HP Chap. 12

[bookishwench]

This may be the best written chapter in the book. A great deal happens, and there's fun and feasting and Christmas presents and a single 50 pence piece from the horrible Dursleys and the Invisibility Cloak and all sorts of great bits hither and yon, but the mirror itself is what becomes fascinating.

Rowling has said one of the major themes of the whole series is death, and to some extent we get that very strongly here. Harry looks into the mirror and sees his relatives, all gone, all impossible to reach, but still what he wants most of all. It's sad at a very deep level, and his growing obsession with dwelling on what he doesn't have and can't have begins to tell on him, affecting his friendships, his desires, his interests, until Dumbledore explains the dangers of dreaming rather than living and removes the temptation from him.

This is one of the spots where the story becomes remarkably deep, and it shows just how lonely Harry is, far lonelier than he himself realizes. After spending Christmas Day with the tight-knit Weasley family, even receiving a sweater from Mrs. Weasley and having presents and being accepted, at some level he must have been watching another family that he wasn't really part of enjoy the holidays. It's no wonder he wants his own family back.

I wonder whatever happened to the Mirror of Erised...