Where I think too much
Jun. 29th, 2003 11:56 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
hildigunnurI'm quite torn if I like or hate that people have so many different opinions about OotP. But then again, why should we all agree?
My opinion. I like it and I like it more each day and with each page I reread. As for the death, well, I mourn but I'm not angry anymore and I don't think that JKR is doing a poor job either.
I mentioned in an LJ entry last night that I see parallels in Sirius's death and in the death of Skarphéðinn in Njal's saga (for those interested, the part with Skarphéðinn's death can be found here).
So perhaps I should introduce Skarphéðinn to you. He's the oldest son of Njáll who is the central figure in Njál's saga. Skarphéðinn would be considered one of the key characters in Njál's saga. But unlike most of the central male characters, Skarphéðinn isn't heroic or wise. He is a good fighter but he seems to be kept under Njál's thumb. For instance, he doesn't go abroad like his brothers to seek fame and fortune and his father doesn't find him a good wife and a farm like he does for Skarphéðinn's foster brother, Höskuldur.
It is like Njáll doesn't want his son to roam free. And he seems to be right because when Skarphéðinn is let loose, he wrecks havoc. He does daredevil stunts like when he kills Thráinn Sigfússon and jumps over a great glacial river. And at Althingi when Njáll is trying to settle the death of Höskuldur, Skarphéðinn ruins the deal with a scathing comment on Flosi (with whom Njáll was trying to settle). And that results in the death of Njál's whole family. In short, Skarphéðinn is very reckless. Moreover, he's hardly allowed to go free and he doesn't get to seek his fortune. And as for his death, people aren't very certain about his death until they find his body long after.
So do you see why I feel there are parallels? Both Sirius and Skarphéðinn are prevented in some way to live their lives to the fullest. Sirius's circumstances are indeed more tragic but note that if we follow a widely accepted timeline for Njal's saga, Skarphéðinn should have been 60 around the time of his death and still he was living on his father's farm as his father wished.
I've wondered if JKR has tapered into some kind of an archetype when writing Sirius. Because all characters in the Icelandic sagas can be regarded as archetypes. Condensed versions of your average world literature characters. Would Sirius's archetype then be the reckless, on-his-way-to-self-destruction type that will inevitably die? Because that is what I label Skarphéðinn.
I've also wondered if I follow the conflict plot patterns of the Icelandic saga, I might be able to shed some light on a part of the plot of the Harry Potter series.
You see, your average Icelandic saga has a long introductory part where characters and their ties are established. Then we move into the conflict part of the saga and its beginning is usually marked by a death, often a death of an innocent. Then there's a death of a significant characters that calls for a revenge (often resulting in a blood feud). For example, Gísla saga Súrssonar (which doesn't exist in English translation online). After we have had a good introduction, Vésteinn, Gísli's brother in law is killed. The reason for Vésteinn's murder is that Gíslí's brother's wife fancied Vésteinn and Gísli's brother had Vésteinn killed for that. So we can say that Vésteinn was an innocent since he didn't do anything. Gísli seeks vengeance for Vésteinn by killing Thorgrímur who he believes killed Vésteinn. Thorgrímur happened to be Gísli's blood brother as well as his brother in law. After these killing, the plot starts to rise and ends in a very detailed battle scene.
So can we say that the eve of Second War of Voldemort is marked by two deaths? First, the innocent which would be Cedric and then now with Sirius's death (a very significant character) we'll see the plot rise to dramatic heights.
Of course this all remains to be seen.
I really wanted to talk more about OotP but I kind of feel spent right now ... :D Typical.
My opinion. I like it and I like it more each day and with each page I reread. As for the death, well, I mourn but I'm not angry anymore and I don't think that JKR is doing a poor job either.
I mentioned in an LJ entry last night that I see parallels in Sirius's death and in the death of Skarphéðinn in Njal's saga (for those interested, the part with Skarphéðinn's death can be found here).
So perhaps I should introduce Skarphéðinn to you. He's the oldest son of Njáll who is the central figure in Njál's saga. Skarphéðinn would be considered one of the key characters in Njál's saga. But unlike most of the central male characters, Skarphéðinn isn't heroic or wise. He is a good fighter but he seems to be kept under Njál's thumb. For instance, he doesn't go abroad like his brothers to seek fame and fortune and his father doesn't find him a good wife and a farm like he does for Skarphéðinn's foster brother, Höskuldur.
It is like Njáll doesn't want his son to roam free. And he seems to be right because when Skarphéðinn is let loose, he wrecks havoc. He does daredevil stunts like when he kills Thráinn Sigfússon and jumps over a great glacial river. And at Althingi when Njáll is trying to settle the death of Höskuldur, Skarphéðinn ruins the deal with a scathing comment on Flosi (with whom Njáll was trying to settle). And that results in the death of Njál's whole family. In short, Skarphéðinn is very reckless. Moreover, he's hardly allowed to go free and he doesn't get to seek his fortune. And as for his death, people aren't very certain about his death until they find his body long after.
So do you see why I feel there are parallels? Both Sirius and Skarphéðinn are prevented in some way to live their lives to the fullest. Sirius's circumstances are indeed more tragic but note that if we follow a widely accepted timeline for Njal's saga, Skarphéðinn should have been 60 around the time of his death and still he was living on his father's farm as his father wished.
I've wondered if JKR has tapered into some kind of an archetype when writing Sirius. Because all characters in the Icelandic sagas can be regarded as archetypes. Condensed versions of your average world literature characters. Would Sirius's archetype then be the reckless, on-his-way-to-self-destruction type that will inevitably die? Because that is what I label Skarphéðinn.
I've also wondered if I follow the conflict plot patterns of the Icelandic saga, I might be able to shed some light on a part of the plot of the Harry Potter series.
You see, your average Icelandic saga has a long introductory part where characters and their ties are established. Then we move into the conflict part of the saga and its beginning is usually marked by a death, often a death of an innocent. Then there's a death of a significant characters that calls for a revenge (often resulting in a blood feud). For example, Gísla saga Súrssonar (which doesn't exist in English translation online). After we have had a good introduction, Vésteinn, Gísli's brother in law is killed. The reason for Vésteinn's murder is that Gíslí's brother's wife fancied Vésteinn and Gísli's brother had Vésteinn killed for that. So we can say that Vésteinn was an innocent since he didn't do anything. Gísli seeks vengeance for Vésteinn by killing Thorgrímur who he believes killed Vésteinn. Thorgrímur happened to be Gísli's blood brother as well as his brother in law. After these killing, the plot starts to rise and ends in a very detailed battle scene.
So can we say that the eve of Second War of Voldemort is marked by two deaths? First, the innocent which would be Cedric and then now with Sirius's death (a very significant character) we'll see the plot rise to dramatic heights.
Of course this all remains to be seen.
I really wanted to talk more about OotP but I kind of feel spent right now ... :D Typical.
