More on Fates of Hagrid and Lupin from J. K. Rowling "Deathly Hallows: Part 2" DVD Interview
JKR Interviews
Posted by: Edward
November 03, 2011, 02:34 PM
As a followup to today's earlier post, more information from author J. K. Rowling about the fates of characters from special material included on the "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2" DVD has been released care of MTV. This new information comes from a report on EW which details more from a conversation the Harry Potter author had with actor Dan Radcliffe for the DVD. Here, Ms. Rowling explains how she came to the decision of the fates of Hagrid and Lupin and how her thoughts on the characters were altered as she wrote the books. Quoteage:
Rowling tells Radcliffe that the image of Hagrid cradling "dead" Harry — a bookend to the beginning of the series, when Hagrid brought infant Harry to the Dursleys – stuck with her the entire time she wrote the books and she never let it go. If she had, Rowling says Hagrid would have been a “natural” target for elimination. "That image kept him safe," she says.
Rowling also reveals that in her original "sketch" (her word) of the series climax, one of the most beloved characters in the Potter canon survived: Remus Lupin — tragic werewolf, former Defense Against The Dark Arts professor, and husband to the metamorphmagus and auror, Nymphadora Tonks... The seventh book tells us that before their deaths during the Battle of Hogwarts, Lupin and Tonks had a child. On the DVD, Rowling shares with Radcliffe that when she created Lupin’s character, she planned for him to survive the finale. While the author has said as much in other interviews, here, she elaborates, explaining that she changed her mind when she realized that her last Harry Potter story was really about war, and that “one of the most horrifying things about war is how it leaves children fatherless and motherless.” The most powerful way she could dramatize that idea, she says, was to kill a set of parents that were dear to readers. “I had no intention of killing [Lupin],” says Rowling. “But then it dawned on me he had to die."
The full interview is set to be included as part of the special features on the Blu-ray edition of the "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2," scheduled for release on November 11 in the US and December 2nd in the UK.
43 Points
I’m sooo glad hagrid survived! I was soo scared he was going to die. Noone i knew thought he would survive (myself included). I was sooo excited when he didn’t die. now harry can still have a strong bond with hagrid and now his family can be close to hagrid as well.
As for lupin and tonks, I do understand the idea behind why they had to die. The fact that families are torn apart in war (and in particular parents and children) is a fact of life. However, i think JK rowling has acheived that fact from the begining with harry’s whole story. he as a person shows what war can do to a family and a child. so therefore i don’t think she needed to do that with lupin and tonks. However, we do care about lupin and tonks more as parents and people because we have gotten to know there characters throughout the entire series and grew a bond with them (lupin in particular) so it makes sense to reintroduce that particular theme of families being torn apart. I actually did think part of the reason she killed them had to do with teddy and bring the series full circle and to provide a unique bond between harry and teddy and to signify the begining of a new life for both of them.
1527 Points
I suppose this is why we cling on to Potter for dear life isn’t it! We all felt like two of our good friends had died when Remus and Tonks went, I certainly cried. Fred was the same, it was like losing somebody you love, in fact, it was losing somebody we loved. If it had been any other book it wouldn’t have mattered, we wouldn’t care about what the author said about why they died. Once again I am reminded how much more real Harry Potter is in comparison to my real life, which feels like a bad dream. Ramble over!
I know we all didn’t want to say goodbye to those characters (urggh I cried every time I read about Severus dying!), but if Rowling had just not killed off anyone in the last book (like happy ending Meyer did in Breaking Dawn), we would probably be complaining more about that.
467 Points
Truthfully, I really liked how JK wrote the books. Of course, I got upset or whatever in some parts but at the end of the day. she’s the author and I respect all the decisions that she made for the book. I mean the deaths are of course painful but it was nice that she stick to being realistic.
667 Points
When Umbridge and her cohorts fired at Mcgonagall (which Harry and the others witnessed from the Astronomy Tower – book 5), I was shocked. Really thought she was a goner.
Then Sirius died. My reaction: “No, no, no, no – that did not happen! That CANNOT happen!” Bawled my eyes out!
114 Points
As much as I understand her reasons I still hate the fact that she killed Lupin, couldn’t she killed Draco’s parents or something? :P And there are no words to describe how happy I am that she didn’t kill Hagrid, I would never forgive her for that!
I’m sooo glad hagrid survived! I was soo scared he was going to die. Noone i knew thought he would survive (myself included). I was sooo excited when he didn’t die. now harry can still have a strong bond with hagrid and now his family can be close to hagrid as well.
As for lupin and tonks, I do understand the idea behind why they had to die. The fact that families are torn apart in war (and in particular parents and children) is a fact of life. However, i think JK rowling has acheived that fact from the begining with harry’s whole story. he as a person shows what war can do to a family and a child. so therefore i don’t think she needed to do that with lupin and tonks. However, we do care about lupin and tonks more as parents and people because we have gotten to know there characters throughout the entire series and grew a bond with them (lupin in particular) so it makes sense to reintroduce that particular theme of families being torn apart. I actually did think part of the reason she killed them had to do with teddy and bring the series full circle and to provide a unique bond between harry and teddy and to signify the begining of a new life for both of them.