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tdu000 - Another Essay!

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07:04 am April 26th, 2009
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Another Essay!
Last September, [info]crumplehornedki asked for another essay. I immediately jumped into action and asked for some “expert” commentary to quote. Now, only seven months later, here is the result. Thank you to everyone who has contributed, especially to [info]stmargarets for her usual marking (or should that be unusual marking!) and to [info]mrstater who hasn’t participated in my essays before. She actually wrote loads for me but I only used one line because it was just perfect. If any of you enjoy Remus-Tonks fanfic, I suggest you go and check out her writing. She is also writing a lovely Lark Rise to Candleford story which is making me very impatient to get the second series on TV here.

ETA Thanks also to [info]rosathome for her brilliant comments and for being such a good sport as to lay herself open to all the digs that Mary and I made.

For those interested, my previous essays can be found here:

Project Crumpet http://tdu000.livejournal.com/1957.html

Mary Sues http://tdu000.livejournal.com/2321.html

Neville Longbottom http://tdu000.livejournal.com/7490.html



Everything Harry Potter belongs to J. K. Rowling. All other sources have given their permission to be referenced, except for Anya, who loves to be CITED so I decided to let it be a surprise.

Many apologies for the delay in submission of this essay. This is due to the unfortunate closure of the Academy of Fluff, Nova Scotia, owing to allegations of fraud and gross misconduct, and the subsequent difficulty in the re-establishment of the institution, now relocated and renamed the Newfoundland Institute of Fluffy Affairs.


All was well: an examination of happy endings in the Harry Potter books.

Can we tell form the tell-tale compression of pages at the end of each Harry Potter book that we are approaching a happy ending? To an extent, the answer to that question is, of course, yes. We know that “The good end happily, and the bad unhappily. That is what fiction is,” (Wilde, 1895). It is clear that this writer is going to give us a successful outcome – the hero will prevail. However, moments of doubt may have been raised by the untimely death of the owl Hedwig. Can an author who could stoop to the killing of a protected species (even if only in Canada) be trusted not to kill off the hero? However, these are not books for miserable cynics but for children, of all ages. The infamous academic, [info]rosathome says,

“After the second or third book, I began to despair of ever seeing a different plot arc from this most pedestrian of writers. What was so wrong with a nice blood bath and giving the bad guys a chance? But no, it was always 'Harry saves the day' or 'Harry saves the girl’ or 'Harry saves the criminal-on-the-run and oh look, he’s not the bad guy after all’.” ([info]rosathome, 2008).

Thus even those so bitter and twisted as to wish their children’s books to present the harsh realities of life recognise that a happy ending is expected in these books. Nevertheless, as the series progresses, the story becomes increasingly dark. In the first few books, whilst deaths of characters from the past are referred to, only baddies are actually killed before our very eyes. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Rowling, 2000) changes this; it is the first book in which a central and likable character is killed before our eyes. This at least seemed to win favour with our embittered misanthropist. “So I was pleasantly surprised that the fourth book ended with 'Harry fails to save Wonder Boy’,” ([info]rosathome, 2008). The Queen of Fluff, [info]stmargarets, not surprisingly, disagrees with this opinion. “Such a waste of a fluffy Hero!” ([info]stmargarets, 2008b). (The actor who played Cedric Diggory in the film managed to survive this premature death and went on to play, if not a fluffy hero, a very sparkly one. This might be seen as an even greater waste!) In consequence of this surprising death, the periods before publication of the three final books in the series were all filled with rumours of deaths of major characters. Despite this, none of J. K. Rowling’s legions of fans doubted that Harry would live, and live happily ever after, nor that that Voldemort would be destroyed.

Thus, the great debate was actually not would Harry get his happy ending but in what way was he to be made happy, namely who was to become his romantic partner. Until the publication of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Rowling, 2005), the “shipping wars” were probably the major contentious point of discussion. The nauseatingly self-styled “Harmonians” believed that Harry would realise that Hermione Granger was the love of his life and that he would eventually marry her. The prolonged Harry and Hermione camping trip in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Rowling, 2007) seems to have confirmed the Harmonians in their self-delusions and not even The Epilogue, which depicts Harry married to Ginny and Hermione to Ron, not to mention their various children, was able to persuade them otherwise. It is not the purpose of this treatise to criticise the intellect of fellow readers but it is hard not to wonder what on earth these people were reading. J. K. Rowling herself commented about the number of “anvils” (Rowling, 2005b) she had dropped to suggest that Ron Weasley and Hermione would become each other’s happy ending. In particular the Yule Brawl in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Rowling, 2000) shows clear indications that only the “delusional” (Spartz, 2005) could fail to see this romantic pairing.

Whereas the relationship between Ron and Hermione had developed gradually over their Hogwarts career, culminating in “Is this the moment?”, the sudden realisation that he was attracted to Ginny Weasley came to Harry as if it were a bolt lightning, appropriately enough as that is the shape of his famous scar. This is not that surprising as Harry can be a bit slow on the uptake when it comes to such things.

However, not all readers were taken equally by surprise. Some whose minds are particularly attuned to romantic possibilities were able to discern as early as their first meeting at King’s Cross station at the beginning of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (Rowling, 1997), that the pair were destined for each other. [info]stmargarets (as if there could be any doubt on this point) had her fluffy radar well and truly in place when she recognised Ginny as Harry’s ultimate happy ending, despite these children being only ten and eleven respectively. Those readers with a little less fluff in their heads (probably because they actually have brains there instead) took a little longer to realise this, although not quite as long as Harry himself! But I digress. [info]stmargarets, in her recent publication The Fortitude of Fluff (audio version, read by Gerard Butler) clearly explains why Harry’s happy ending will be with Ginny and not Hermione (even had Ron not been the obvious contender for Hermione’s heart):

“Not all fluff is readily (and reliably) packaged in pink volumes or with tell-tale illustrations of shirtless men with tans and flowing mullets. However, there are certain Fluffy clues that even the dimmest reader should be able to spot whilst indulging in the other genres.* I will use the Harry/Ginny ship in JKR’s Harry Potter series to illustrate my point:**

Ginny is the first girl Harry notices. Ginny beats Hermione out by at least ten minutes in the narrative. First come, first serve.

Harry turns around to see Ginny. This effort by the hero to see his future beloved is a true tip-off. He couldn’t be bothered to help Hermione find Neville’s toad.

This action bodes well for a future H/G relationship since we know that Harry is sufficiently motivated to pick up the remote (or his wand) and switch off the wireless and pretend to listen when Ginny reminds him to pick up his socks for the ninety-ninth time. Then, just like their crucial first encounter, Harry will resume his activities without saying a thing. JKR is making it real here. (p. 310, Chapter Five, Foreshadowing: My Fluffy Senses are Tingling.)

*Mysteries, adventures, westerns, historicals, sci-fi – the boring books with dark covers.
**Since JKR was a first time writer, she can be forgiven for “padding” the H/G love story with a lot of other characters, adventures, themes, and world-building. Hopefully, she has now learned her lesson (in between counting her royalties) that romance sells.”

([info]stmargarets, 2008a).

Ah! Who can explain matters of the heart quite as succinctly as the Queen of Fluff?

Indicators of the Harry-and-definitely-not-Hermione romantic relationship are clear throughout the early stages of the seven books and even those less fluffy readers who didn’t pick up Harry and Ginny as a couple on Ginny’s first mention should have been able to identify them. I will not insult my readers’ intelligence or try their patience by going into why this relationship was never going to happen. However, I suspect something very Freudian was at the root of it.

Despite the eventual declaration of love and the passionate fist kiss, Harry decides to be a noble prat and break off the relationship at the end of Harry Potter and the True Love Half-Blood Prince (Rowling, 2005) in the interests of keeping Ginny safe from Voldemort – or possibly to ensure that the plot structure of Three Go Adventuring Once More isn’t unbalanced by the presence of a fourth character.. Of course, we can depend upon the tediously cynical [info]rosathome to put a damper on the euphoria of Harry and Ginny’s first kiss in “Getting through those excruciating sunlit days with Ginny was worth it for the exquisite agony of the break up.” ([info]rosathome, 2008)


However, before the publication of her final book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Rowling, 2007), J. K. Rowling promised that there would be a veritable bloodbath so it was clear that there could not be a happy ending for all the characters.

Despite a belief amongst some readers, those with an over-developed “Gaydar” ([info]anyaxstrindberg, 2007) that Remus Lupin and Sirius Black were gay lovers, a small section of fans believed that in fact Remus was straight and in love with Nymphadora Tonks, a character introduced in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Rowling, 2003). Despite this being based on the flimsiest of evidence, that is to say a possibly flirty comment of “Don’t call me Nymphadora, Remus!” and the occasional pairing of them in conversations, Order missions and, perhaps more significantly, shared breakfasts, this relationship produced a number of fanfictions. J. K. Rowling confirmed that this couple were in deed romantically involved during the hospital wing chapter of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Rowling, 2005) and the release of some notes for Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Rowling, 2003) show that this was a planned storyline on her part and not a reaction to suggestions by fans. Despite the affection that much of the readership held for this couple, they did not get the happy ending that was destined to be Harry’s lot. A well-known expert on this particular “ship”, [info]mrstater, had this to say on the final words of book seven: "What do you mean, 'All was well’? All was not bloody well!” ([info]mrstater, 2008). This probably sums up the reactions of many fans of Remus and Tonks, some of whom seem to be in denial as happy-ever-after fanfictions are still being written for the couple and their son Teddy.

As well as being a tragedy for the Remus-Tonks shippers, their deaths confirmed Andromeda Tonks as one of the losers when it came to the happiness stakes in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Rowling, 2007). Award-winning science fiction writer [info]rhetoretician commented, shortly after the publication of the final book, “I am drawn, as many seem to be, to Andromeda as the real victim of DH” ([info]rhetoretician , 2007). Her marriage to the Muggleborn Ted Tonks cut her adrift from her family, the pure blood-crazed Blacks. Though, all things considered, as her eldest sister was the deranged psychopath Bellatrix Lestrange, this separation was probably a Good Thing. But Ted went on the run during the last book, to escape the compulsory registration of Muggleborns, only to be killed whilst still a fugitive. Their only daughter, (Don’t call me) Nymphadora was killed during the final battle, along with her husband Remus, leaving their orphaned son, Teddy, to the care of his grandmother. Many readers recognised that Remus Lupin’s death certificate was as good as signed when he asked Harry to be Teddy’s godfather. Whilst, no doubt, the symbolism of the orphaned boys bookending the series is poignant, I suspect Andromeda could have ditched the poignancy in favour of “happy ever after” if her opinion had been asked.

Remus Lupin’s death also drew a line through the Marauders’ generation, at least as far the books are concerned. It was no happy ending for those born in the early ’60s (although the writer of this essay assures readers that she is in excellent health!). Harry’s parents, Lily and James, were killed whilst Harry was still a baby. His godfather, Sirius Black, was killed at the end of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Rowling, 2003) and then Peter Pettigrew, Severus Snape and Remus Lupin all met their various ends during Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Rowling, 2007). One wonders what the Sorting Hat sang on September 1st, 1971. During the fifth book, Harry had seen that, far from being the hero he had idolised throughout his time at Hogwarts, his father was actually a fairly arrogant teenager with toe-rag tendencies. This was rather upsetting for Harry at the time. However, throughout Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Rowling, 2007) he found out more about his father’s final minutes and was obviously reconciled to the fact that his father and friends were not perfect but the usual mixture of strengths, weaknesses and obnoxious behaviours that characterise most teenage boys. At the end, when Harry was going to sacrifice himself, he used the resurrection stone to bring back those who could give him the strength to continue; namely Lily, James, Sirius and Remus. This suggests a healthy sense of closure and perspective that would allow Harry to move on to his happy ending, assuming, of course, that he managed to survive being killed (again!). Calling his youngest son Albus Severus suggests that he had also recognised Snape’s bravery and role in his story. (Suggestions have been made that it was a slight to Snape’s memory that he was not also called by the resurrection stone. This, of course, is complete codswallop. It is hard for the cogniscient to imagine what strength Harry could draw from James getting at Snape and Snape snarkily goading Sirius into losing his temper.) However, Snape’s life-long love for Lily and his courageous role in the downfall of Voldemort seem poor reasons to lumber the unfortunate boy with such a monstrosity of a name. However often the child might protest “you can call me Al,” I suspect he would still be in for a hard time at school. In fact, it is probably this that was causing him so much anxiety whilst waiting for the Hogwarts Express and not really concerns about the Sorting.

Despite the Weasley weddings in the aftermath of the war and the implied promise in the epilogue that the orphaned Teddy Lupin would marry Victoire, daughter of Bill and Fleur Weasley and thus acquiring a large extended Weasley family to replace all those dead Blacks, it was not quite to be OBHWF(1). Fred Weasley was killed during the Battle of Hogwarts. Despite the fact that he died laughing at a joke uttered by the recently reconciled Percy, this is a blatant waste of Weasley Crumpet. It seems that Rowling was not going to allow his twin, George, to fully recover from the tragedy. Instead of George sensibly marrying Padma Patil, as might otherwise have happened, George ends up trying to live his twin’s life for him and marries Fred’s girlfriend, Angelina Johnson instead (Rowling, 2007b). Freud would probably have something to say about that too but it really does not need to be discussed here.

Of course, the ultimate in happy endings belongs to the true hero of the stories, Neville Longbottom. This quiet, unassuming Yorkshire lad ([info]tdu000, 2007) has been a constant presence throughout the books. By the final chapters of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Rowling, 2007) even those too blind to be able to appreciate that Neville was the first of the books’ characters to display obvious bravery ([info]tdu000, 2007) in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (Rowling, 1997) were cheering him on as he defiantly faced Voldemort. As first documented by [info]dogstar (Asking for Roses, 2006) Neville marries the true love of his life and they live happily ever after. (Hannah is the landlady of a pub so Neville will get booze on tap – what could be happier than that?)


Author’s Notes
1. OBHWF One Big Happy Weasley Family

Marker’s Comments

I was gratified to find your prescient essay, All was well: an examination of happy endings in the Harry Potter books, in my inbox this morning. Word does get around in the academic community rather quickly, doesn't it? Yes, I have moved on from the Nova Scotia Fluff Academy to the Newfoundland Institute of Fluffy Affairs. I found my position at the Academy untenable after I had the courage to express my (well thought-out, almost canon) opinion in the Charlie Weasley Eye Color Controversy. While this post-canon controversy is not as wide-reaching as the Shipping Wars, it has brought out the worst in some scholars who no longer base their opinions on plausible theories (height determines eye color!), but on their own personal likes and dislikes. This sloppy reasoning has been most discouraging for those of us who hold dear the standards of inquiry and analysis. I fear that too much emotion, and not enough objectivity, will erode the respect Fluffy Commentary has garnered through the efforts of tireless scholars like us.

At this nadir in Fluffy Analysis your essay is a balm to my troubled sensibilities.

So, on to the specifics!

I am heartened that you quoted [info]rosathome, at the beginning of your essay, only to refute her points later on. She is my arch-nemesis in the Charlie Weasley Color Controversy, and I have tried to keep an open mind about her other research, but I see that we are also diametrically opposed in our sensibilities about sunlit days, as well. "Tediously cynical," indeed! I would almost think she and [info]moonette, had contrived an alliance in order to take over the Angst Institute of California, but I doubt they'd be able to "foreshadow" enough to plan such a thing.

But I digress.

Your analysis of the Remus and (don't call me) Nymphodora was spot on. JKR not only kills owls, but she seems to have a vendetta against the Blacks. Poor Andromeda is left quite bereft, as you point out, but I wish to remind you that Andromeda is not *that* old (I'm a child of the '60's as well!) and she is ripe for more fluff in her life at the end of DH. With Teddy out of the house, and that gothic back-story, she can Move On and find a nice pensioner to do the crossword with each day. She is a sweet romance ready to happen.

What isn't sweet, as you point out, is the George/Angelina romance that JKR thrust down our throats in her infamous family tree interview.* I think you are right to link the George/Angelina ship to the quasi-incestuous ship of Harry/Hermione. Freud would be proud. My cynical side suggests that since JKR thoroughly pwned the H/Hrs with her anvils and her epilogue, she felt she had to throw them the proverbial (incestuous) bone, lest they turn to other fandoms that include sparkly vampires.**

Neville Longbottom, has, of course, the quintessential happy ending - Yorkshire lad gets the girl and the ale on tap.

But speaking of quintessential happy endings - your essay doesn't have one. Perhaps the final page of this essay is still on the ice floe between Newfoundland and Australia? Or perhaps the Canada Post has it and it will never be seen again. Alas, no matter what happened to it, this reader wants to know your conclusions about the happy endings in the HP series as your title has promised. Following the author's gaze to the beer tap is not a good academic (or fictional) ending.

Other than the skimpy conclusion, I find that I can whole-heartedly endorse this essay. It has nourished me to the extent that I feel I can finally write that column about the correlation between greasy hair and the absence of fluff for Snape Quarterly: a Fanzine for the Fanatic. They have been pestering me for months.


References

[info]anyaxstrindberg (2007). Live Journal Entry

[info]dogstar (2006). Asking for Roses. http://www.sugarquill.net/read.php?storyid=2924&chapno=1 Sugar Quill

[info]rosathome, (October, 2008). Private correspondence.

[info]mrstater (October, 2008). Private Correspondence

[info]rhetoretician (August, 2007). Minding the Baby. http://rhetoretician.livejournal.com/20890.html

Rowling, J. K., (1997). Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. Bloomsbury: London.

Rowling, J. K., (2000). Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Bloomsbury: London.

Rowling, J. K., (2003). Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Bloomsbury: London.

Rowling, J. K., (2005). Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Bloomsbury: London.

Rowling, J. K., (2007). Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.. Bloomsbury: London.

Rowling, J. K. (2005b) Leaky Cauldron/ Mugglenet Interview http://www.mugglenet.com/jkrinterview.shtml

Spartz, E. (2005) Leaky Cauldron/ Mugglenet Interview of J. K. Rowling http://www.mugglenet.com/jkrinterview.shtml


[info]stmargarets (September, 2008a). The Fortitude of Fluff. Audio Book. Newfoundland Institue of Fluffy Affairs Publications.

[info]stmargarets (October, 2008). Private Correspondence

[info]tdu000 (July, 2007). Neville Longbottom: the making of a true Gryffindor. http://tdu000.livejournal.com/7490.html

Wilde, O. (1895) The Importance of Being Earnest.
39 comments or Leave a comment
Comments
Thread started by stmargarets
stmargarets From: [info]stmargarets Date: April 25th, 2009 09:44 pm (UTC) (Link)
LOL - I sent you a peer review rather than mark your essay. You've shown that you have a body of work now as a published author, so I felt it necessary to accord you the proper respect. *nods*

This is hilarious, Bel. I laughed my head off when I got it this morning. Writing your peer review put me behind on my story I need you to beta, but I'll get it to you as soon as I can.
(Reply) (Thread)
tdu000 From: [info]tdu000 Date: April 25th, 2009 10:07 pm (UTC) (Link)
I thought that it would be bad timing for you but after finalling finishing it, I just wanted to get it posted. Thanks for your "peer review". I loved your reason for being forces out of the Academy of Fluff, Nova Scotia. Who'd have thought that Charlie's eye colour would have such far-reaching consequences?
(Reply) (Parent) (Thread)
stmargarets From: [info]stmargarets Date: April 25th, 2009 10:23 pm (UTC) (Link)
Who'd have thought that Charlie's eye colour would have such far-reaching consequences?

Girlyswot! We're the only two people on the planet who care - but there you go.
(Reply) (Parent) (Thread)
Thread started by grandma_kate
grandma_kate From: [info]grandma_kate Date: April 25th, 2009 10:37 pm (UTC) (Link)
All together a promising essay but I cannot fail to be disappointed at your lack of acknowledgment of the importance of eye color in the passionate nature of Weasleys. Surely Molly's strikingly brown eyes, inherited by Charlie, the twins, and Ginny, deserve at least a lengthy paragraph. Who can forget the Weasley Matriarch's impassioned, "NOT MY DAUGHTER, YOU BITCH!"?
(Reply) (Thread)
tdu000 From: [info]tdu000 Date: April 25th, 2009 10:46 pm (UTC) (Link)
LOL! I don't actually care what colour Charlie's eyes are. But I'm annoyed for forgetting to mention the deliberate silence concerning his fututre on the part of JKR.
(Reply) (Parent) (Thread)
alkari From: [info]alkari Date: April 25th, 2009 11:15 pm (UTC) (Link)
for forgetting to mention the deliberate silence concerning his fututre on the part of JKR. In an interview (alas, citation yet to come) JKR has stated that Charlie Weasley never married.

This seemingly off-the-cuff remark by JKR may be viewed by certain members of the International Fluff Fraternity as contrary to the notion of happy endings, and perhaps a somewhat regrettable comment by the author. However, a closer examination of JKR's relationship with her fans in fact leads to the contrary conclusion.

Clearly, JKR has given careful thoughts to Charlie's future, and to the desirability of having certain elements of her Book 7 ending left open to continued debate. There is good reason to believe that she ntended to give an opportunity for students at the Newfoundland Institute of Fluffy Affairs to demonstrate their creativity by writing appropriate romantic encounters. The possibility of self-insertion into these literary efforts, especially on important annual occasions such as birthdays - not to be confused with Mary Sues - is of course, one fortunate outcome of this.

(Reply) (Parent) (Thread)
tdu000 From: [info]tdu000 Date: April 25th, 2009 11:20 pm (UTC) (Link)
LOL! Thank you for the appendix.
(Reply) (Parent) (Thread)
Thread started by crumplehornedkiwi
crumplehornedki From: [info]crumplehornedki Date: April 25th, 2009 10:40 pm (UTC) (Link)
*stands and applauds*

lol - you've done it again. I didn't actually remember that I badgered you about writing another essay *whistles innocently* but I'm glad to see you have put academic pen to paper again. If only writing my own essays were on such great topics as this.

It appears as though you have interesting e-mail conversations going on ;)

and of course Neville deserved his ale on taphappy ending
(Reply) (Thread)
tdu000 From: [info]tdu000 Date: April 25th, 2009 10:48 pm (UTC) (Link)
I was going to surprise you a week later but I ground to a halt with the Remus and Tonks bit, basically because it just wasn't happy. I thought you'd have forgotten by now. I can't even remember where you asked or I'd have linked to it. This is either a late or an early birthday present depending on what you prefer.

I hear you've got severe weather warnings now. Stay safe.
(Reply) (Parent) (Thread)
crumplehornedki From: [info]crumplehornedki Date: April 25th, 2009 11:13 pm (UTC) (Link)
I didn't realise it was a birthday present THANK YOU! I feel all warm and fuzzy now!

We have had a LOT of rain in the past 48 hours, it drizzled though the dawn service and the mid morning services for ANZAC day and then yesterday afternoon it rained steadily with some fairly heavy falls happening. Seems to have stopped for now but it is still pretty dark on the horizon. Of course this would be fairly normal weather if I was back in NZ ;)
(Reply) (Parent) (Thread)
Thread started by Ken
rhetoretician From: [info]rhetoretician Date: April 26th, 2009 03:33 am (UTC) (Link)
*Snort* "Award-winning science fiction writer" my Aunt Bonnie! Flattery will get you everywhere.

I agree with Mags, more conclusions needed.

As a fellow member of the Class of '78, I can say that I harbor no ill feelings at all about the killing off of my generation for thematic purposes. All in a good cause, don't you know. I wouldn't suggest that happy endings are only those that are devoid of genuine pain; I might go so far as to say that you can't have a genuinely happy ending without it.

We knew that JKR was capable of anything when Sirius Black died in his prime; a more unfair event, all things considered, could not have been written. But when JKR was asked about the killing off of Remus and Tonks, she said that this was war, and this is what war does, it creates orphans -- and she audibly choked up in the recording.

Although I'm afraid I haven't read your other essays, I am puzzled as to why you rehashed the shipping argument in an essay about happy endings. Why not just take H/G as a given and move on? Or, more to the point, showing Harry in a happy marriage with children denotes a happy ending no matter who the spouse is, doesn't it?
(Reply) (Thread)
tdu000 From: [info]tdu000 Date: April 26th, 2009 04:55 am (UTC) (Link)
I rehashed the shipping arguments because when I asked for comments from "experts" that's what Mary sent me. Plus, it seemed to be sensible to write the essay the marker wanted! I never got involved in the "shipping wars" because I never got involved in discussions until after HBP was published. was just amazed that they had actually occured (I still am).

The essays were started as a joke (because Mary made me). They are really a parody of the ones I churned out for educational psychology a few years ago - write the answer you know the examiner wants in the style and phraseology they want without really caring too much about what you are saying or whether you agree with it. None of them have anything remotely useful or to the point, other than perhaps the one on Neville. I come from the same part of England as him and am only too familiar with the sort of matriarch that his grandmother was, so there may be something useful in there for a non-Brit wanting to write about him.

My poblem with the essay was that there wasn't really too much happy to write about and I didn't want to just write about the misery. I think a "real" essay on the state of the wizarding world after the war would be interesting but I'm not the person to write it. I don't believe that all the problems would disappear by destroying Voldemort and making Harry head of the Aurors. A truth and reconciliation committee might be a start but there will always be people ready to exploit situations and other people's fears so there will never really be a happy ever after for either the real world or a fictional one. In the end there'll be more politicians like Fudge and more civil servants like Umbrage and people like Percy who see the office rather than the person holding it.

Thanks for reading, especially when you probably get to read enough real essays.
(Reply) (Parent) (Thread)
Thread started by alkari
alkari From: [info]alkari Date: April 26th, 2009 03:37 am (UTC) (Link)
The author of this essay has made an excellent attempt to analyse the HP books in terms of the traditional Happy Ending.

Alas, space limitations prevented her from giving appropriate attention to Charlie Weasley, and his place in the Future Fluffy World of Platform 9 3/4. Allow me to therefore indicate an element for future study by members of the International Fluff Fraternity.

A factor well known in certain types of fiction is the Mysterious or Eccentric Overseas relation. In the detective fiction genre, authors such as Agatha Christie were often able to produce The Missing Heir, thus providing an unexpected motive for murder which would be disclosed by the detective at the dramatic denouement. Romantic fiction also embraced (and I use the word advisedly) the concept: Jane Eyre offers an excellent early example.

What has this got to do with Charlie Weasley, his muscled arms and tattoos, his eye colour and his fascination with dragons and magical creatures?

Advanced students at the Newfoundland Institute of Fluffy Affairs will immediately appreciate the skill with which JKR has provided plot-lines for future Fluffy Authors through making Charlie Weasley a single man, with an exotic occupation in an overseas country.

Although the Ron/Hermione happy ending satisfies many readers, there are those who object to the unfinished storyline with respect to one Victor Krum. Krum personifies many of the attributes considered desirable in Popular Heroes, such as prowess at a popular sport, dark and sometimes glowering features, an endearing physical oddity (his peculiar walk) and residence in a country whose very name conjures up visions of the dramatic, the supernatural, the romantic - Romania. The very same country where Charlie Weasley resides with his dragons.

But what happened to Krum when Hermione tossed him on the scrapheap to marry Ron Weasley?

I suggest that it is no mere accident or whim which made JKR leave Charlie Weasley unmarried, and neglect to satisfy her readers as to an ending, happy or otherwise, for poor Victor Krum. Unlike the S/R puppy shippers, I do not for one moment suggest a Charlie / Victor relationship.

No indeed. Instead, readers who understand JKR's True Intent will naturally envisage a happy time when all the Weasley grandchildren will enjoy visiting their Uncle Charlie and learning about dragons. And what could be more natural - and of conducive to future Fluff - than a fortuitous meeting with the children of Victor Krum and Stephanova Meyer (who has a dark secret of her own).

Despite their initial prejudices, the Weasley family has shown itself as being willing to appreciate the stranger members of the magical community - giants, werewolves, Animagi, and metamorphagi. What could be more natural in terms of popular fiction and fandom than a future which combined Charlie Weasley, his nephews and nieces, and Romanian vampires?
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sea_thoughts From: [info]sea_thoughts Date: April 26th, 2009 06:33 pm (UTC) (Link)
*snort* Stephanova Meyer!

*dies laughing*

Nice to see you around. :)
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tdu000 From: [info]tdu000 Date: April 26th, 2009 07:33 pm (UTC) (Link)
LOL! I missed this bit yesterday. It's a bit tough on Krum.
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Thread started by What's Taters, Precious?
mrstater From: [info]mrstater Date: April 26th, 2009 04:23 am (UTC) (Link)
Actually my quote probably ought to be credited to the incomparable [info]gilpin25. ;) A highly entertaining essay! Although I still can't think about DH without much weeping and gnashing of teeth and raised blood pressure. *goes off grumbling*
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tdu000 From: [info]tdu000 Date: April 26th, 2009 04:39 am (UTC) (Link)
That was the problem with writing the essay - it wasn't a happy ending for most of my favourite characters - but I didn't want to write too much misery. I've read Gilpin's stories too. I think her hospital scen one from Ron's point of view was the best R-T reconciliation one I've read.
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Thread started by alkari
alkari From: [info]alkari Date: April 26th, 2009 05:10 am (UTC) (Link)
it wasn't a happy ending for most of my favourite characters Yes, I think there are many fans who felt this way. And I agree with whoever commented that Andromeda is the one who's lost most of all following Book 7. Even the Malfoys are left together, albeit with much of their influence and wealth probably gone. Yet Andromeda almost casually suffers the loss of husband, daughter and son-in-law; though it's undoubtedly true to Life, it left a rather unhappy taste in the mouth.

To be honest, I'm yet to be convinced that JKR's desire to show the differences between Orphan Harry, brought up in an unhappy home, and Orphan Teddy, with grandmother, godfather and other friends around him, was actually worthwhile. It rather seemed to be laying the 'happy families are important' message on with a great big shovel, not just a trowel.


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tdu000 From: [info]tdu000 Date: April 26th, 2009 05:24 am (UTC) (Link)
The comment about Andromeda was from Rhetoretician and there's a link to his story (a one-shot) in the references section. As with all his stories (and he has won awards despite his attempt to be modest) it is well worth reading if you haven't already done so.

I didn't really have a problem with the miserable ending for so many characters but I am someone who could have done without the epilogue and JKR's post-publication comments. It made the sad deaths feel "glossed-over" to me. I know that Harry would have moved on in 19 years but I read the epilogue straight after the rest of the book so didn't get time to grieve before "All was well."
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Thread started by megan29
megan29 From: [info]megan29 Date: April 26th, 2009 06:49 am (UTC) (Link)
For an essay titled "All was well: an examination of happy endings in the Harry Potter books." you came quite close to spending your entire time on the Harry ship. Why not title it then, "The shipping wars: I was right. Nyah-nyah-nyah-nyah-nyah-nyah!" :-)

Other than the misleading title, I greatly enjoyed revisiting old stories along with you, and was glad to finally find a like-minded critic of romance in the person of girlyswot.

And thank you for the links to your previous essays, of whose existence I've long heard rumors, but never read. It was a trip down memory lane to read the Mary Sue essay, as StMags' challenge 'You, Mary Sue' is what made me get an LJ account. I never knew the follow-up, though, as it took a while before I found all the funky people now on my flist. StMags, you'll never know how grateful I am to you for that challenge!


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tdu000 From: [info]tdu000 Date: April 26th, 2009 06:58 am (UTC) (Link)
There was more on Harry and Ginny because Mary sent me such a good piece on them from he "The Fortitude of Fluff". It's far easier to rip her off than be original. Plus, as I've said in other replies, most of the characters I liked didn't get happy endings!

The first essay is probably the funniest so I'd go to Project Crumpet if you've got time to waste.
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Thread started by European Dame
sea_thoughts From: [info]sea_thoughts Date: April 26th, 2009 06:30 pm (UTC) (Link)
*claps*

This is brilliant, thank you!
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tdu000 From: [info]tdu000 Date: April 26th, 2009 07:30 pm (UTC) (Link)
Thank you
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Thread started by Jo Blogs
jo_blogs From: [info]jo_blogs Date: April 26th, 2009 10:32 pm (UTC) (Link)
You didn't use the quote I sent you. *dejected* Oh well, at least I was referenced.

Yes, it's all about me. :)

I didn't really follow your argument. Perhaps because there wasn't one, except Neville is Awesome. I'm down with that. A*
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anyaxstrindberg From: [info]anyaxstrindberg Date: April 26th, 2009 11:00 pm (UTC) (Link)
Akshually - I would like Neville's happy ending, now that I think about it - except replace a lady (sorry Hannah) with a dude. And make the ale...Tribute. He's living the dream!
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tdu000 From: [info]tdu000 Date: April 27th, 2009 02:39 am (UTC) (Link)
Your quotation, I'm afraid, got lost in hyperspace. My argument (the good end happily and the bad unhappily) palpably didn't hold up so I stopped even bothering. I stopped when Neville got all his beer on tap because that seemed an aesthetically pleasing way to stop. I really struggled to get this done but I wanted everyone to read Mary and Ros's brilliant comments (I nearly just posted them!).

Of course Neville is awesome!
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Thread started by anyaxstrindberg
anyaxstrindberg From: [info]anyaxstrindberg Date: April 26th, 2009 10:59 pm (UTC) (Link)
Why I feel so very special! I has been cited! Which...of my 10,000 Sirius Bashing entries was it? But it's true - their gaydar - it lied to them.

I gotta say, when I read it all like that I am kind of thinking JKR must hate Andromeda - so the luv of your life iz ded, along with your only daughter and her way-too-old husband leaving YOU to take care of YET ANOTHER metamorph baby, as opposed to relishing the mumu years getting all "Gloria Swanson" on a wizarding cruise ship... Poor thing!

The generation born in the 60's - Basically no one made it out alive or sane. Awesome.
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tdu000 From: [info]tdu000 Date: April 27th, 2009 02:44 am (UTC) (Link)
Poor Andromeda. I hope her years with Ted were very happy ones and, although I doubt she really wants to look after another baby now, that Teddy does provide her with some happiness in the future.

I have no idea which post I saw you talking about your lack of a gaydar or I would have referenced it directly. I don't think it was one of your Sirius-bashing ones but actually a "real life" post but with a Remus-Sirius side note.
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anyaxstrindberg From: [info]anyaxstrindberg Date: April 27th, 2009 05:47 am (UTC) (Link)
Oh...there are so many. My gaydar used to be so finely honed that I could tell who was not yet out of the closet, but now? Fuggedaboutdid.

But see...still. Sirius is straight. No gay man in his right mind would consent to living in a cave on the lamb! They have stylish solutions to these things - and possibly delicious solutions. Any gay man in his right mind would transform into an adorable maltese or other cute dog and be adopted into some fantastically dog crazed gay man's home to enjoy the life afforded to him by such a delightful person. Getting lavender scented baths, the finest home cooked doggie food, stylish collars.

And when that gay man realized his adorable dog could turn into a - widely regarded as good looking (and for these purposes - gay) man? PROBLEM SOLVED.

But no. He lived in a cave gnawing cold chicken like an animal (and probably eating bugs). NOT. GAY.
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anyaxstrindberg From: [info]anyaxstrindberg Date: April 27th, 2009 05:47 am (UTC) (Link)
I am so writing this fic. Eventually...damnit I'll never write this and it needs to be written, it needed to be written like 4 years ago!
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tdu000 From: [info]tdu000 Date: April 27th, 2009 06:53 am (UTC) (Link)
That's so funny! I didn't have a firm opinion (or any opinion for that matter) either way. I just always thought that if they were gay lovers they had a really crap relationship for Sirius to think Remus was betraying them to Voldemort and those sort of problems couldn't be got over by a quick apology in the Shrieking Shack. I couldn't take a post PoA story that had them being gay lovers that didn't deal with those problems and none of the fics I came across them ever did.
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Comment by madderbrad
madderbrad From: [info]madderbrad Date: April 27th, 2009 08:56 am (UTC) (Link)
As others have commented, this essay falls far short of the mark, being more of a retrospective summary of the shipping debates - and a highly biased examination at that - rather than a thorough analysis of the 'happy endings' of Harry Potter.

Considering the lacklustre and emotionally bland epilogue of the series, however, I believe I understand your recourse to revising older material - and picking open old wounds - instead.

Most certainly many 'anvils' were dropped in the series; hints with all the subtlety that clumsy writing and cheap characterisation could convey. But the essayist's conclusion that these anvils portended a 'happy ending' for Ron and Hermione is assumed and never proven in his analysis; certainly the epilogue does not show us a couple riotously happy with life and each other, but only a Ron Weasley who continues to employ his simple-minded prejudices against all Slytherins (indoctrinating his children in the pureblood philosophy which succoured the Voldemort bloodshed) and who practises deceit against his wife (if, in fact, he and Hermione are even married).

Yes, the essayist is correct in these observations of the early Harry/Ginny dynamic:

Ginny is the first girl Harry notices. ..

Harry turns around to see Ginny.

The essayist unfortunately fails to note that Harry then returns to his former stance, turning his back to the youngest Weasley ... and essentially ignores her for the next five and a half years.

An objective student of the Harry Potter series less interested in a selective examination of only the few high points of Harry's relationship with Ginny would surely have noted that their 'romance' was one of the worst possible in composition when it finally took form in Harry's sixth year. Initially founded in jealousy and hormonal lust Harry demonstrated no trust or faith in his purported 'soul mate' and abandoned her with no thought to an unfriendly Hogwarts while he roamed the countryside with Hermione and Ron. Similarly, Ginny's prime trait in the final novel was one of jealousy against any competition for her crush's romantic affection. Until encountering the final few pages of the hastily slapped-on epilogue any reader would be hard put to justify H/G as a 'happy ending' for Harry. And even at the very end of Deathly Hallows many fans remained to be convinced.

As a biased and selective reporting of the highlights of the canon pairings with careful 20-20 hindsight for the OBHWF faithful this essay performs its job adequately. But I fear, for any reader not already slavishly invested in the canon outcome - those who do not choose to ignore the faulty and failed writing desperately employed by Rowling to achieve her beloved OBHWF ending - this work falls far short of convincing us that the series concluded with a 'happy ending' ... for Harry or for his readers.

OWL grade: D
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Thread started by autumn_veela
autumn_veela From: [info]autumn_veela Date: April 29th, 2009 04:03 am (UTC) (Link)
...a blatant waste of Weasley Crumpet.

LOL. I thoroughly enjoyed this.
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tdu000 From: [info]tdu000 Date: April 29th, 2009 04:51 am (UTC) (Link)
Thank you. The section you quoted suggests that you might enjoy my Project Crumpet essay (about why the Weasley men are all thinking woman's crumpet), which is probably the funniest of the ones I've written.
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Thread started by Tove
duck_or_rabbit From: [info]duck_or_rabbit Date: April 29th, 2009 05:42 am (UTC) (Link)
Heh, neat essay.

There are lots of readers here who I'm sure have read the series from the start and as one of those people (and I'm not taking a high horse here) I wasn't really overwhelmed with sadness by DH since so many had been lost in the run up to book seven.

I'm not really a 'one true way' fanfic writer and did write (and still do write) R/S, although I think the books were great with the R/T romance and am a reader and friend of both [info]mrstater and [info]gilpin25. What I ::hate:: most about their deaths is orphaning Teddy because we did not need to see 'Harry' recreated. I think it would have been far more ironic and wonderful if no child had been left parentless after the Battle of Hogwarts.

ETA: Oh, and I found your essay via a citation on [info]thedaily_snitch (I think).

ETA2: It's [info]daily_snitch! Thanks again for your meta on HP. It's nice to see such things still breathing.

Edited at 2009-04-29 05:47 am (UTC)
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tdu000 From: [info]tdu000 Date: April 29th, 2009 05:49 am (UTC) (Link)
I got into the fandom by reading R-T fics after OotP, so their deaths were a low bit for me. I wasn't overwhelmed with the sadness either, which is why I started the essay with the Oscar Wilde quotation. It was only when I tried to actually write the essay that I intended writing I decided that, in fact, there weren't that many happy endings to write about. There were some implied either at the time or in interviews, such as Percy finding Audrey (who?) but not many we could actually rely on. The only really sad bits for me were Hedwig and Dobby.
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duck_or_rabbit From: [info]duck_or_rabbit Date: April 29th, 2009 05:54 am (UTC) (Link)
The only really sad bits for me were Hedwig and Dobby.

Oh, gosh! Hedwig! I know, I know! Fly to your Nirvana, sweet raptor!
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tdu000 From: [info]tdu000 Date: April 29th, 2009 06:07 am (UTC) (Link)
I've never even seen the Daily Snitch. Thanks for letting me know because I've had a couple of comments from people I don't know - although I do recognise your nme (probably from Mrs Tater's and Gilpin's stories). Part of me is happy to be recommended and part of me is wishing it had been for one of my other essays as this is by far the weakest. Plus the in-jokes are getting more "in" with each essay!
(Reply) (Parent) (Thread)
duck_or_rabbit From: [info]duck_or_rabbit Date: April 29th, 2009 06:22 am (UTC) (Link)
Thanks for letting me know

Oh, yes! Naturally. It's seems like a basic courtesy that commentators inform posters from where they've swooped in.

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