cool article at mugglenet
Horcruxes and More in Slavic Mythology
An original editorial by Annabel Lee
http://www.mugglenet.com/editorials/editorials/edit-leeann01.shtml
An original editorial by Annabel Lee
http://www.mugglenet.com/editorials/editorials/edit-leeann01.shtml
posted by jkr2 | 9:45 pm
8 Comments:
I haven't had time to look at this but I will write more when I have - just wanted to say that for right now it looks extrememly interesting to me because on of my former house-mates was French Canadian and VERY into slavic Culture, he had fluency in several slavic languages and language and mythare very closely tied to each other, in a way sort of married.
Merlin
Wow!
Great Piece, I loved it.
Possibility exists then that, due to Draco's presene at the school etc (or possibly a temporary traitor in Griffyndor who saw the kiss? Might be that Longbottom will fill out his Wormtail similarities noted by Granger and others, but this would make me sad), Harry's precaution of not actively dating Ginny is a little too late ... Voldy might find out anyway and capture her along the lines in the Slavic myths.
Just a little bit on the term "basileus" as relates to the basilisk: this term is actually used in the Judeo Christian as far back as the 300 BC translation of the Old Testament, the Septuagint (usually abreviated with the roman numerals for 70, LXX) in a passage from Isaiah speaking of the wicked "they hatch adders eggs and weave the spiders web ... and that which is crushed breaks out into a viper (Basiliskos)" ... interesting that the spider (Aragog) is mentioned too here. In rennaisance literature the Basilisk becomes the cockatrice, which is a bit to chimerical and hend kind of drops out of mythic lt after that ... until Rowling that is :)
PLEASE don't let neville be a peter pettigrew!!!!!! that would break my heart! (maybe that reaction is a *little* over the top hehe)
ps. what is "chimerical"?
"chimerical" means kind of fantastic or really kind of too unbelievable - originally the basilisk was a serpent in form, but a magical one that came from some combination of a rooster agg hatched by a toad or something like that, but the form of the monster remained primarily serpent ... in the Renaissance they actually started to use it with like the legs and talons of a rooster and head combination of rooster and snake or snake and toad, and then some scales and a snake tail and in the end became kind of hard to believe and so it droppe out of use ... I think the word "chimera" actually comes from some specific other such monster and got applied to all things that are simply too "fantastic" o really be fit in well
and I agree, I really don't want Neville to go that path, especially since we have seen how much pain he has connected with his parents, and especially his mother, being tortured into insanity, and how much he loves her (and one would hope this presents him with similar protections to Harry's ability to love) ... Just noting what some others such as John Granger have noted in his similarity to Peter as the 4th to a "goodside" trio
because of his ongoing contact with his parents, i think it would be pretty bizarre if he did turn around and allign himself with those who had treated them (his parents) so cruelly.
however, he may unwittingly give away some clue or something, so perhaps 'accidently' disclose a secret location or something, and such mirror the actions of the false secret keeper.
reeeeeeally hope not though. his remorse would be heartwrenching.
I think you are right, My guess is that the resemblences Neville's situation and character to Petigrew's will not be for shadowings of a similar fall on his part but rather a means to revealing some underlying tenets of Petigrew's character that help us sympathize with him as a person while not condoning what he did precisely because in the person of Neville we see the same things we sympathize with in Petigrew, but not taken in the direction of a fall ... precisely because of Neville's love of his parents and that love shown forth in his suffering through their mental incapacitation. I think there is a great hidden significance in DD's praise of Neville in book 1: "It takes great courage to stand up to your enemies, but even greater courage to stand up to your friends."
yes, similar i guess to the parallels with voldy and harry.
both left parentless in bleak circumstances. but tom riddle had already become bitter and malicious, while harry was able to maintain a softer heart.
while giving background for some sympathy for voldy's plight, it also makes a contrast in the choices he made.
strangely too, i think, that while the story is written with an underlying theme showing the foolishness of the prejudiced mindset (ie because you were born xyz - eg of muggle parents - you are less worthy of respect than the opposite - eg a pureblood wizard), it kind of re inforces it by making the 'blood tell'. tom riddles malicious, unsavoury forebears produce an evil, sadistic dark wizard and the potters - popular and talented - produce 'the-boy-who-lived'.
jo
i've realized i wasn't so clear when i said 'reinforces it'. i meant that it reinforces part of the mindset being spoken against!
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