A Celtic Solution to Harry's Conundrum

[justaHPfan]

Howdy! I remember that poem about Nick! Yes, and he went on and on about how he could fix the lady's teeth, but she would hear none of it and, poor Nick, was set to be beheaded only... well, the axe was not very sharp and um... you know... it's very morbidly comical! I'll post if from JKR's site:

JKR.com In the first draft of 'Chamber of Secrets', Nick sang a self-penned ballad explaining how his head had (nearly) come off. My editor was not very fond of the song and so I cut it. However, for those who are curious, here is the story of Nick's decapitation in his own moving words. It was a mistake any wizard could make Who was tired and caught on the hop One piffling error, and then, to my terror, I found myself facing the chop. Alas for the eve when I met Lady Grieve A-strolling the park in the dusk! She was of the belief I could straighten her teeth Next moment she'd sprouted a tusk. I cried through the night that I'd soon put her right But the process of justice was lax; They'd brought out the block, though they'd mislaid the rock Where they usually sharpened the axe. Next morning at dawn, with a face most forlorn, The priest said to try not to cry, "You can come just like that, no, you won't need a hat," And I knew that my end must be nigh. The man in the mask who would have the sad task Of cleaving my head from my neck, Said "Nick, if you please, will you get to your knees," And I turned to a gibbering wreck. "This may sting a bit" said the cack-handed twit As he swung the axe up in the air, But oh the blunt blade! No difference it made, My head was still definitely there. The axeman he hacked and he whacked and he thwacked, "Won't be too long", he assured me, But quick it was not, and the bone-headed clot Took forty-five goes 'til he floored me. And so I was dead, but my faithful old head It never saw fit to desert me, It still lingers on, that's the end of my song, And now, please applaud, or you'll hurt me.

[sfgilgalad]

Yeah I know this, I just thought she was his bride

[Emerald63]

Originally Posted by sfgilgalad

Yeah I know this, I just thought she was his bride

Oh... OK. I didn't realize you were tying the two together. Oops.

[justaHPfan]

Ok, now I'm lost. Not uncommon! But about Nick...

Nick has been helpful in the past with Harry, explaining at least a little about "the beyond" to Harry - and he was known as Harry Potter's 'friend' among the ghosts so, it could be comic relief, but it could also set Nick (or another ghost) up to be helpful in book 7.

[cougprincess]

Great editorial! I love reading ones that have their basis in mythology. JKR did such a great job of combining different mythologies to make the series more interesting.

A note, though: I'm pretty sure that in one of JKR's interviews, she had said that Harry is definitely NOT a Horcrux.

[justaHPfan]

Originally Posted by cougprincess

I'm pretty sure that in one of JKR's interviews, she had said that Harry is definitely NOT a Horcrux.

I don't remember that. Any chance you could find a quote and post it here?

[TreacleTartlet]

Well then, aren’t you a clever girl, Emerald!!! As usual your research was thorough and you cleverly pieced together the evidence and came to some intriguing and plausible possibilities. Of course, you know you don’t need to convince me that Harry will embark on an Otherworld journey through the veil; and since the title of book 7 was revealed I’ve been even more convinced.

Originally Posted By Emerald in Editorial
However, both involve entry into and return from the Otherworld with the hero having not only survived challenges, but having received magical objects for healing or empowerment, solutions to problems, supra-human wisdom, and/or the knowledge to release hidden potentials.(All per Caitlin Matthews).

I know you wrote this editorial before the title of the final book was revealed, but after reading this I immediately thought of the Grail Hallows derived from the treasures of the Tuatha de Danann; four magical objects with special powers. If the Deathly Hallows turns out to be objects, then Harry’s Otherworld journey may be in order to retrieve the Hallows. However, at the moment I’m leaning more towards the idea of the Otherworld itself as being the Deathly Hallows, particularly after seeing the book covers. Whatever JKR has in store for us in book 7, I’m convinced that an Otherworld journey will be important in helping Harry to vanquish Voldemort.


Congratulations and well done, Emerald!!!

*******

[MPG]

Regarding your quote at the end:

"The Fairy-Faith in Celtic Countries", "...to have passed from the realm of mortal existence to the Realm of the Dead, of the Fairy-Folk... and back again, with full human consciousness all the while, was equivalent to having gained the Philosopher's Stone, the Elixir of Life... which confers triumph over Death and unending happiness."

Is it possible that once Harry returns from the Realm of the Dead, he will be death-proof, maybe also harm-proof? That certainly gives him a slight advantage over the many Death Eaters and Voldemort himself who will certainly be hurling scores of curses in hot and heavy fighting.

[justaHPfan]

If so, I don't see it as something lasting because Jo has shown us that death is such a central theme to the books. Those who try to stay away from it, do so to their own demise, like becoming a ghost or mutilating your soul to keep it earth-bound. It's an interesting idea though that, for a certain amount of time (sort of like Priori Incantatem), Harry is protected.

[sfgilgalad]

The cup is a grail, the tiara is a crown, the sword is a sword, the locket is a chain. That makes a king. I think that's what's represented in those pictures. Harry stands in the middle of some "stonehenge", and Voldy can't get there. The way it's represented makes me think of a theater. Will this end in a shakespearian tragedy? Or it might be a Dreamtheater/Coliseum, a magical place, where the reds scored 7 goals (another magic number). hehehe

[inkling7]

Another interpretation of the holy grail is the french for this sang (blood) real (royal) which is also similar in spanish. Latin words obviously but the meaning is royal bood which could connect with tiara (crown = king or queen?). Make of that what you may.......

[sfgilgalad]

haha this thing about holy grail in french, you read it in da vinci code, didnt you...
What I found interresting, today, while reading the spanish version, is that Godric's Hollow has been translated to "Godric's valley".

[inkling7]

Actually I got it from a much earlier book called the Holy Blood and the Holy Grail from which the Da Vinci Code seems too similar to be discounted despite what the author if the Da Vinci codes says and which to me is a better book which enthralled me much more. To tell the truth I was very disappointed in the Da Vinci Code.

A Hollow is like a very small valley but Godric himself came from another geographical landmark and it's interesting that the two male founders came from moor and fen which are similar and the two female founders came from valley and glen which are also similar.

[toody]

We have seen someone heal a life-threatening cut. That was the slash Harry inflicted on Draco. Snape healed Draco with magical dexterity and a kind of song. It may not be necessary to go beyond the veil to find someone to relieve him of Voldemort's soul and heal the cut, but it would mean that Harry would have to trust Snape.

[Emerald63]

Greetings Readers/Posters! Author of the ed, here.

It's so nice to see more discussion continued after my lengthy absence. You see, between the time my ed was published and my last post here, my father died (expected). But after that last post, my mother also died (unexpected). It's been a long road coming back to discussing HP, but... here I am!

Treacle Tartlet, it was great to see your comment! I really must get an owl to you soon and get that email glitch resolved!

To all those mentioning the Da Vinci Code... personally I didn't read it. I was familiar with the theories behind it, including the one obviously borrowed from "Holy Blood, Holy Grail." I was also familiar with the objections to those theories (not just from religiously minded folks, but from those who've disproven a great deal of the "evidence") as well as the art history and analysis in it. (I minored in art history in college.) I'm assured it's an exceedingly attention-grabbing and well-written thriller, but I simply knew I would be too distracted by what I already knew to get much out of it. Oh well, I guess I'm... stuck... with HP!

I'd have to agree with justaHPfan on this one, MPG. I can see him having some degree of protection from harm and for some given amount of time, but not beyond that. I believe in Jo's estimation the major idea behind the Philosopher's Stone is much more important than the actual Stone itself and the physical abilities it gives. That is, to attend to one's own spiritual and emotional advancement. Dumbledore hints at this estimation when he suggests that living indefinitely isn't all it's cracked up to be and that Nicolas Flamel will likely look forward to a well deserved rest, followed by "the next great adventure." I'm inclined to think that it will be magical objects and new knowledge that Harry brings back that will allow him whatever increased protection he receives. But he is a real boy/young man and, as such, I doubt Jo would allow him to remain rooted in two worlds at once for the rest of his life.

Originally Posted by toody

We have seen someone heal a life-threatening cut. That was the slash Harry inflicted on Draco. Snape healed Draco with magical dexterity and a kind of song. It may not be necessary to go beyond the veil to find someone to relieve him of Voldemort's soul and heal the cut, but it would mean that Harry would have to trust Snape.

This is truly an interesting concept! DD knew how to destroy the ring horcrux, but it almost killed him. It was Snape who stopped the damage spreading and kept DD alive. He may also have been able to repeat that after DD drank the cave potion, had other events **cough*SlimeyMalfoyLettingInTheDEs*cough** not gotten in the way of it. We all assume Harry will have to at least encounter, if not reconcile with, Snape in DH. As you can imagine, I'm quite fond of my own theory , but if it doesn't pan out, yours just might!

[Calaliel]

Impressive article. I completely agree. Underworld journies are standard fare for hero stories. FOR EXAMPLE: Odysseus summons the dead to advice from Tireisas(the blind prophet, the only one in greek myth), Aenas ventures to the land of the dead to learn the future (can't remember who guides him), Dante's Inferno (duh people), Hercules was going down there all the time, Opheus, Psyche, Aragorn in LOTR(Lord of The Rings) and Luke Skywalker but in a more symbolic way (yes, Luke is a classical hero. George Lucas modeled his story after the Hero's steps in the book names below)etc....

Also, as I wrote in an editorial that I wrote (which I don't think was published) I discussed Joseph Campbell's The Hero with a Thousand Faces it is standard for the Hero to journey to the Otherworld. It's like step 8 in the hero's journey.

Anyway, good job. I like this. None of my friends believe me when I say that Harry will go tot he Otherworld and return.

Thank you.

[Emerald63]

Originally Posted by Calaliel

Impressive article. I completely agree. Underworld journies are standard fare for hero stories.... None of my friends believe me when I say that Harry will go tot he Otherworld and return. Thank you.

No, thank you, Calaliel! Luckily I've got friends who do now believe Harry will go and return. At least if I'm wrong I'll have company!

You're own list of Otherworld journeying heroes was impressive. And I'm a big fan of Campbell. I stopped in here to see if there were any new posts after reading the latest ed, Chekhov's Gun, Dark Horse, and MacBeth, which I don't have time to comment on at the moment, but which I feel is seriously off-base. In detective and mystery stories a dark horse does often come into play. While HP has definite touches of those genres, it is primarily a hero story in the mold of all those you mentioned and along the basic outlines Campbell has given us. And in those stories it is the hero, not a dark horse, who does away with the villain.

Thanks again for reading!

[Liselle]

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