Quote:
Originally Posted by EatingPie
I certainly see how this looks contradictory. But I honestly believe she's being consistent, even in the context of such seemingly disparate remarks. It all comes down to the Christ allegory and Christ figure (allusion) being very different literary forms; and I believe Rowling knows that, and therefore can be consistent in the above quotes.
C.S. Lewis set out to re-tell the story of Christ in fantasy form, a way to communicate Christ through modern fairy tale, to educate those that would not necessarily be interested, to evangelize. Those all occur in an allegory form. Aslan is Jesus. Even his form -- a lion -- invokes Christ. He is equated with Christ. As I said, a re-telling of Christ's story.
Rowling, OTOH, is making reference to Christ. Not equating Harry with Christ, not saying that Harry is a duplicate of Christ. Just, in some particular instances, she uses the allusion to Christ as a tool to communicate something thematic. To me, it's that love is ultimate conquering force against evil. That's not even a specifically Christian theme, but I see her using the Christian elements of loving sacrifice, death, and redemption to convey that theme about the ultimate power of love.
This is why I'm so strict on delineating between allusion and allegory. On one hand, HP uses the Christ story to convey a message, but on the other hand, it's not done in the same -- or even similar -- way that CS Lewis did in Narnia. They're very different literary devices and not necessarily related. That's how Rowling can say deny one thing about religion in reference to Lewis, and then later affirm religion in the HP story in certain instances: Lewis used a totally different literary device than she herself did, even though they both are "accessing" Christianity to some degree.
-Pie
PS I feel I was a little "heavy handed" in my previous reply, and I apologize for that.
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I didn't feel you were heavy handed, for whatever that may be worth.
My feeling is Rowling is capitalizing on the allusions made and that she never intended them. I feel similarly for her claim she intended the HP series to move to a darker theme than the first books had. I'm having a tough time buying into it.