The Fan's Journey
Getting from Here to "Scar" and Beyond
By Jason Edwards
Page One | Page Two | Page Three
Discuss this essay here.
The Road of Trials: “What Rhymes with Horcruxes?”
For the Hero-Reader, The Road of Trials16 may not really be as bad as it sounds. This is fortunate, as she’ll probably be spending a lot of time there. Unlike many Hero Adventures, this journey is more likely to be populated with activities and opportunities than deadly challenges. For every Hero-Reader, the Road of Trials may be different on the surface. But the only real task here, when one looks a bit deeper, is for the Hero-Reader to find productive and worthwhile ways to focus her energies and enthusiasm while waiting for the final book. One common way is to participate in discussions and analysis of the books, particularly by exploring theories (individually or with others) about what will happen in the final volume. Another popular outlet for the Hero-Reader is to engage in a creative endeavor that makes use of one of her skills (or alternatively, exercises a skill that she would like to improve upon). Wonderful crafts, art, fan fiction, song parodies, and so much more are the happy results of this stage of the journey.
It is suggested by some that, should the Hero-Reader fail to spend the necessary amount of time in this phase of the journey, she will not be ready to fully appreciate the ultimate revelations of the final book. Perhaps this is just nonsense; but it might very well be a much-needed word of encouragement to a weary Hero-Reader who, for example, has spent countless days on her own Road of Trials, and now wonders if it was really time well-spent to research the ancient art of alchemy. The more one ponders the mysteries of Deathly Hallows, the more one may be thrilled by those ways in which the author still ultimately manages to surprise even the most dedicated of Hero-Readers with the final unfolding of her tale.
The Meeting with the Goddess: “JKRowling.com Just Got Updated!”
It is the author herself—Joanne Kathleen Rowling—who, from time to time, provides the occasion for another important stage of the journey: The Meeting with the Goddess.17 For, to a devoted Hero-Reader, who else could the goddess be, but the beloved creator of this magical world? The Hero-Reader may in fact be fortunate enough to experience numerous meetings with this goddess. Some come by way of the rare, but thrilling, interviews she sits for; these always seem to contain some hidden gem of information which can sustain the weary Hero-Reader for weeks or even months to come. And of course, sometimes the goddess reaches out even more obviously to the Hero-Reader, by making announcements of her own on her official website18 (or creating fun diversions there that add a welcome twist to the Road of Trials).
The Hero-Reader is fortunate indeed that the fates have provided her with a goddess who so clearly takes an interest in aiding her on her journey. Like all goddesses, however, Ms. Rowling can be sly and playful when it suits her. The Hero-Reader is wise to trust the good intentions of this goddess, while still staying on guard against her clever riddles and frequently multi-layered statements.
Woman as Temptress: Seeing Dolores Umbridge on the Big Screen
Joseph Campbell called this stage of the Hero’s Journey Woman as Temptress19—but it might, more generally, be known as Temptation from the True Path.20 The Hero-Reader may be surprised at the form this temptation takes on her own journey; it is not the temptation to do something evil, not at all, but the temptation to take perhaps an easier road, and forget about the journey she is on. Fortunately, this temptation does not try to hide itself, so the properly informed Hero-Reader will be well aware of it, taking precautions not to be led astray.
In the summer of 2007, a film called Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix will be shown in theaters. For the Hero-Reader, this is like a siren song. And so long as she remains diligent and resolves to stay true to her ultimate goal, it is actually recommended that the Hero-Reader take time to enjoy the movie, and the excitement surrounding it, for the wonderful creation it is. The key is not to be pulled away from the true path, but to remember the ultimate source of everything: those words on the page, and all that they’ve inspired. Meditating on this should be sufficient to remind the Hero-Reader of the journey she’s on, and what lies at the end of it.
Atonement with the Father: It’s the Journey, Not the Destination
Finally we come to the central point of the Hero’s Journey, known in Campbell’s writings as Atonement with the Father.21 This generally involves confronting, and being ultimately changed by, that force which holds the ultimate power in the hero’s life.22 Often this force is represented by a father figure.
For the Hero-Reader, this confrontation occurs in a more subtle way, when she finally looks inward, and makes an important discovery about her long journey. What she finds may surprise her (even if she has been wise enough to read this essay), for it is a realization that resides more in the gut than in the intellect. She will finally understand, on a very deep level, that the joy of reading Harry Potter has nothing to do with racing to the conclusion; that it has nothing to do, at its heart, with finally finding out what happens in Deathly Hallows. The true reward comes in the process of living in the books, discussing them, and learning from them. Her mistake was in allowing herself to become beholden to a mysterious process that depends on the complicated needs of multiple publishing houses (in addition to the productivity of one very talented writer). She accepts that she has no control over those forces, but neither shall they have any more control over her.
Apotheosis: Finding a Higher Plane
The Apotheosis23 is a time of restfulness and enlightenment for the Hero, who has been changed by the Atonement with the Father and is ready and waiting to receive the Ultimate Boon. The Hero-Reader will experience a sense of peace, blissful in her new understanding that the seventh book will come in its own time. She knows that the book will be important, of course—hugely important—but not in the desperate way she once thought. She may even, for a time, abandon her theorizing ways, instead choosing to meditate on her favorite characters and feeling, rather than deducing, how things will go for them in the final book.
The Ultimate Boon: Mark Your Calendars…
Campbell describes The Ultimate Boon24 to be that which the Hero was after; something sacred the Hero has earned from the gods after a long struggle.25 To the surprise of many (though not to the Hero-Reader who has made it this far), the Ultimate Boon on this journey is not obtaining Deathly Hallows. No, the Ultimate Boon comes in the form of an announcement from those mysterious forces that sometimes speak on behalf of the goddess, and that in many cases are the necessary middlemen through whom the gifts of the goddess reach the Hero-Reader. And when the Hero-Reader is ready, the announcement will be made: Deathly Hallows finally has a release date.
This is the Ultimate Boon. By setting a date, that coveted book which seemed too mysterious to truly imagine finally gets fit with a measure of reality. The Hero-Reader now understands that this final volume will be the end of the written story, but not the end of her experience with Harry Potter; and the knowledge of the release date allows her to anticipate the final stages of this journey with a certain amount of foresight and wisdom.
Return: “What Did I Ever Do Before This?”
These final stages make up what Campbell called the Return.26 Far from being a let-down after the completion of the earlier stages of the journey, the Return for the Hero-Reader contains some of the most intense and exciting moments—especially in light of the new wisdom that she has acquired in order to get to this stage.
Refusal of the Return: “I’m Not Ready for it to End”
Just as some Hero-Readers initially refuse the Call to Adventure, some will also experience a similar Refusal of the Return.27 Despite the insight gained in the final stages of the initiation, some of the old fears and insecurities may return. Though the Hero-Reader understands that her journey with Harry Potter need never end, she is reluctant to reach the conclusion of this particular journey to the final book. After all, she will only have one chance to read the conclusion of the Harry Potter series for the first time.
Doubts begin to form, both rational and entirely irrational. What if the Hero-Reader is not ready, after all, for this moment? Doesn’t it seem too soon for the last book to be ready? What will be left to anticipate? How could the goddess possibly have included everything she needed to include, to complete the series in such a short amount of time? Isn’t it better to remain forever on this journey, hopeful and blissfully ignorant of how it all will end?
What if Harry dies?
While it is likely that every Hero-Reader will pass through this stage, whether it lasts a moment or many days, it is inconceivable that any would actually experience a permanent Refusal of the Return. After all, eventually they’ll run out of people to talk to who haven’t read Deathly Hallows.
<< Previous Page | Next Page >>
Discuss this essay in Unfogging Deathly Hallows!
class="donate">
