The official webforum of the The-Leaky-Cauldron.org LeakyNews.com: Leaky Info | Potter News | Features | Interactive | Galleries | The Books | The Films | For Fun

Leaky Lounge

Welcome Guest ( Log In | Register )
The Rules : FAQ : Search : Member List : Sitemap

Forum News: All you ever wanted to know about Jo's Book Nook
Hot Thread: What were your thoughts on first reading CoS? Come along to the Book Club and discuss.
Mod Thread: David Tennant - Actor of the Month Discussion

Leaky Lounge > HP-Related Discussion: Diagon Alley > HP Book Discussion: Flourish and Blotts > Academic Analysis: Obscurus Books

 
 Reply to this topicStart new topic
Maternal vs. Paternal Love in the HP Series, Which Dominated?
Which type of love dominated?
You cannot see the results of the poll until you have voted. Please login and cast your vote to see the results of this poll.
Total Votes: 94
Guests cannot vote 
lirene
post Jul 1 2008, 01:15 PM
Post #1
Grand Pooh-Bah of the Poking Sticks Emporium


Group Icon

Posts: 7,131
Joined: 3:53pm January 4, 2008
Location: Fine-tuning her Spambot Magnet
Throughout the HP series, the theme if Love is interwoven brilliantly and it is a major theme in the story. There is also an undercurrent of maternal vs. paternal love as well. To many readers it seems as though maternal love played a more prominent role in the series than paternal love and it was almost as if paternal love was left more to the wayside. Wasn't it after all Lily's sacrifice that enabled an infant Harry to survive Voldemort's attack?

This poll is about how you as a reader, feel how maternal and paternal love were portrayed, and if one type of love was highlighted more in Rowling's story than the other.

Do you feel that both maternal and paternal love had equal importance in the story?

You may choose from more than one of the options given above in the poll, and vote for "other" if your choice reflects something other than has been given in the poll. You are encouraged to support your views with canon evidence, and pose your own questions as well.

This post has been edited by lirene: Jul 9 2008, 09:57 PM


--------------------
Go to the top of the page
Profile CardPM
+Quote Post
 
 Start new topic
Replies
Tarantellegra
post Jul 13 2008, 01:09 PM
Post #2
Cauldron Bottom Measurer


**

Posts: 116
Joined: 2:50am January 3, 2008
Location: the kitchen chilling with house elves.
This is a really interesting thread, lirene, one of the things I have noticed about maternal vs. paternal love in this series is that a male or female role model is slightly different than someone who exemplifies paternal or maternal love. Narcissa is obviously not a role model to anyone, but her maternal love for her son saves Harry. This doesn't necessarily show that Narcissa is a suddenly a good person, but simply the overwhelming strength of love, a power which can overwhelm and change anyone except maybe a psychopath like Voldemort. Maternal love is entirely more sacrificial while paternal love is more protective. James stood up to fight against Voldemort so Lily and Harry could escape while Lily sacrificed herself in Harry's place. While I think that in quantity those who exhibit maternal/paternal love are fairly equal I think in quality they vary extremely. This is not to say that one is of more value than another, just that the manifestations of each type are very different. Paternal love seems to give Harry a solid base, a strong foundation, father figures are always explaining, giving answers to build a life on, while maternal love provides more of the tacit, fiercely emotional support. Many times maternal love seems to be a catalyst for change in the story, Lily's sacrifice, Narcissa's desperation, Hermione and Mrs. Weasley's nurturing, while paternal love provides the solid ground to move forward on, Hagrid's introduction of Harry to the wizarding world, Dumbledore's teachings. Of course, sometimes each type of love can obstruct, Mrs. Weasley's prying into the Trio's plans, Dumbledore's love towards Harry, his protectiveness, was slightly dangerous for the task which he was setting Harry up to complete. All in all, love is the most important theme in the book, and while I did vote for maternal being more important simply because of it's far reaching effects, I do believe that each is crucial to not only the lives of these characters, but to humanity overall and Jo through her wonderful writing shows us this importance.


--------------------
"As is a story, so is life. What matters in not how long it is, but how good it is"--Seneca
thank you dillypoo for the sig!
Go to the top of the page
Profile CardPM
+Quote Post
harrypottergeek2
post Jul 13 2008, 03:33 PM
Post #3
In Charge of Invisible Books of Invisibility


***

Posts: 1,153
Joined: 12:36am January 18, 2008
Location: Waterloo, ON - getting Butterbeer for Hagrid's "Support Harry Potter" party
QUOTE(Tarantellegra @ Jul 13 2008, 01:09 PM) *
Maternal love is entirely more sacrificial while paternal love is more protective.

I'm going to have to respectfully disagree with the part in bold. Molly is arguably the most maternal character in the series; you would almost expect to see her picture beside the word "maternal" in the dictionary. In DH in particular, we see just how instinctive her protective nature is when Ginny nearly gets AK'd by Bella (although this protective nature is evident pretty much all throughout the series).

Overall, I would say that sacrificial and protective nature together is what makes up both maternal and paternal instincts. The first goal is certainly to protect, but that may include a sacrifice if need be. This pretty much sums up Lily's scenario in the Godric's Hollow incident: she did all that she could to protect both herself and Harry, but once she realized she was trapped, she made the transition to a sacrifice in the hopes of at least saving Harry. Similarily, for James' scenario, he didn't even have a chance at trying to protect himself or his family, so he just went straight to a sacrifice to buy the others a bit of time.


--------------------
"Tell me why, why must we fight?
And why must we kill in the name of what we think is right?
No more! No war! 'Cause how do you know?"

-- P.O.D. - from their new album When Angels and Serpents Dance --
Go to the top of the page
Profile CardPMEmail Poster
+Quote Post

Posts in this topic
- lirene   Maternal vs. Paternal Love in the HP Series   Jul 1 2008, 01:15 PM
- - harrypottergeek2   Great thread, Lirene! If we look at it from...   Jul 10 2008, 06:41 PM
- - StepInTime   I agree, great poll, lirene! Um, so far as I c...   Jul 10 2008, 06:59 PM
- - tonksgirl   very good poll indeed, but also very intriguing. ...   Jul 10 2008, 07:43 PM
- - harrypottergeek2   I didn't even see the poll! However, now ...   Jul 10 2008, 11:17 PM
- - Fricka   All the responses thus far have been great. My vot...   Jul 11 2008, 08:48 PM
|- - harrypottergeek2   QUOTE(Fricka @ Jul 11 2008, 08:48 PM) All...   Jul 11 2008, 11:36 PM
- - Lost Centaur   Wonderful topic, lirene. Although both maternal a...   Jul 13 2008, 03:11 PM
- - Ex Libres Cogito   If this poll takes only the reader's perspecti...   Jul 16 2008, 11:37 AM
|- - harrypottergeek2   QUOTE(Ex Libres Cogito @ Jul 16 2008, 12...   Jul 16 2008, 02:21 PM
- - Lemmy   I voted for Maternal, as it always seemed to me th...   Jul 16 2008, 12:25 PM
- - silviera   QUOTE(harrypottergeek2 @ Jul 10 2008, 11...   Jul 25 2008, 05:58 AM
- - VoodooPadfoot   I think that there is a lot more emphasis on the l...   Jul 25 2008, 07:06 AM
- - Henrietta   I voted for equal portrayal because while Lily...   Jul 25 2008, 09:23 AM
- - katihpfan   I was shocked to see so few votes for paternal lov...   Jul 25 2008, 09:06 PM
- - blue4t   In my opinion, maternal love dominated. Harry is ...   Jul 28 2008, 10:18 PM
- - Mary Wanguard   Wow, this topic really got me confused. So that a...   Jul 30 2008, 06:01 AM
- - weaselyfan   I think that the theme might be best as parental l...   Aug 4 2008, 09:51 AM
- - momwitch   Interesting topic, Lirene! But I just wante...   Aug 4 2008, 11:18 AM
|- - Pleione   QUOTE(momwitch @ Aug 4 2008, 12:18 PM) Bu...   Aug 4 2008, 12:02 PM
- - momwitch   I'm really liking this train of thought, Pleio...   Aug 4 2008, 02:33 PM
- - ami louthwaite   Well, I suppose you could put the 'love' a...   Aug 4 2008, 03:45 PM
- - harrypottergeek2   Excellent posts here! Just to add to them: QU...   Aug 5 2008, 02:47 AM
- - momwitch   Ah, interesting! But I do think that Love can...   Aug 5 2008, 10:08 AM
|- - harrypottergeek2   QUOTE(momwitch @ Aug 5 2008, 11:08 AM) I ...   Aug 5 2008, 01:41 PM
|- - Cassy V   Another great discussion. I just wondered if y...   Aug 6 2008, 07:04 PM
|- - momwitch   QUOTE(harrypottergeek2 @ Aug 5 2008, 06:4...   Aug 6 2008, 10:05 PM
- - harrypottergeek2   QUOTE(Cassy V @ Aug 6 2008, 08:04 PM) Ano...   Aug 7 2008, 06:43 PM
- - Professor L E Snape   Brilliant topic/question. I think the biggest prob...   Aug 27 2008, 08:35 PM
|- - harrypottergeek2   QUOTE(Professor L E Snape @ Aug 27 2008, 09...   Aug 27 2008, 10:50 PM
|- - Emms   QUOTE(harrypottergeek2 @ Aug 28 2008, 04...   May 29 2009, 11:41 AM
|- - Lou_Lovegood   QUOTE(Emms @ May 29 2009, 05:41 PM) QUOTE...   Aug 12 2009, 06:07 AM
- - lirene   First of all, kudos to all of the wonderful insigh...   Aug 27 2008, 11:34 PM
- - Nickel   I voted for both being equal. Harry is someone wh...   Sep 6 2008, 02:23 AM
|- - harrypottergeek2   QUOTE(Nickel @ Sep 6 2008, 03:23 AM) what...   Sep 7 2008, 12:45 PM
- - Professor L E Snape   QUOTE(Nickel @ Sep 6 2008, 08:23 AM) Sorr...   Sep 6 2008, 10:00 PM
- - Love4Fawkes   QUOTE(harrypottergeek2 @ Sep 7 2008, 12:4...   Sep 8 2008, 08:07 PM
- - Professor L E Snape   QUOTE(Love4Fawkes @ Sep 9 2008, 02:07 AM)...   Sep 8 2008, 10:03 PM
- - harrypottergeek2   I didn't mean to say that Augusta's and Pe...   Sep 15 2008, 07:23 PM
- - wickedboy   I think they were shown to be equal. Harry's ...   Oct 30 2008, 06:24 AM
- - Dragonsun   It was a really tough decision. The male character...   Oct 31 2008, 09:18 PM
- - wickedboy   I'd say both. Lupin, James, Arthur, Harry, Ro...   Nov 9 2008, 09:18 AM
- - nevertobeparted.   Because of Lily's sacrifice, and JKR's own...   Nov 9 2008, 11:54 AM
- - Eva Hedwig   I voted for both parents. Thinking about all of t...   Nov 9 2008, 04:19 PM
- - MesserMoony   I can't help thinking that maternal love domin...   Jan 3 2009, 07:01 PM
- - Wandguardnoodle   QUOTE(Professor L E Snape @ Aug 27 2008, 09...   Jan 22 2009, 10:30 AM
- - VoodooPadfoot   I really feel that maternal love dominated the ser...   Jun 23 2009, 05:55 AM
|- - cooncatbob   QUOTE(VoodooPadfoot @ Jun 23 2009, 03:55 ...   Jul 19 2009, 10:38 PM
- - ravenclawgal608   I believe they are both equally protrayed. On the ...   Aug 9 2009, 09:39 AM
- - midzy   i think it was maternal love that dominated most i...   Sep 1 2009, 11:35 PM
- - patronuscharm734   Maternal is far more dominant. With only the exce...   Feb 2 2010, 06:48 PM
- - cminmd   I agree with Patronus charm that the mothers have ...   Feb 13 2010, 01:30 PM

 

Reply to this topicStart new topic
1 User(s) are reading this topic (1 Guests and 0 Anonymous Users)
0 Members:

 

Powered By IP.Board 2.3.6 © 2010  IPS, Inc.
CommunitySEO 1.1.4 P1 © 2010  IPB SEO Module
Sorting for Deathly Hallows will start March 17th!
Coming Up:
The Corner Booth is on Hiatus Join us in the New Year!
Come right in to the Shrieking Shack Arcade!
Shopping at the Cauldron Shop supports this forum!
IPS Driver Error

IPS Driver Error

There appears to be an error with the database.
You can try to refresh the page by clicking here