October 05, 2006
Something to chew on with your Cheerios...
From Harry Potter and the Decline of the West, by "Spengler," in Asia Times...
...It may seem counter-intuitive, but complacency is the secret attraction of J K Rowling's magical world. It lets the reader imagine that he is something different, while remaining just what he is. Harry (like young Skywalker) draws his superhuman powers out of the well of his "inner feelings". In this respect Rowling has much in common with the legion of self-help writers who advise the anxious denizens of the West. She also has much in common with writers of pop spirituality, who promise the reader the secret of inner discovery in a few easy lessons.
The spiritual tradition of the West, which begins with classic tragedy and continues through St Augustine's Confessions, tells us just the contrary, namely, that one's inner feelings are the problem, not the solution....
I'm not sure I agree with this. Harry Potter is also a guy who follows a lonely path and gets a lot of scorn and misunderstanding along the way. and one is never sure the story will have what we call a happy ending...
(Thanks to Orrin)
Posted by John Weidner at October 5, 2006 06:34 AMOh, whatever. Harry Potter bashing always has such a blue-haired bitty feel to it, and this is no exception. How about the lesson of fighting evil, no matter the cost? Self-sacrifice, even the ultimate sacrifice, for family? How about overcoming those dreaded "inner feelings" by fighting fear and doing the right thing? Harry Potter could as easily be seen as an ambassador from the world of Christian values, bringing those values into a secular world.
It lets the reader imagine that he is something different, while remaining just what he is.
I'd say that's the appeal of fiction generally. It doesn't make Harry special.
Posted by: Doug at October 5, 2006 07:22 AMI think I tend to agree with you guys...
Posted by: John Weidner at October 5, 2006 08:42 AMOh for God's sakes. The "magic" in the Harry Potter stories isn't caused by any "inner feeling" nonsense, but is supposed to be a talent, like being able to sing. (Sing well, that is -- not everyone is able to carry a tune.) The Harry Potter stories have a plot as old as time, and have nothing to do with modern atrocities such as "spirituality." Also, they are fiction adventure books for kids. Spengler is confused. I guess if you spend enough time with your head up your ass you think everything stinks.
Posted by: Andrea Harris at October 5, 2006 05:55 PMAmen, Andrea.
I suspect another reason "Spengler" might find the "Harry Potter" series disquieting is its subtle anti-governmental slant-- ever notice how government agencies come off looking badly in the stories, how they fail to do things they're supposed to do, and how ordinary citizens (if the folks at Hogwarts and their friends could be considered ordinary) wind up having to do those things themselves and do them better?
Posted by: Hale Adams at October 6, 2006 06:56 PMI don't read Spengler much but I've never gotten a pro-government vibe from him.
Posted by: Andrea Harris at October 8, 2006 04:35 PMI think Speng just read a bit of Harry through his Decline of the West spectacles, and saw what he expected.
I think JK Rowling is a defender of Western civilization, but only a pale washed-out post-Christian version of it. It's better than nothing.
And she really skewers her fictional version of Euro-socialist appeasers.
Posted by: John Weidner at October 8, 2006 06:04 PM
