Alchemy in Harry Potter, Part VI: The Golden Child draws Nigh. |
 Feb 14 2007, 03:02 PM
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#21
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Hiding in the Iron Maiden at Borgin and Burkes Posts: 327 Joined: 10:18pm November 9, 2006 Location: alone on a hill, perfectly still  |
The Alchemy posts are so detailed and numerous that I can't remember if this has been pointed out; please forgive me if it has been discussed in full already:
Concerning the Felix Felicis potion in HBP, USA version, page 187: -it is the color of molten gold (top of page) -Slughorn says: "...Yes, it's a funny little potion...(snip)...Desperately tricky to make, and disastrous to get wrong." (halfway down the page) The reference to its color and the consequences of going about it "wrong" seem to hint at the gold state and the necessary intentions for the preparation of the Philosopher's Stone. Possibly a hint for its appearance in the plot of the last book? -------------------- Come thunder! Come lightning!
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Feb 14 2007, 05:19 PM
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#22
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Cauldron Bottom Measurer Posts: 134 Joined: 2:33pm January 20, 2006 |
While we're talking about colours; Hermione seems to be associated with blue fire -
“The day before Harry’s first Quidditch match [when] the three of them were out in the freezing courtyard during break, and she had conjured them up in a bright blue fire which could be carried around in a jam jar” (11: 134). At the Quidditch game where Hermione set Snape’s robes on fire: “[…] she crouched down, pulled out her wand and whispered a few, well-chosen words. Bright blue flames shot from her wand on to the hem of Snape’s robes” (11: 140). And when they were fighting the Devil’s Snare, Hermione conjures up the bluebell flames to save them: “[…] and she whipped out her wand, waved it, muttered something and sent a jet of the same bluebell flames she had used on Snape at the plant. In a matter of seconds, the two boys felt it loosening its grip as it cringed away from the light and warmth” (11: 202). It's interesting to note that: "Burning molten sulphur in either air or pure oxygen leads to a reaction, which produces a pale blue coloured flame. This looks quite impressive in a darkened room."  Bluebells anyone? This post has been edited by susurrous: Feb 14 2007, 05:21 PM -------------------- |
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Feb 14 2007, 08:36 PM
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#23
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Fortescue's Spoon Polisher Posts: 3,539 Joined: 1:29pm March 16, 2005  |
QUOTE(Lost Centaur @ Feb 14 2007, 03:02 PM) [snapback]1101588[/snapback] The Alchemy posts are so detailed and numerous that I can't remember if this has been pointed out; please forgive me if it has been discussed in full already: Concerning the Felix Felicis potion in HBP, USA version, page 187: -it is the color of molten gold (top of page) -Slughorn says: "...Yes, it's a funny little potion...(snip)...Desperately tricky to make, and disastrous to get wrong." (halfway down the page) The reference to its color and the consequences of going about it "wrong" seem to hint at the gold state and the necessary intentions for the preparation of the Philosopher's Stone. Possibly a hint for its appearance in the plot of the last book? I think this is brilliant! I never dissected the text about the Felix Felicis potion, I only looked at it as a whole! Itsounds like a description of Tom's journey to seek gold. The journey is desperately tricky,, and he did get it desasterously wrong. Look at the effects on him and on the entire world because he is going about it all wrong! He is looking for the easy way as opposed to the right way and he has distroyed his outward beauty as well as his soul. he is (IMO) beyond redemption and has no regard for anyone elses soul and many, many wizards and witches have suffered tremendously. -------------------- |
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OPAST|
Feb 15 2007, 04:19 AM
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#24
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Shopping the sales rack at Madam Malkins Posts: 2,547 Joined: 4:26pm August 4, 2005  |
QUOTE(memyslfnI @ Feb 14 2007, 05:37 PM) [snapback]1101390[/snapback] QUOTE How's this for a suggestion - Snape as Red King marrying his White Queen? I don't see any of the students getting married anytime soon - they are far too young! Bill and Fleur, yes they are marrying, but they are relatively minor characters. We are going to be finding out a lot more about Snape in book 7 I do not see any "red king" in Snape. And who would be his "white queen"? Narcissa? She seems to be taken, unless we see Lucius come to his untimely end and she marry's Snape. Definitely not Narcissa!  They have as much genuine feeling for each other as Rochester and Blanche Ingram! Bella has more genuine feelings for Snape than that cold, heartless she-devil. memyselfnI I think Dumbledore is Apollo (which makes him a red king), with his brother Aberforth as Dionysus (those goats!) and Snape as Asclepios, the healer. QUOTE EruditeWitch said: Why? Why make the vow? He was clever enough to get out of it. Sorry, but I don't think he could get out of it, not will Bella making snide comments about how he would wriggle out of it. He was well and truly trapped. Here is why I think Severus is a 'red king' i) Bill is a red king partly because of his red hair. Red hair is the blond version of black hair. ii) So far we have only had one example of someone refusing to go in the house the Sorting Hat planned for them initially - Harry refused to go in Slytherin ('Anything but Slytherin!') - this was partly based on his knowledge of Draco. I can easily imagine Snape saying the same thing (Anything but Gryffindor!) after meeting James and Sirius! iii) Eileen Prince. The Prince heraldic colours are, yes, red and gold! Was Snape's mother a Gryffindor? iv) In terms of LoTR, Snape is the 'hidden King' - he is Aragorn, I think. Definitely a King. QUOTE LostCentaur said: The Alchemy posts are so detailed and numerous that I can't remember if this has been pointed out; please forgive me if it has been discussed in full already: Concerning the Felix Felicis potion in HBP, USA version, page 187: -it is the color of molten gold (top of page) -Slughorn says: "...Yes, it's a funny little potion...(snip)...Desperately tricky to make, and disastrous to get wrong." (halfway down the page) The reference to its color and the consequences of going about it "wrong" seem to hint at the gold state and the necessary intentions for the preparation of the Philosopher's Stone. Possibly a hint for its appearance in the plot of the last book? Harry's luck is one of the main themes of HBP - mentioned by Snape at Spinner's End (and spin is apparently a term for good or bad luck in Australia and New Zealand). Harry 'luckily' remembered about bezoars and knew where to find one, thanks to Snape's potions book, when Ron was poisoned, and we have the whole felix felicis potion. Luck will feature heavily again in book 7 - maybe a huge dose of luck is needed to make a Philosopher's Stone - well, Harry is the lucky one! This post has been edited by madamros: Feb 15 2007, 05:16 AM -------------------- "My idea of good company, Mr Elliott, is the company of clever, well-informed people, who have a great deal of conversation; that is what I call good company."
"You are mistaken," said he gently, "that is not good company, that is the best." Persuasion by Jane Austen |
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Feb 15 2007, 09:18 AM
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#25
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Fortescue's Spoon Polisher Posts: 3,539 Joined: 1:29pm March 16, 2005 |
QUOTE Here is why I think Severus is a 'red king' i) Bill is a red king partly because of his red hair. Red hair is the blond version of black hair. ii) So far we have only had one example of someone refusing to go in the house the Sorting Hat planned for them initially - Harry refused to go in Slytherin ('Anything but Slytherin!') - this was partly based on his knowledge of Draco. I can easily imagine Snape saying the same thing (Anything but Gryffindor!) after meeting James and Sirius! iii) Eileen Prince. The Prince heraldic colours are, yes, red and gold! Was Snape's mother a Gryffindor? iv) In terms of LoTR, Snape is the 'hidden King' - he is Aragorn, I think. Definitely a King. Actually Bill is the red king not only because of his red hair but also because of his role as the curse breaker. Apollo was called the curse breaker and the sun god. I do not think it is an accident that JKR gave him that occupation at Gringotts. Also he is after all the only one getting married so far. We can't overlook the obviuos. In order for DD to be the red king in alchemy there must be a white queen. JKR speaks of DD not having a partner, an equal and how lonely that is in the mugglenet/TLC interview. The only other candidates in my opinion is Ron and Hermione. Unfortunaltey, there is too much speculation to surmise that Snape is the red king. Alot of "what ifs". (What if Snape refused to go to Gryffndor, what if his mom was a Gryffindor) Snape and the red/black hair connection...I am sorry, I just don't agree with you. QUOTE Harry's luck is one of the main themes of HBP - mentioned by Snape at Spinner's End (and spin is apparently a term for good or bad luck in Australia and New Zealand). Harry 'luckily' remembered about bezoars and knew where to find one, thanks to Snape's potions book, when Ron was poisoned, and we have the whole felix felicis potion. Luck will feature heavily again in book 7 - maybe a huge dose of luck is needed to make a Philosopher's Stone - well, Harry is the lucky one! Harry has been lucky, there is no doubt. But I think that Harry remembering about Bezoars was not luck, he read the information, retained it, and executed the act. (he used the tools at his disposal) We cannot forget that Harry, the hero of the story, has talent (the sorting Hat says this). He is no idiot. I disagree with you on the luck playing a huge role in book seven when it comes to Harry reaching enlightenment. Harry has been protected and helped by Dumbledore, the Order, Ron and Hermione, etc throughout the books. Yes, he has been lucky, but the bigger theme of the books, IMO, has been that shield he has had in his elders, his protection from his mothers sacrifice, the guidence from DD, Sirius, Lupin, etc. has slowly and surely been whittled away. Harry will (since this is his story) take all he has learned, use all his resources, to defeat Lord Voldemort. He needs to heed the warning of Snape and learn to close his mind, he will remember the life lessons from Dumbledore, the knowledge of the past from Sirius and Lupin, the lessons about the wizarding world from Ron and the intellectual knowledge form the brightest witch of the age, Hermione, and even to look outside the box from Luna. There is no doubt that Harry, up to now, has been somewhat of an accidental hero, but the transition will be made from innocence to experience. -------------------- |
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Feb 18 2007, 10:49 AM
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#26
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Shopping the sales rack at Madam Malkins Posts: 2,547 Joined: 4:26pm August 4, 2005 |
QUOTE(memyslfnI @ Feb 15 2007, 02:18 PM) [snapback]1102517[/snapback] Actually Bill is the red king not only because of his red hair but also because of his role as the curse breaker. Apollo was called the curse breaker and the sun god. I do not think it is an accident that JKR gave him that occupation at Gringotts. Also he is after all the only one getting married so far. We can't overlook the obviuos. Curse-breaking is the only apollonian attribute of dear Bill Weasley. DD had red hair (it was described as auburn in the pensieve flashbacks). He tried to break the curse on the horcrux ring but was obviously unsuccessful, destroying the ring but nearly dying, until Snape the healer saved his life . DD has many apollonian attributes (and originally Apollo was more closely linked to lunar symbolism): Apollo symbolizes the acme of spiriualization and is one of the noblest symbols of the ascent of man. He symbolizes the defeat of violence, inspired self-control and the marriage of intuition and reason. His wisdom is aquired, not inherited. He has over 200 attributes, including that of shepherd & protector of flocks, a benefactor of mankind who heals and purifies, embodying the balance and harmony of the passions,achieved not by suppressing instinctive impulses but by directing them through the developmen of awareness towards an ever-increasing spiritualization. The opposite of his brother Dionysus. All of this says Dumbledore to me! QUOTE In order for DD to be the red king in alchemy there must be a white queen. JKR speaks of DD not having a partner, an equal and how lonely that is in the mugglenet/TLC interview. The only other candidates in my opinion is Ron and Hermione. Well, I think there are four kings in HP: Harry, Ron, Dumbledore and Snape - just like a pack of cards! QUOTE Unfortunaltey, there is too much speculation to surmise that Snape is the red king. Alot of "what ifs". (What if Snape refused to go to Gryffndor, what if his mom was a Gryffindor) Snape and the red/black hair connection...I am sorry, I just don't agree with you. Until book 7 is out, speculation is the name of the game! This post has been edited by madamros: Feb 18 2007, 10:50 AM -------------------- "My idea of good company, Mr Elliott, is the company of clever, well-informed people, who have a great deal of conversation; that is what I call good company."
"You are mistaken," said he gently, "that is not good company, that is the best." Persuasion by Jane Austen |
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Feb 19 2007, 10:25 PM
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#27
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Being Eaten by the Pea Soup Posts: 34 Joined: 6:06pm November 20, 2006 |
Interesting speculation on the Red Kings. I agree that Bill has to be one of them, and Ron as well. Poor hapless Neville, a Leo, could be one too, although I believe JKR said something about him being the one “who was nearly King,” so maybe not.
But the “marriage” that matters is Harry’s, since he is the one being transformed. I finally pulled together my thoughts on CWs in HP, so for what it’s worth………. (Apologies in advance for the quotes not working.  ) Chemical Weddings: Who, When, How—and Why? A key stage in physical alchemy is the Chemical Wedding, when the alchemist combines philosophical Sulphur and philosophical Mercury to create the Philosopher’s Stone. The famous alchemy emblems and engravings of the early modern period used a rich collection of symbolic images to depict the Chemical Wedding, drawing on the metaphors of the great alchemy texts. So who is involved in the Chemical Wedding? When does it happen—and how? What does a Chemical Wedding look like in a work of literary alchemy? And why does it happen? What is its role in the story? Who In alchemy texts and engravings Sulphur and Mercury in the final Chemical Wedding are represented as a man and woman, Sun and Moon, King Sol and Queen Luna, Red King and White Queen. It is these personifications that become the actual characters in alchemy plays and stories, including Harry Potter, which is a work of literary alchemy. A Chemical Wedding is not an actual marriage, however. If Sulphur and Mercury DO marry, it’s at the end of the book, in the matrimoniathon, after the hero has accomplished his task, has achieved his destiny, his transformation. For example, in LOTR Tolkien broke the rule of a mixed gender trio by having HIS trio all-male--Frodo, Samwise, Gollum--thereby guaranteeing there would be no marriage within the trio. When There are many scenarios but the “standard” ones call for a Chemical Wedding in the 4th stage (the “coniunctio” or conjunction) and the 7th stage (the “rubedo”). The final Chemical Wedding is the climactic interaction of the entire opus, the joining that transforms the hero into the Philosopher’s Stone. (In Ripley’s influential Twelve Gates scheme, the final Chemical Wedding occurs at the 10th stage, the “exaltation.”) So it’s almost certain that we haven’t seen the final CW in HP: that will come in the final book, Book 7. But we should have seen a preliminary CW somewhere in Books 1-6. How Alchemy emblems show the initial CWs as animal matings (“dog and bitch, hen and ----, birds of prey, winged and wingless dragons or serpents,” Lyndy Abraham, p. 36). Emblems for the final CW typically show a naked man and woman, standing next to each other or actually copulating, crowned, and/or marked as Sun and Moon. Alchemy plays and stories have always taken literary license with the formula developed by alchemists like Flamel and Ripley and depicted by engravers like Johann Mylius and Michael Maier. A common tweaking of the formula is to have more than two Chemical Weddings for the hero and his or her partner in the course of the story, topped off by a “matrimoniathon” of other couples in the Happy Ending at the end of the story. Almost all serious HP alchemy theorists have theorized about how JKR is writing the Chemical Wedding in her story. Most focus on trying to identify a Chemical Wedding in Book 4, which should correspond to the “coniunctio” stage. Here’s a sampling. 1. Drawing on Tarot as well as alchemy, this analysis argues that “the main conjunction in GOF is Tom and Harry.” http://kaskait.livejournal.com/45178.html 2. Another analysis suggests that the Chemical Wedding in GOF was between Harry (fire) and Cedric (earth), when they grabbed the Triwizard Cup at the same time. 3. In an editorial at Spinners End at Mugglenet, “Lady Lupin” argues that Harry will need to join with his “Anima” and “female counterpart,” Ginny. 4. Here at Leaky, the dominant theory, following John Granger, is that the Chemical Wedding has not yet taken place, but that there will be two in Book 7: between Bill and Fleur and between Ron and Hermione. According to this argument, Bill meeting Fleur in Book 4 served as the Chemical Wedding of the coniunctio stage. In this view, Harry does not undergo a Chemical Wedding as a direct participant himself, ever--because Harry is not Sulphur, Ron is. This diversity of views proves one thing at least: There is no agreement on who will take part in the CW, when it has or will happen, or what it looks like. Why In physical alchemy, the joining of Philosophical Sulphur and Philosophical Mercury in the Chemical Wedding creates the Philosopher’s Stone. In a story, the Chemical Wedding joins the hero joins to his partner in order to accomplish a task or take an essential step on his hero’s journey. Chemical Weddings in The Little White Horse and Harry Potter How can we evaluate the different theories about Chemical Weddings in HP? One thing we can do is look at JKR’s literary influences to see if she has borrowed the imagery of the Chemical Wedding from another source. What does a Chemical Wedding look like? The first place to look is at the book that JKR has said most influenced HP, and her favourite book since she was a child, Elizabeth Goudge’s The Little White Horse. Sure enough, as in so much else, Rowling borrowed and adapted the scenarios and images of the Chemical Weddings in HP from TLWH. JKR has frequently acknowledged her debt to TLWH. [quote] “My favourite book was The Little White Horse by Elizabeth Goudge….And perhaps more than any other book, it has a direct influence on the Harry Potter books.” – JKR, “Harry Potter – Harry and Me,” The Scotsman, November 2002 [/quote] Briefly, the protagonist of the story, the one undergoing the alchemical process is Maria . Maria is a 13-year-old orphan in 19th century England who goes to live at Moonacre Manor with her cousin Sir Benjamin Merryweather when her parents die. Maria is explicitly marked as the moon (“Moon Princess”), the “pure spirit,” and, with her “straight reddish hair,” as fire. As the hero of the story, she corresponds to Harry. Maria’s partner in her adventures is Robin. He is marked as the Sun, the “brave soul,” and earth. He corresponds to Hermione. Here’s how he is described: [quote] He was sturdy and strong and red-cheeked, with a skin tanned brown by sun and wind. His dark eyes sparkling with fun and kindliness were set in thick short black lashes beneath strongly marked dark eyebrows. His nose was tip-tilted and a little impudent above his wide, laughing, generous mouth and strong cleft chin. His thick chestnut hair grew low on his forehead, curled all over his head as tightly as a lamb’s fleece, and at the back of his neck the final curl formed a comic sort of twist like a drake’s tail. He was dressed all in brown, a rough brown jerkin the colour of fallen beech leaves, brown leather breeches and leggings, and he wore upon the side of his head a battered old brown hat with a long green peacock’s feather in it. (p. 33). [/quote] As we know Hermione has brown eyes and bushy brown hair. Born on September 19, she is a Virgo, an earth sign. Maria spends her early years in London. Robin comes to her from Moonacre via astral travel and they play together in the Square Garden. Their first Chemical Wedding, however, is after her move to Moonacre. Goudge uses circles to symbolize Chemical Weddings—first subtly, then clearly and overtly. As Lyndy Abraham writes, the circle is “the symbol of perfection. The circle signifies the perfect, eternal spiritual realm” as well as “the completed opus alchymicum.” (p. 41). The circle symbolizes the goal of alchemy, and is thus a commonplace symbol in alchemy stories. That Goudge and Rowling both use it—as in the spherical Golden Snitch Harry is always pursuing—is significant though hardly surprising. What is more significant is Rowling’s borrowing of a more complex circle image from TLWH: Goudge uses animals circling around Maria and Robin as they hug to symbolize their final Chemical Wedding. That is distinctive. Rowling has borrowed that image in OOTP, when Pigwidgeon circles Harry and Hermione as they hug. I’ll post the two passages together below, but first let’s go back to consider Maria and Robin’s CWs in order. The first Chemical Wedding – Rescuing Serena Maria is out riding her mare Periwinkle when she hears a scream. [quote] As she neared the bottom of the hollow the bushes thinned out, and she could see that down below there was a clear space of turf carpeted with primroses like a round embroidered green carpet. Maria would have exclaimed in delight at the beauty of the place, only the beauty was spoiled for her because on the center of the carpet was a trap, and caught in the trap was a screaming hare. (p. 71) [/quote] One of the Men from the Dark Woods is about to kill the hare, when Maria screams at him: [quote] ‘Let that rabbit alone!’ she cried, all her fear suddenly lost in a surge of hot anger and passionate love for the hare.’[/quote] All seems lost until “the sudden appearance upon the scene of Someone Else.” [quote] Maria, bewildered by her fear, still all in a fury of love and anger, was aware of a slim brown figure bounding towards her, of a curly head lowered like that of a butting goat, and then over went the man in black flat on his back, well and truly winded, while there rang through the hollow a laugh as merry and carefree as a cuckoo’s cry, a boy’s laugh, clear as a bell, a Puck’s laugh, full of impish glee. [/quote] (First a couple of asides. If you’re wondering where Hermione’s original surname Puckle came from, there’s a clue. As well as her ‘periwinkle’ blue robes—azure is the color of the Quintessence, but JKR follows Goudge in using ‘periwinkle’ instead of ‘azure.’ They’re the same color—sky blue.) So here, in Maria and Robin’s first Chemical Wedding, we have the two children reuniting on a round patch of hillside. And together, united, they take the first step in Maria’s hero’s journey: they save the hare from its trap. Maria names the hare Serena. (The animals in TLWH are heavily anthropomorphized.) Goudge is writing for quite young children—JKR said she read the book when she was eight—so she very considerately has the characters explain the significance of events. So later in the book Robin lays it all out: [quote] ‘Robin,’ Maria said, ‘how did you know that you and I together had to drive out the wickedness of the Men from the Dark Woods? The very first day I saw you here, you said we’d have to do it. How did you know?’ ‘It was because of Serena,’ said Robin. ‘No one before has ever been able to save anything from those men, but you and I saved Serena. I knew then that we could save the whole valley….’ (p. 149) [/quote] Apparently JKR liked the idea of her hero and heroine saving the cuddly animal together so much that she used it twice—first in SS, when Harry and Hermione saved the not-so-cute-and-cuddly Norbert, then in POA, when they rescued Buckbeak (and Sirius). Only the latter is accompanied by the symbolism of a CW, however. The second Chemical Wedding – the Proposal The second Chemical Wedding in TLWH is a unique scene that uses actual bridal imagery. Maria tries on what will eventually be her wedding dress. As per the alchemy formula, first she and Robin quarrel, for the first and last time in the book. Robin asks her, ‘When you do marry, who will you marry?’ She teases him and he blows up: [quote] ‘I have not quite decided yet,’ she said demurely, ‘but I think I shall marry a boy I knew in London.’ ‘What?’ yelled Robin. ‘Marry some mincing nincompoop of a Londoner with silk stockings and pomade in his hair and a face like a Cheshire cheese?’…. ‘Why don’t you want me to marry that London boy?’ she asked. Robin brought his fist down on the table with a crash that set all the china leaping. ‘Because you are going to marry me, he shouted. ‘Do you hear, Maria? You are going to marry me.’…. ‘You can stop roaring, Robin,’ said Maria. ‘You can stop, because for the sake of peace and quiet I have suddenly made up my mind to marry you.’ (pp. 146-147) [/quote] Right after they agree to marry they decide to take the next step in Maria’s mission of bringing harmony to Moonacre, to restore Paradise Hill to the church (p. 149). Goudge also has Robin’s mother point out the significance of their quarrel—and their coming union. [quote] ‘A little while ago Robin was angry and Maria was being as aggravating as she knew how to be. You might have quarreled very badly. And you must never quarrel. If you do, you will wreck not only your own happiness but the happiness of the whole valley.’ [/quote] In due course, Maria and Robin undertake several perilous adventures together. In a final confrontation, Maria tames the wicked villain Cocq de Noir and experiences transformation, when she sees a vision of hundreds of white horses coming in from the sea. She succeeds in bringing peace to Moonacre. The third Chemical Wedding – The Hug in the Circle of the Animals Despite its small cast of characters, Goudge manages a small matrimoniathon of three couples at the end of the book, including Sir Benjamin and Robin’s mother. Before the actual wedding ceremonies, Maria hosts a party to celebrate the reconciliation of all the people of Moonacre and the Dark Woods. Maria asks Robin: [quote] ‘Shall you mind Sir Benjamin marrying your mother, Robin?’ ‘He can if he likes,’ said Robin. ‘I don’t care who marries who so long as you marry me.’ And he suddenly bellowed with joy in much the same way as Sir Benjamin had done, and flinging his arms round Maria enveloped her in a great bear hug that nearly took her breath away. And all the animals, Wrolf, Zachariah, Serena, Wiggins and Periwinkle (who had now come right into the hall), gathered round them in a circle and roared and miaowed and squeaked and barked and whinnied with joy, while Marmaduke Scarlet stood in the kitchen door with arms akimbo and smiled the very broadest of his smiles…. (pp. 230-231) [/quote] We have already seen the parallel scene in HP, in OOTP, Chapter 4, “Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place”: [quote] Harry caught a brief glimpse of a gloomy high-ceilinged, twin-bedded room, then there was a loud twittering noise, followed by an even louder shriek, and his vision was completely obscured by a large quantity of very bushy hair—Hermione had thrown himself onto him in a hug that nearly knocked him flat, while Ron’s tiny owl, Pigwidgeon, zoomed excitedly round and round their heads. [/quote] So, based on these parallels, what theory can we develop about Chemical Weddings in HP? I think there have been three so far, in Books 1, 3, and 5, all between Harry and Hermione, with a final one to come in 7. SS/PS JKR wrote SS/PS as a stand-alone book, in case it was the only one she would ever get published. So it makes sense that she would include a Chemical Wedding toward the end of the book. The CW is very simple. First, Ron, the Body character, is knocked out of the action and left behind. Harry and Hermione go on together. Trapped between two walls of fire, Hermione hugs Harry and makes her famous speech: [quote]Hermione's lip trembled, and she suddenly dashed at Harry and threw her arms around him. "Hermione!" "Harry -- you're a great wizard, you know." "I'm not as good as you," said Harry, very embarrassed, as she let go of him. "Me!" said Hermione. "Books! And cleverness! There are more important things -- friendship and bravery and -- oh Harry -- be careful!" [/quote] The imagery is very simple. The two children, corresponding to Sulphur and Mercury and thus representing the four elements, are in a rectilinear room between two walls of fire. Hermione’s words identify herself as mind and Harry as heart. She encircles him with her arms in the hug. Their “joining” unites fire and air with earth and water. The symbolism is complete. The purpose of the CW is simple and clear: Hermione’s words and actions give Harry the support he needs to go on alone to the final test of the book, the confrontation with LV. POA The Chemical Wedding in POA draws on symbolism from both TLWH and LOTR. Standing together in the hospital ward, with Ron again knocked out of the action, Hermione encircles herself and Harry with the chain of her Timeturner. Just like Maria and Robin, Hermione and Harry undertake a dangerous rescue—they save a hippogriff rather than a hare and they also rescue Sirius. Tolkien uses the imagery of the chain in LOTR. In The Two Towers, when Sam must briefly take over the role of Ringbearer from Frodo, he places the chain holding the ring around his neck. [quote] And then he bent his own neck and put the chain upon it. And at once his head was bowed to the ground with the weight of the ring as if a great stone had been strung on him. [/quote] (In the movie he merely puts it in his pocket, but that was a change from the book.) In taking on Frodo’s role Sam symbolically “joins” with him. OOTP The Chemical Wedding in OOTP is the 12 Grimmauld Place hug with Pigwidgeon circling their heads that I quoted earlier. The scene is significant in Harry’s journey because it marks his reunion with Hermione after a summer of being apart—and without news. His hero’s journey can now continue. OOTP also offers these small bits of Harry/Hermione alchemical symbolism. In the Murtlap scene: [quote] Harry placed his bleeding, aching hand into the bowl and experienced a wonderful feeling of relief. Crookshanks curled around his legs, purring loudly, and then leapt into his lap and settled down. (p. 324) [/quote] In TLWH Zachariah the Merryweather family cat shows his approval of Maria’s actions in the same way—by circling her legs. [quote] Zachariah walked round and round her in circles, his tail held as usual in three coils over his back, pressing against her skirts, and purred and purred and purred. (p. 155) [/quote] In HP Crookshank’s actions gain added significance because he is Hermione’s familiar. There’s also an amusing scene in Transfiguration class. [quote]'Well, yes, that occurred to me, too,' said Hermione, allowing her teacup to jog in neat little circles around Harry's, whose stubby little legs were still unable to touch the desktop, 'I've been wondering whether Mundungus has persuaded them to sell stolen goods or something awful. (“Grawp,” p. 680) [/quote] This time it is an object of Hermione’s that circles Harry’s. The line is a throwaway—the event serves no purpose in the plot. It is purely symbolic, recalling the times that Hermione has encircled Harry with her arms. HBP There’s no obvious CW for Harry and Hermione in HBP. Hermione hugs Harry, in the “Phoenix Lament” chapter, but there’s no accompanying alchemical symbolism. However, there is this tantalizing moment involving Buckbeak a few pages before the hug. Buckbeak has been indelibly associated with Harry and Hermione since they rescued him in POA. Referred to again as Buckbeak rather than by his Witherwings alias, the hippogriff saves Harry from being tortured by Snape. [quote] Buckbeak had flown at Snape, who staggered backward as the razor-sharp claws slashed at him. As Harry raised himself into a sitting position, his head still swimming from its last contact with the ground, he saw Snape running as hard as he could, the enormous beast flapping behind him and screeching as Harry had never heard him screech— Harry struggled to his feet, looking around groggily for his wand, hoping to give chase again, but even as his fingers fumbled in the grass, discarding twigs, he knew it would be too late, and sure enough, by the time he had located his wind, he turned only to see the hippogriff circling the gates. (“Flight of the Prince,” p. 605) [/quote] Again, JKR is indebted to Goudge, for in TLWH, Serena, the hare Maria and Robin had saved, returns the favor by saving them from Cocq de Noir and his evil Men from the Dark Woods. [quote] And then, suddenly, despair turned into joy, for a beam of sunlight, piercing through the darkness of the trees, shone upon a beautiful, silvery, long-eared form leaping along ahead of them. ‘It’s Serena!’ gasped Maria. ‘Serena to show us the way!’ (p. 196) [/quote] HPDH All anyone can do is speculate, but it would be consistent with most alchemy stories if there was a climactic Chemical Wedding for Harry and his female partner somewhere past the midpoint of the final book, with a number of actual weddings in a matrimoniathon at the very end--when all the Red Kings link up with their respective White Queens.  Harry DOES need a female partner. The reason Dumbledore failed, according to JKR in the TLC/MN interview, was that he lacked a female partner. [quote]But I would say that I think it has been demonstrated, particularly in books five and six that immense brainpower does not protect you from emotional mistakes and I think Dumbledore really exemplifies that. In fact, I would tend to think that being very, very intelligent might create some problems and it has done for Dumbledore, because his wisdom has isolated him, and I think you can see that in the books, because where is his equal, where is his confidante, where is his partner? He has none of those things. He’s always the one who gives, he’s always the one who has the insight and has the knowledge. So I think that, while I ask the reader to accept that McGonagall is a very worthy second in command, she is not an equal. You have a slightly circuitous answer, but I can't get much closer than that.[/quote] DD is mind, if you will, he makes "emotional mistakes." So for his partner DD needed "heart," and Minerva, named for the Roman goddess of wisdom, was "mind," the same. -------------------- To invent this wizard world, I've learned a ridiculous amount about alchemy.... JKR, The Herald, 12/7/98
Do you read serious books about magic? I'm not a New Age type - not really into crystals. But through reading I know a ridiculous amount about magic…..sometimes it's absolutely hysterical the things people believe. –JKR, Sydney Morning Herald, 10/28/01 |
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Feb 20 2007, 05:16 AM
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#28
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Flesh-Eating-Slug Catcher Posts: 152 Joined: 3:48pm September 26, 2006 |
QUOTE(redshoes @ Feb 19 2007, 10:25 PM) [snapback]1108287[/snapback] All anyone can do is speculate, but it would be consistent with most alchemy stories if there was a climactic Chemical Wedding for Harry and his female partner somewhere past the midpoint of the final book, with a number of actual weddings in a matrimoniathon at the very end--when all the Red Kings link up with their respective White Queens. Could Hagrid be a Red King, too? I know it was predicted that he will die in the rubeus stage but I´m still clinging to the desperate hope that Rons speculation in GOF might come true that a baby from him and Madam Maxime will weight a ton. I´m not sure whether she´s a white queen or not, though. What do you think? |
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Feb 20 2007, 05:48 AM
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#29
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Mischievous Manager  Posts: 5,524 Joined: 9:14am February 16, 2006 Location: Behind the sofa, watching Doctor Who |
We can't discount the possibility that JKR has reversed the colors of the king and queen. Lily, with her red hair, is probably a red queen -- and James, the white stag, is her white king. Harry was the Stone that they produced. I think Harry and Ginny together could be another red queen/white king pairing, since Harry's patronus is also a white stag.
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Feb 20 2007, 06:13 AM
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#30
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Stocking Snitches at Quality Quidditch Supplies Posts: 665 Joined: 11:29am November 2, 2006 Location: HP fandom |
QUOTE(becky920 @ Feb 20 2007, 05:48 AM) [snapback]1108612[/snapback] We can't discount the possibility that JKR has reversed the colors of the king and queen. Lily, with her red hair, is probably a red queen -- and James, the white stag, is her white king. Harry was the Stone that they produced. I think Harry and Ginny together could be another red queen/white king pairing, since Harry's patronus is also a white stag. Harry and Hermione can´t be the Red King / White Queen, because it has been made painfully clear that they are not going to end up together. Sorry, but Pigwidgeon flying in cirlces around their heads (btw: Ron was in that room as well) and an object of Hermione´s encircling one of Harry´s has no alchemical or romantic connotation for me personally. It just does not fit with how the romantic pairings have been set up by JKR to try to lable them as such. But if we see Harry as white King and Ginny as Red Queen (JKR usually puts her own spin on everything anyway  ).Thus, we have three options for the alchemical wedding: Bill and Fleur - as 'traditional' Red King and White Queen Ron and Hermione - as 'traditional' Red King and White Queen. We can´t discard the King and Queen references to them, IMO. Harry dreaming of Ron and Hermione as King and Queen, Weasley is our King, Queen Slug-Club chosing Ron as her King in the greenhouse scene, the banner telling us 'CONGRATULATIONS RON AND HERMIONE...' (for being made prefect of course, but I think there is a reference to pairing them up as well  )Harry and Ginny - the 'non-traditional' White King and Red Queen. The wonderful thing is, IMO, that we could have all three at the end of Deathly Hallows ..... This post has been edited by galadriel12: Feb 20 2007, 06:16 AM -------------------- Ron Weasley: Keeper, Knight and King JKR: "I don't think good books are written to a formula" JK Rowling Chat, AOL Live, May 4, 2000 |
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