Critical Myth-Interpretations

This is the seventh and final volume of the Harry Potter saga, of course, and as a result, I had some fairly high expectations of its contents.  I wasn’t expecting perfection; I had seen enough from the first six volumes to recognize that some plot threads would be resolved rather conveniently (including major aspects of the story).  But I was expecting that the story would end in a satisfying way, and that expectation was definitively met.

Harry continues along the Hero’s Journey in the wake of Dumbledore’s demise.  The first half of the book is essentially the Harry Potter version of the Grail Quest, combined with certain familiar concepts from “The Lord of the Rings”.  Some may find such elements derivative, but there are aspects specific to the Potter saga that help the narrative transcend mere duplication.  Unfortunately, it felt overlong; if there was one section begging for an editor, that was it.

Harry finds himself caught between two overlapping desires.  To defeat Voldemort, he must gather the horcruxes and destroy them, thus preventing Voldemort from surviving the impending confrontation.  At the same time, he must gather the Deathly Hallows, the legacy of his bloodline and the key to his eventual success.

This leads to revelations about Dumbledore that are unexpected in their inherent darkness.  In fact, Dumbledore was once as dedicated to dominion over the Muggles and preservation of pure-bloods as Lord Voldemort.  This is one of the highlights of the book; Dumbledore as a character is given appreciable depth.  The effect this has on Harry is substantial.

Elements strewn throughout the course of the entire series, stretching back to the very first volume, find a purpose in the final leg of Harry’s journey.  Some of those elements don’t quite mesh with earlier appearances, and some events are driven more by contrivance and coincidence than one would have hoped.

Once Ron returns to Harry’s side, the story accelerates to a blistering pace, and it is nearly impossible to put the book down.  The scene at Malfoy Manor is one of the most chilling moments in the series, and the gambit at Gringotts is a wonderful payoff to the warnings given in the first novel.  It all builds to the massive battle at Hogwarts, which should amazing to see in the final film.

Another important step on the Hero’s Journey is a walk through the land of the dead, and from a certain point of view, that is exactly what happens in the final act of the novel.  First, Harry learns the truth about Severus Snape (in another stirring, memorable chapter).  Then, he takes hold of the Resurrection Stone, and walks beside his parents and his protectors.  Ultimately, Harry dies himself, and finds himself “in-between” life and death.

The final confrontation with Voldemort still feels like an exercise in filling in plot holes with some fairly obvious hand-waving, and those who dwell on such matters will no doubt be annoyed and dissatisfied.  The truth is that every book since “The Goblet of Fire” has required massaging to make the plot come together, and half the fun is watching the author write herself out of a corner.  Rowling certainly wasn’t the first to deal with that problem, and she won’t be the last.

Yet in my opinion it comes together quite well, and it reminds me very much of my favorite television series, “Babylon 5”.  That series was conceived, run, produced, and largely written by one man, following a pre-conceived five-season plan for a “novel for television”.  The real world got in the way of the original plan on several occasions, and adjustments had to be made to the original story to make it all work.  In the end, though some solutions were imperfect, the end result was brilliant.  I see the Harry Potter series in the same vein: the sum is greater than its parts.

The epilogue is apparently a matter of debate among fans.  I personally enjoy long and detailed denouements, so I had no issue with the content itself.  However, it was clearly written much earlier than the rest of the book, with only cosmetic revisions, and it is too short to delve into the detail necessary to justify its existence.  It might have been better to flesh it out, or even better, to cover more of the time just after the defeat of Voldemort.

Even so, the most difficult point of any story is the final volume, the final resolution.  It becomes almost impossible to meet every expectation, and solutions to some mysteries and long-term plot threads will inevitably seem too simple or convenient.  It becomes a matter of subjective satisfaction.  For my own part, I was pleased, even if I was left wanting more.

Rating: 9/10