When asked if Ginny owed Harry a Life Debt she replied that no, she didn't really. Of course not. Having your life saved by your knight in shining armor is something a girl would dream about, not fear as something that puts her in his debt. That's what knights in shining armor do. It would be rude to suggest a pretty girl owes a guy such a thing.
Ah, but...As any woman who has had a guy pay for the entire check can tell you, the "knight in shining armor" always, always expects payback. Looking at it that way, I suppose it was inevitable Ginny would put out for Harry at some point – she does owe him after all! (Leave it to JKR to say NO when she means YES!!!) ;)
The "Life Debt" is just a magical way of speaking about that awful feeling of knowing that somebody you never wanted to be attached to at all is now the reason for your existence, and the person you always wanted to be superior to has saved your arse.
There's definitely an element of humiliation there, and feeling forced to deal with mutual enmity. You just can't walk away from a no-win situation in the Potterverse; you're stuck with it forever and ever until either you accept it or you die. Lovely, isn't it?
More importantly, it would be up to Draco making a free choice to offer his Debt to free his father figure, a son paying his father's debt. That, on a mythical level, works.
The concept of the child paying for the past inappropriate actions of the parent is a hallmark of Ancient Greek drama; the Gods have exceedingly long memories, and will haunt a family to the end of its line if an ancestor has caused displeasure. The idea of Draco (A BLACK!!!) saving Severus by being owed a debt by Harry is pretty clever, and – if the three manage to come to an agreement – would make for a far superior "moral stance" than Bad Nasty Teacher Dies To Save Harry.
That you’ve got someone who’s so bitter and is perhaps has confined himself to only ideals and codes of honor because he doesn’t believe in love—or rather, is so certain that it’s not something he will ever get. So it’s only where he’s not consciously thinking about it, where he’s not thinking about himself...where he gets it. Not the flowers and candy grand romantic love of It Girl Lily Potter but the no-less passionate love of the scrawny, over bred, obnoxious pointy kid with circles under his eyes.
I can totally get behind that – the ones you thought were the "villains" of the series end up showing the hero what love – Philia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philia) – is really all about. :D
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Date: 2006-03-21 08:55 pm (UTC)Ah, but...As any woman who has had a guy pay for the entire check can tell you, the "knight in shining armor" always, always expects payback. Looking at it that way, I suppose it was inevitable Ginny would put out for Harry at some point – she does owe him after all! (Leave it to JKR to say NO when she means YES!!!) ;)
The "Life Debt" is just a magical way of speaking about that awful feeling of knowing that somebody you never wanted to be attached to at all is now the reason for your existence, and the person you always wanted to be superior to has saved your arse.
There's definitely an element of humiliation there, and feeling forced to deal with mutual enmity. You just can't walk away from a no-win situation in the Potterverse; you're stuck with it forever and ever until either you accept it or you die. Lovely, isn't it?
More importantly, it would be up to Draco making a free choice to offer his Debt to free his father figure, a son paying his father's debt. That, on a mythical level, works.
The concept of the child paying for the past inappropriate actions of the parent is a hallmark of Ancient Greek drama; the Gods have exceedingly long memories, and will haunt a family to the end of its line if an ancestor has caused displeasure. The idea of Draco (A BLACK!!!) saving Severus by being owed a debt by Harry is pretty clever, and – if the three manage to come to an agreement – would make for a far superior "moral stance" than Bad Nasty Teacher Dies To Save Harry.
That you’ve got someone who’s so bitter and is perhaps has confined himself to only ideals and codes of honor because he doesn’t believe in love—or rather, is so certain that it’s not something he will ever get. So it’s only where he’s not consciously thinking about it, where he’s not thinking about himself...where he gets it. Not the flowers and candy grand romantic love of It Girl Lily Potter but the no-less passionate love of the scrawny, over bred, obnoxious pointy kid with circles under his eyes.
I can totally get behind that – the ones you thought were the "villains" of the series end up showing the hero what love – Philia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philia) – is really all about. :D