This was also discussed in Dramione, and here was/is my answer:
My deep rooted problem with the epilogue has nothing to do with shipping. I enjoy (/enjoyed) many Hermione-ships, and I quite like Ron (despite bashing him in my dramione fics…he’s easy to bash). He has his faults and annoyances, but so does Hermione!
In interviews we were promised/lead to believe to find out what happens to the surviving characters, how it all turned out. But we don’t. We find out that the two core pais have married and had kids, and that Neville is a professor at Hogwarts. And that’s IT. What do Hermione, Harry, Ron and Ginny do for a living? How about other Gryffindors, like Seamus etc, DA members like Luna, rest of the Weasleys (especially George. I’ve long been sure one of the twins was going to die) and so on. There is so much more HP characters than the trio, and I find the assumption that the trio are the only ones readers care about, insulting and insipid.
The epilogue messes up a dark book that toed the line between young adult/adult (I think the kids by now are left out of the equation) superbly. Without going into (too much, or at all) detail, Rowling used such wordings, that to adults they spell something more sinister than to younger, innocent readers (Greyback’s lines, or the fate of Ariana with the muggle boys, anyone?). The epilogue was just plastered on, and served no real informative or assuring purpose. In fact, even when cheesy beyond words, it gave disturbing ideas how the next generation is going to make the same mistakes, yet again. We, as humans, learn nothing.
My final reason for hating the epilogue (and the reason this has been a confusing couple of days to me) is that it reads as a “nod” at badly written fanfiction at it’s best/worst, right down to (and especially) the horridly named bunch of kids. I cannot decide wether or not this was what she intended, but it can’t be a total accident, not after what the book itself was about. I feel Rowling has let me down, “lied” to me by making me think trough 6-7 books that she believes people are varied, not black and white, and that even as an author who writes for children, she has depth. Now I feel betrayed, like I was Charlie Brown who just got knocked down again by Lucy’s yanking of the football. Only my Lucy did it deviously, after 7 books and many years.
Oh right, now that you say it, I remember Jo saying that about finding out the fate of the survivors! Yeah, I wish we could have put more info in the epilogue. I guess Jo couldn't really fit it in there or decided to save it for the encyclopedia.
I agree with the fact that the plot is just to dark for such a sweet and bright, everything-is-going-perfect, life-is-sweet epilogue. However, in my mind I know that if Harry survived then it was going to end just like that. The epilogue did seem just thrown in there though, and could have used a little more tying in.
But like you said. Humans make the same mistakes over and over again. And I don’t know if she put that in there to make us aware of it or if she just didn’t realize what she had done.
A question for you though. Were you saying that Jo crossed a line with Greyback’s lines and the fate of Ariana?
"Were you saying that Jo crossed a line with Greyback’s lines and the fate of Ariana? "
As in a bad way? No, definitely not. And not with the goats either. At her best, JK has a great way or using wordings that say something easy enough for younger readers and something else to adults (readers' personal experiences in life are a factor also, of course, not just age). I'm merely saying that with the book being the adrkest and most between-the-lines so far (and disturbingly morally ambigious), I found the epilogue tacky and lacking sense, wether she meant it to insinuate the circle starting again or not. (All is NOT bloody well).
Okay I do understand where you're coming from, it didn't have enough information. But I think you're being a little to dramatic about her lying to you. This was an epilogue. And epilogue is not a regular chapter. It's a summary. They were sending the children off on the hogwarts express, there was nothing dark there. It was a happy moment. I don't think that one chapter of a book, being written in a way you don't like, is the same as an author tricking you. I don't think that the epilogue negates the whole series.
I wasn't saying that she lied to me. I was only pointing out the fact that the epilogue made me *feel* like sha had. Just my opinion, it's not scientific nor exact, and it will probably (hopefully!) mellow down after awhile.
the way I personally deal with the epilogue, cause I don't really like it all that much is I just take it as a look in. I don't ask it for more information than I have. I just see it as a random moment from the future.
I don't know if you saw the interview with JK Rowling but she said that she knew there wasn't a lot of information in it, but now that the book was out she could answer any questions we have, and she also gave information on their jobs and such.
My deep rooted problem with the epilogue has nothing to do with shipping. I enjoy (/enjoyed) many Hermione-ships, and I quite like Ron (despite bashing him in my dramione fics…he’s easy to bash). He has his faults and annoyances, but so does Hermione!
In interviews we were promised/lead to believe to find out what happens to the surviving characters, how it all turned out. But we don’t. We find out that the two core pais have married and had kids, and that Neville is a professor at Hogwarts. And that’s IT. What do Hermione, Harry, Ron and Ginny do for a living? How about other Gryffindors, like Seamus etc, DA members like Luna, rest of the Weasleys (especially George. I’ve long been sure one of the twins was going to die) and so on. There is so much more HP characters than the trio, and I find the assumption that the trio are the only ones readers care about, insulting and insipid.
The epilogue messes up a dark book that toed the line between young adult/adult (I think the kids by now are left out of the equation) superbly. Without going into (too much, or at all) detail, Rowling used such wordings, that to adults they spell something more sinister than to younger, innocent readers (Greyback’s lines, or the fate of Ariana with the muggle boys, anyone?). The epilogue was just plastered on, and served no real informative or assuring purpose. In fact, even when cheesy beyond words, it gave disturbing ideas how the next generation is going to make the same mistakes, yet again. We, as humans, learn nothing.
My final reason for hating the epilogue (and the reason this has been a confusing couple of days to me) is that it reads as a “nod” at badly written fanfiction at it’s best/worst, right down to (and especially) the horridly named bunch of kids. I cannot decide wether or not this was what she intended, but it can’t be a total accident, not after what the book itself was about. I feel Rowling has let me down, “lied” to me by making me think trough 6-7 books that she believes people are varied, not black and white, and that even as an author who writes for children, she has depth. Now I feel betrayed, like I was Charlie Brown who just got knocked down again by Lucy’s yanking of the football. Only my Lucy did it deviously, after 7 books and many years.
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But like you said. Humans make the same mistakes over and over again. And I don’t know if she put that in there to make us aware of it or if she just didn’t realize what she had done.
A question for you though. Were you saying that Jo crossed a line with Greyback’s lines and the fate of Ariana?
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As in a bad way? No, definitely not. And not with the goats either. At her best, JK has a great way or using wordings that say something easy enough for younger readers and something else to adults (readers' personal experiences in life are a factor also, of course, not just age). I'm merely saying that with the book being the adrkest and most between-the-lines so far (and disturbingly morally ambigious), I found the epilogue tacky and lacking sense, wether she meant it to insinuate the circle starting again or not. (All is NOT bloody well).
Have you seen this post?
http://tkp.livejournal.com/70244.html#cutid1
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I don't know if you saw the interview with JK Rowling but she said that she knew there wasn't a lot of information in it, but now that the book was out she could answer any questions we have, and she also gave information on their jobs and such.
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