. There is also the wonderful contrast between the skeptical and demanding Dumbledore, who comes to trust Snape only after Snape truely proves his loyalty, and the “trusting” Voldemort, who as soon as Snape presents a tale that conforms with Voldemort’s own prejudices, accepts Snape’s story completely.

The other, more thematic thing, is the multitude of ways that Voldemort’s ignorance of love sets up his fall. Lily, Snape, Neville, Regulus (betraying Voldemort out of love for his house elf!?), Kreacher, even the Malfoys are all driven to make contributions to his defeat by their connections to others, connections that Voldemort may cruelly or cynically manipulate, but without any understanding of what it will drive them to do.
68 Mrs. Weasley // Jul 23, 2007 at 8:38 am

Matthew, thanks for the answers to my questions - and I loved your thoughts on Harry’s job and Sirius’ bike!

You may be right about Bathilda; that’s a good thought, her taking care of Harry, but what I want to know is how did Dumbledore know the sequence of events that happened? That James was killed first, and that Lily threw herself in front of Harry? For all he knew, it could have been James that threw himself in front of Harry, right? I really thought we’d find out something more about that night.

And, I have to say that I don’t think anyone in the world could have guessed what the Deathly Hallows really meant - that was yet another big surprise, masterfully pulled off. I’m glad to hear an explanation for that Invisibility Cloak - I’d always wondered why James had that, when they were so rare.
69 Michael