At the end of my last post I took a subtle jab at the Harry Potter series, curious of anyone would rise to the bait. I don't think that the series is pointless, nor that it is particularly bad. I have outlined before how I don't especially like the model of the protagonist that is chosen, that all others defer to him or her, and they end up saving the world in spite of themselves or their efforts. In real life, success takes effort, confidence, and the support of others (and a little chance.)
I think the real heroes of the series are Severus Snape, Albus Dumbledore, and amongst the children, Hermione Granger. Harry succeeds largely upon the backs of these three, plus the efforts of many others who have been working to defeat Voldemort for longer than Harry has been alive.
Hermione exhibits those qualities that generally lead to real life success, foremost perseverance. She keeps after something until she understands it, researching, practicing, and researching some more. Her timely revelations throughout the series provide Harry the information and spells he needs to move forward. Without Hermione, Harry likely would have fallen into a trap early on, and never recovered.
My advice to my children: Be like Hermione, not Harry.
But what is intriguing to me are the behind the scenes machinations and interplay between Snape and Dumbledore that ultimately bring about the fall of Voldemort. These two have been working for decades to uncover the horcrux, to work out the secrets of Voldemort's power, and to devise a plan to weaken him and then lure him out where he can be killed. Harry stumbles into this when he comes to Hogwarts, and provides a useful decoy for Dumbledore to deploy and distract Voldemort. Again, in an almost deux ex machina fashion, Dumbledore provides Harry with just the information he needs just when he needs it to rise to the occasion and avoid (presumably) death at the hands of Voldemort.
But what of the sacrifice by Dumbledore at the end of the 6th book that ultimately robs Voldemort of the power of the Elder Wand? By having Snape kill him, Dumbledore really sets up Voldemort's defeat. Imagine the conversations those two must have had: “If ever Voldemort gets the upper hand, you must kill me instead.” “My friend, I cannot do that.” “You MUST, or all will be lost.”
Could you kill a friend?
Our minds rightly recoil at the thought – taking a life in a Machiavellian manner to further our ends seems wrong, no manner how it plays out. In the story, Snape's actions not only eliminate an enormous source of power for Voldemort, but they also provide cover for Snape to continue to work towards his former master's defeat. That one action is really the pivotal point of the series.
Snape ultimately succeeds in destroying Voldemort, but per the series, is forced (by Rowling) to do it through Harry, spoon feeding the final information Harry needs as he (Snape) is dying. Armed again through the efforts of others, Harry is able to make the final blow, and the long fall from innocence is complete.
Snape is the hero. But what a dark hero he is! My mind keeps returning to these facts about the story, buried, glossed over; I'm certain missed or misunderstood by many, if not most, of the young readers of Rowling's narrative.
Imagine the conversations that could be had: Is Snape justified in killing Dumbledore? Why or why not? Could we transfer this to situations that could occur in our world (where Elder wands and the Dark Arts don't exist)?
Despite my early misgivings on the series, has Rowling actually written an allegory from which we can learn, or is it just a children's series?
Interestingly (and I think you make really cool points above) I think the series is mostly about how there is no good/bad or pure black and white. Most of the characters exhibit good and bad qualities, including Harry. All of them exhibit human failings. I think if there's a fabulous life lesson it's that no one is pure evil or pure good. Even Voldemort (who wasn't good by any means) was misguided and had a horrible childhood.
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