Hey all: As mentioned here before, my forthcoming book, Harry, A History, features a foreword by and interview with J.K. Rowling. A large portion of our lengthy interview did not make it into the book, so I’m posting interview outtakes and info on the book’s site regularly. The latest post is about the Veil at the Ministry, why Jo feels certain characters could hear what they did, and exactly who wanted to go beyond the Veil:
JKR: Everyone wanted to go beyond the veil.
MA: This is very canon-based, but there are some things that as a fan, there are things I just gotta know. A lot of fans see the veil as that separation -
JKR: It’s the divide between life and death. I tried to do a nod to that in the Tale of Three Brothers – she was separate from them as though through a veil. You can’t go back if you pass through that veil, you cannot come back. Or you can’t come back in any form that will make either person happy anyway.
But when they surround that veil [in Order of the Phoenix], I was trying to show that depending on their degree of skepticism or belief about what lay beyond – because Luna, of course, is a very spiritual character. Luna believes firmly in an afterlife. She’s very clear on that. And she feels them speaking or hears them speaking much more clearly than Harry does. This is the idea of faith.
That’s not all; there’s more at this link; you can pre-order the book, due out Nov 4, pre-order the book, here. Thanks for all your support so far; I’ll let you know each time there’s new info to be had there!
Wow, interesting! So, in a sense, the veil did play some kind of role in DH, just in a more symbolic manner. I mean, it didn’t put in an appearance as such, but the Tale of the Three Brothers and the story about Death was all leading upto the veil concept! This woman is really a genius!
Thanks a lot Melissa. These tidbits that you keep posting just keep making me feel all the more excited! I can’t wait for the book!!
Eric, I think the one that should move on is you. Unless you want to act like a bitter dementor for the rest of your life.
Now that we got THAT out of the way… I never had any doubt that the veil was a metaphor for death. And really, the thing is in the Department of Mysteries! If it was possible to know what the veil is thoughout the series, then what would be the point of the Department itself?
I’d like to know what other (serious) theories people had about that veil. I remember someone joking that Sirius was not dead and that the veil is a gateway to Narnia (and I actually like that theory! :P) .
Ah! I love how JKR explains things little by little. I can’t wait until she writes her encyclopedia, since she’ll include stuff like this that explains more about the books.
And this made me love Luna even more. She always strikes me as having “childlike faith”, so this fit very well with my perception of her character!
Eric,
Good point, but if you try to express such a rational thought here, you’ll be reprimanded by all of the sycophantic fans (and even worse, fans of fans) and/or have your IP address blocked & prevented from posting. It’s very hypocritical & political & shameless.
Chris and Eric, you really don’t understand the differences between the two books? I’d feel sorry for you, but I tend to think you’re trolling, so I won’t bother.
And yet Chris and Eric – who, yes, have very similar identifying info – can post, and their posts haven’t been deleted. Thanks for disproving your theory yourselves, guys (or, ‘guy’ as the case may be).
It is, however, indisputably off topic to talk about the case in this thread. Leaving it is even against our own rules, but there you go. Please do keep posting to show how we stop you from posting. :)
Have a great day guys, and thanks again for all the support. :)
Thanks for the info Melissa. It is greatly appreciated. I hapened to go to Amazon today and your book was avertised on the frontpage so naturally I’ve pre-ordered it. Looking forward to when it will be released.
And btw, I have posted a number of times in the Comments section of news items in Leaky under just my first name, no ‘handle’ or poster name. Guess I need to start using my last initial so I am not confussed with anyone else by the same name who is obviously very bitter. I for one, am one Eric who supports this site and Melissa’s originality. :)
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OMG!!! I can’t wait for Nov. 4th!!!! I love you Melissa, I am so glad you did this because I can tell it comes from the bottom of your heart _