Last week we discussed love, and focused on the distinctly maternal focus taken by J.K. Rowling. This week, we examine the father figures in Harry’s life. From his actual, albeit ephermeral father James, to surrogates in Lupin, Sirius and even, to some extent Snape, we take a look at Harry’s bevy or male role models, how they shaped his character and how they contributed to his being what appears to be, for all that we can tell, a good father to his children as well.
There’s news this week, but we’re on the road, so we can’t provide links. Suffice it to say, Penny, at least, will be traveling to New York when Equus comes to town.
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Although in English we have one basic term for love, there’s really all different kinds of love: brotherly love, selfless love, erotic love, and all make some kind of appearance in the Harry Potter novels. In this week’s show, we take a look at love in Harry Potter and how the various relationships are expressed, and what the nature of those loves might be. Are all loves good? Can love in fact be bad?
Plus: the Top 5 tear-jerker moments from Deathly Hallows. Vote for yours below.
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At the New York City stop on J.K. Rowling’s Open Book Tour, J.K. Rowling announced (in response to a question from the audience) that Dumbledore was gay. For various reasons, this has caused quite a stir. How does this change, if at all, how we perceive Dumbledore, how we view his childhood pursuit of power? Does this change the nature of the books, their appropriateness for children, or their religious character? All these questions, and a few others, are discussed in this week’s episode.
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J.K. Rowling has begin her Open Book Tour, with stops in Los Angeles, New Orleans and New York City. At the press conference at the LA appearance, J.K. Rowling spoke for the first time at length on the religious themes of the Harry Potter books, speaking openly about the Christian themes and references in Book 7. She also spoke about Snape, Dumbledore, the Harry Potter Encyclopedia and how she broke the news of the fate of the trio to the actors who portrayed them.
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One of our most favorite characters from the Harry Potter series is the one and only Neville Longbottom. From a shy, sheepish kid in the first book, to Snake-Killer, Neville goes through one of the most noticeable transformations of any other character in the book. In this episode, we take a look back at Neville, the significant moments in his life, both before and at Hogwarts, and how he progressed from less than a wizard to a full-fledged Wizard Hero. In particular, we examine how J.K. Rowling uses Neville to show how cultures and societies reinforce images of acceptable traits and tacitly punish or stigmatize those that fail to embody those traits; also, we discuss Neville’s character as a mirror of Harry’s character.
I had to resist the urge to entitle this episode “Neville Longbottom: From Zero to Hero.”
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We met several new wizards and witches in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Some we’d actually met before, but never really got to know properly; others were brand-spanking new characters. Each one, of course, comes with a mini-mystery in their name, a tiny puzzle only to be attempted by a stalwart few. This week, we take a look at some of the new witches and wizards and try to decipher something from their names. So, Elphias Doge, Bathilda Bagshot and, of course, Pius Thicknesse: step on up, it’s your moment to shine!
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This episode is about the Deathly Hallows. Not the book “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,” but rather the Deathly Hallows in the book Deathly Hallows. Does that make sense? I hope so, since the Deathly Hallows (the things, not the books) is pretty confusing. We’re not quite sure we’ve got them figured out, but we’ve taken our best shot. It’s very zen-like: When is the Deathly Hallows not really the Deathly Hallows?
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Voldermort’s downfall was a long time coming. Despite his efforts to ensure his longevity, Voldemort’s overall approach to life almost guarunteed his defeat. By ignoring the signifcance of some very important “deeper magics,” Voldemort opened up a proverbial chink in his armor that ultimately led to his demise. In Chapter 35, King’s Cross, an etherieal Dumbledore sums it up nicely:
That which Voldemort does not value, he takes no trouble to comprehend. Of house elves and children’s tales, of love, loyalty and innoncence, Voldemort knows and understands nothing. NOTHING. That they all have a power beyond his own, a power beyond the reach of any magic, is a truth he has never grasped.
In this week’s episode, we take a deeper look at the general and specific causes of Voldemort’s downfall, paying particular attention to Dumbledore’s assessment.
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Before Deathly Hallows, our view of Dumbledore was nothing less than a saint; although Harry had his questions with his methods, certainly there was nary a doubt as to his motives. In Book 7, quite a different picture of the wizened old wizard is presented. Harry spends much of the book struggling with the Dumbledore he knew and the true person who Dumbledore was. We learn the dark secrets of Dumbledore’s past, and Harry’s role in the greater plan to defeat Voldemort. In this episode, we take a closer look at Dumbledore, his history and philosophy (both past and present).
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Without question, Severus Snape is one of the most intriguing characters in J.K. Rowling’s wizarding world. In the beginning, he was simply a mean teacher, and obstacle for Harry; but by the end of the series, Snape became a paradigm of sacrifice for love and courage, to the point that Harry names his son after his once-despised teacher. In this episode, we take a closer look at Snape, now that we have the complete picture of his tale.
For an insightful and prescient examination of Snape’s character, check out Orson Scott Card’s essay Who is Snape? (If you haven’t already, read Orson Scott Card’s book Ender’s Game. You’ll thank me later.)
Check out our new Harry Potter t-shirt design; we call it “Always.” It looks good on most light colored tees (ignore the white background around the image; that will be removed when the shirt is printed).
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There’s no question that there are religious/Christian undertones and themes to the Harry Potter books. In 2000, JK Rowling stated that if she were to divulge her religious beliefs, it would make the ending of the story obvious. Now that we’ve read Book 7, the religious content is clear; not only is Harry’s final battle with Voldemort very much a passion play, there are overarching religious themes to the entire book. What is the character of the religious content of Deathly Hallows in particular, and the Potter series in general? Is JK Rowling preaching or does she have a different intention? In this podcast, we explore the religious themes and try to figure out the religion of Harry Potter.
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Ask not for whom the bell tolls, for in Book 7, it tolled for quite a few folks. The body count in the final book gets higher and higher as the book goes on. Some deaths, granted, were quite welcome, such as Bellatrix and Voldemort; others were tragic and shocking. All of them, however, held a special meaning for Harry and for the books. In this episode, we examine the specific meaning of that which gives ultimate meaning, the deaths of Deathly Hallows.
This episode is dedicated to the memory of Hedwig the Owl, Alastor “Mad-Eye” Moody, Dobby the Free Elf, Fred Weasley, Remus Lupin, Nymphadora Tonks, Colin Creevy and all those who gave their lives in the Battle of Hogwarts. And, of course, Severus Snape.
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We’re just back from Prophecy 2007. In short, we had a great time, came home and immediately sat down to recap . Between the amazing sessions, the vast array of Potter fans and the great discussions, it was a weekend to remember. Penny recapped day one and day two in two previous posts, with some great links to many of the amazing speakers we got to hear. Make sure to check them out, as well tune in to this episode to hear our thoughts.
No news for this episode, we’ll be back with a regular episode later this week.
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It’s been less than a week since the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, yet most of us have now read the book more than once; inevitably, bits and pieces need to be re-read to make sense of them. In addition to re-reading, the comments on our last post were extremely amazing, and really helped make sense of the book. This week, we look back through the comments and pull out a few topics to discuss further: a possible relationship between Harry and Voldemort? Examples of Voldemort’s spells not working, references to Nazis, the fittingness of Snape’s death. What was the purpose of the epilogue? And what did we need the Deathly Hallows for anyhow? Of course, there’s more questions that need to be discussed (who discovered magic later in life? Where did Harry’s parents get all that money from?), but they’ll have to wait until next time.
Thanks so much for all the great comments, keep them coming, we couldn’t do the show without them!
Make sure to listen to our interview on The James Madison Show from Friday, July 20. The interview can be found a the website if you click the podcast button. Special thanks to James and Frank for having us on.
Don’t forget to order your HPProgs t-shirts! Contact us if you’re interested in a red, white or black limited edition t-shirt.
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We’ve finished Deathly Hallows. We sat down to record our initial thoughts immediately after completing Book 7. I don’t think we’ve covered everything, but it’s a good start with out immediate thoughts on the book. What’s to say? The book was great, a great ending to the saga of Harry Potter.
Please note: this podcast is SPOILER-FULL. If you haven’t yet finished Deathly Hallows, and don’t want to hear spoilers, DO NOT listen to this podcast. Comments on this episode will also be SPOILER-FULL. The rest of the HPProgs.com web site will remain moderated and spoiler-free until Monday, July 23rd.
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. You’ll thank me later.)
