The End?
One of the little problems I had with the book was the epilogue. I know JKR had written the epilogue many, many years ago as her promise to herself that she would make it to the end. Unfortunately, I think the books outgrew the epilogue. Perhaps out of sentimentality, she couldn't quite let the existing epilogue go after all these years, but its narrow scope belied the sprawling emotional territory of the books. It didn't tell us anything that we would have deduced (the Harry/Ginny and Ron/Hermione pairings) with the exception of Neville's herbology appointment which had been so widely speculated among the fandom that it was hardly a surprise to me. I wanted something with a little more weight to it, or at least more information on various characters. Like Luna. And George. It wasn't possible for her to give a wrap up on the entire cast of characters, but to only show the trio plus Ginny and Draco Malfoy felt so limited, as though the world that had exploded throughout the series was right back down to the pinhole of Sorcerer's Stone in a way that, unlike the feeling of coming full circle, felt immensely flat. Thoughts?
I completely agree with this. Completely. When I finished the book, I said to Thomas, the only thing I would have changed was that I would have left out the epilogue.
1. I don't think it told us anything we didn't already know in our hearts, and I hate feeling underestimated, like I have to be shown every little thing.
2. It read like fan-fiction. It was too easy.
3. It cheapened the cost of the struggle. If we could go from the end of the battle, piles of our dead, the destruction of the castle, the horrifying cost of triumph, to some happy time in which all the right people are married and their kids are named for the dead, la la la....I believe that they could get their, but the struggle should be honored.
4. I was bothered by the absence of Luna.
5. I think, in the end, it's there because she wanted a way to let us know that Harry did come to honor Snape. And I think that's important, but I'm sure she could have found a better way to do it.
sorry for poor grammar/spelling. I was impassioned. And crying. :)
I disagree... Not wholeheartedly. I feel like we were left hanging on the matter of characters like George, Luna, etc, as well as the struggle of the aftermath, but on the note of knowing things in our hearts, I think it was okay not to go there and cover all bases, leaving more to our imagination. Otherwise it might have been even more fan-fictiony, with a rundown of "where are they now." It resolved a few other questions, like that parentless Teddy Tonks is doing fine, coming to family dinners 4x a week. It told us that Bill and Fleur have at least one kid, Victoire. Hagrid's still gamekeeper. I don't know. The epilogue provided quite a bit of solace for me.
I guess part of me just wanted to know that after all that, that Harry was still a leader. I mean, I know he's done enough, what with the dying and all, but I wanted to know if he became an auror. Or a ministry worker. Or whatever. Did he work at Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes? I felt like she pointed to occupations so much in the book (like Mr. Weasley's less-than-honored job in the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts) that the occupational choices of the trio being absent in the epilogue felt a bit conspicuous.
I guess the epilogue just felt too late in the wake of the rest of the book.
The epilogue was my only real complaint and disappointment. I agree that it fell totally flat, and it didn't tell us much we couldn't already deduce. And if she WAS going to give us the future, I wanted more, including what they were all doing career-wise. I think she might have implied that Ron has picked up some of his dad's love for Muggles and may be engaged in that kind of work, but I wanted to know if Harry was an auror, and I definitely have been curious since the beginning to know what Hermione would be when she grew up.
I would have much preferred a quieter, more subtle ending. . . perhaps they all come back together at the Burrow, they have a memorial for Fred, Tonks, and Lupin (I never really had a chance for those deaths to sink in), Harry gets to meet his godson Ted, etc. I still would have liked some sort of resolution, but a more implicit one, and for me, it wasn't necessary to fast forward into the future. In fact, I found it difficult to make the leap from teenagers to married people with kids.
I thought that the epilogue could have been different. I almost got confused between all of the names of the kids! David and I both wanted to know what Harry's profession was. Albus Severus was most excellent, though!
I think I was most disappointed by the epilogue because it left the door open for more books (which wouldn't be all that bad, but Rowling said that she didn't want any others picking up the story).
I agree to a certain extent that the epilogue was a little too surface and came off as cheesy to me and just much too neatly wrapped up. For all of the turmoil and struggle and depth of the novels, it just didn't have any real sustenance. However, I can't say I still wasn't happy for it. I had said, I didn't want it just to end with the final battle - I wanted to know more about how things turned out afterwards, so I was glad to have even the few superficial glimpses. It still left me feeling somewhat sated. I would have loved to know the career choices - I had even thought Harry might end up Headmaster at Hogwarts after all of his ties there. And what did the others choose for their paths? And I wanted mention of Luna, too. Perhaps even a mention of the Dursleys? I found it odd they didn't have more appearances.
I think there could have been more emotion if we'd been shown Harry's introduction to his God son, too rather than just the surface comment of he swings by for dinner -- who's looking after him then?
Ash -- I think we could have a Snape post to discuss our feelings about him now. I have one question about how he knew the actual date they were moving Harry from Privet Drive. He couldn't possibly still be privy to OOTP information, but I guess the portrait Dumbledore gave it to him? Or was he getting the information from Mundungus when he confunded him to suggest the decoys? And it showed how he unintentionally injured George, but wasn't he still the one that killed MadEye or am I confused? Ok, well, I'll wait for the post on Snape before delving anymore.
I second a Snape discussion, if only for a forum where I can vent out my guilt for believing the worst of him.
I'm sorry, Snape!!!
I'm honestly torn about the epilogue. I know in my heart that it fell flat and left out all the things mentioned here, that it was too simple etc. But at the same time, I also felt that it provide some sort of closure. I found myself doing the math of when Harry and Ginny started having babies etc. That being said, I also really felt like the epilogue opened the door for a series about the kids. And while I want to like that idea, I don't think it would work because of the fact that Harry was BORN to be this character. Not sure if that makes sense... But it didn't seem as though any of the children had any unique attributes that would allow them to be the protagonist... More like they were supporting characters. ALTHOUGH, it would be interesting if Albus Severus were put in Slytherin and flirted with the darker side of things... I don't know. Basically, I agree. Epilogue needed work. But I'm still glad it was there.
A Snape thread would be great, and also maybe a thread of "weepy moments." Oh, and an "unanswered questions" thread.
i totally agree- it was so romantized to see ginny and harry together even though all he loved was this idealized version of her and him making out all the time- no sense of a mature relationship- i agree it read like fan fic absolutely. And that even hermoine didn't work at hogwarts and all was well- like evil just vanishes for 19 years? nutzo. as much as i liked that she attempted to wrap things up it was way too easy-
You all have such good comments. It is so much fun to read them.
The whole and they lived happily ever aspect of the epilogue is too simple, like so much cotton candy. Clearly, Harry should still have trust and intimacy issues what with his years of abandonment in the Dursley's family. It was too pat a result for him to marry Ginny. She fell in love with the great H P and does he pick up his socks and remember to tell her if he'll be home late from work, does he have backflashes (But maybe he and Ginny have gone to marriage counseling and worked out those details.) When I heard the list of all the kids, my first thought was that there would be a sequel, or maybe a silly tv series. I hope I am wrong.