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I have to warn you that there are major spoilers for Charles Dickens'
David Copperfield in this essay. If you haven't read this book and are planning on reading
it, I would advise you to postpone reading this until you've done so. It
is a wonderful book that should be enjoyed in the fullest possible way, and I
don't like spoiling anything for anyone.
Ok, so for those of you who HAVE read it, please continue on
In David Copperfield there is a love triangle of sorts that happens to our
hero. He is a very loveable and innocent boy, and we as readers want the best
for him. I personally never felt that the best was Dora, but when he married
her in the book, I tried very hard to really like her, if only for David's
sake. She was just so silly and didn't suit the situations that he faced with
her. My respect for her grew only when she herself admitted it.
The interesting thing here, is that I always thought that David would proclaim
his love to Agnes. There were so many hints about how he adored her. So many
times he relied on her. So many other characters hinted about it. And
interestingly enough a red-headed character that had designs on her (although
he was a villain)
One of the other reasons I thought Dickens was pointing to this eventual D/A
pairing was that he had David protest so often that Agnes was as a sister to
him. His love for her was a "brotherly love" hers for him
"sisterly". And while he never came outright and said that he didn't
love her, he always sidestepped it with the sister claim, or the fact that he
already had a fiance, or he simply changed the subject, often replying to
inquiries with a question of his own. It was almost as though he had to
immediately deny everything or he would have to think about it, and realize
that he DID have those feelings for her.
Her silence on the matter also kept me guessing. She seemed at times to be
really pining under an unrequited love for him, and at others indifferent to
him at all, though all of it was very subtle. However, she kept asking him
about his lovers, and encouraging him to tell her "All about them"
and inform her of everything, and every time he fell in love. A little too
interested maybe?
Now to parallel HP, Harry, our hero and innocent likes Cho. I had many of the
same feelings here as I had with Dora. She's loveable enough, but just not
suited to the situations that they'll face. I think she realized this as well,
and had there not been a connection between Cedric and Harry, I really do
question whether she would ever have encouraged his attentions at all. She
really didn't seem interested in him, just in talking about his experience with
Cedric. While this is perfectly understandable, it is a little harsh to
encourage his attentions simply to get over this obstacle. However, we'll give
Cho the benefit of the doubt and figure she was confused about her feelings,
and really believed at times that she did like Harry for Harry.
The hints in HP that Harry and Hermione are suited for each other are
extensive. His response to her, protection of her, his relying on her, all of
which parallel Dickens' novel. Then there are the other characters assuming,
and hinting about a H/Hr relationship. Of course our hero denies this (notice
though, that he only speaks up when it becomes necessary to protect Hermione's
feelings, and she NEVER contradicts the article at all) claiming they're just
friends, and the author hides behind a smokescreen of questions pointed towards
denying this relationship as well.
She immediately asks if people think they're suited, and then changes the
subject hinting at Ron's crush of Hermione, but never affirming nor denying
anything about the H/Hr situation. She calls them friends, platonic, and other
things, but never goes as far as Dickens did by alluding to the brother/sister
relationship. Perhaps this is because she wants to avoid all the Star Wars
theories, or perhaps she feels it wrong as she does have romantic intentions
planned.
It's not because she wouldn't use those words, since she has described one relationship exactly like this before. In PoA in the Shrieking Shack scene, we see the following:
Harry has never had to explore his feelings for Hermione, so we don't know
exactly what he feels for her. He is living as David was in a state of
immediate denial so that he doesn't have to go down that road. But like David,
he will immediately come to her aid and defense whenever the situation calls
for it without a second thought.
Hermione too has maintained a complete silence on the matter. She didn't want
to tell when she did have a date, and she isn't telling now, who it is exactly
that interests her. But her actions speak much the same as Agnes' did. She is
very interested in his date with Cho, and wants details of everything that
happened. While Agnes had the opportunity to read about David's relationships
in a letter, Hermione has to suffer through hearing about Harry's from his own
lips. She distances herself from this by writing a letter.
Another interesting parallel to note is that David Copperfield was originally
published in a series of short stories. That is, the novel that we enjoy was
enjoyed by Dickens' contemporaries in small doses. They didn't get the whole
story at once, allowing for the same suspense and anticipation, possibly
debates, that we as HP fans are enjoying today. And it is not until the very
last installment of his work that David finally declares his love to Agnes, and
she to him, though if anyone were to read Dickens' draft notes they would
discover that he thought Agnes to be the true heroine of the series, and
David's main love interest for far longer than apparent in the text.
It will be a happy and pumpkiny day for us when we are finally allowed to read
about our heros declaring their love for each other as well. I am planning on
making a pumpkin pie to celebrate the day of the seventh book publishing and
eating it as I read!
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