Thursday, May 23, 2013

Thoughts on Wands and Class from the Harry Potter Book Club

It’s raining. Yarrow’s napping with Luba on the big bed, her head creeping closer and closer to the edge. The girl loves edges - she has no fear. Jenna and Christie have both brought up wands..we talk a bit about various woods and lengths in Jenna’s commentary..and about the purpose of wands in Christie’s commentary. I’ve always been a bit annoyed at the length of Rowling’s wands..it’s a minor point, I know, but an 8” wand would be so very awkwardly short! My husband - who is especially frustrated by the lengths, is taking over a bit of this post to show us why!

We’re in Diagon Alley with Harry Potter, and onward - to his first taste of Hogwarts. I like the class humor in these early chapters. In later books, I notice a harder edge in Rowling’s attitude toward the middle-class suburbanite Dursleys, but for now it’s still amusing and endearing. They are a complete caricature of suburban striving - nosy, unimaginative, and banal..but not so completely dismissed as to make the caricature unkind or universal. In Diagon Alley we meet the caricature of the rich, blue-blooded Draco Malfoy whose ease at being fitted for new robes indicates he’s spent plenty of time at the tailor’s. Draco’s preoccupation with family history, surnames, and getting in with the right set at school makes me certain his family has the wizarding equivalent of yachts and tennis courts chilling around their manor house. Harry’s confusion in his first meeting with the wizarding upper-classes is endearing..he’s uncomfortable, but content enough in his own interpretation of the experience so far to avoid being drawn into Malfoy’s attitude. Harry is somewhat outside class - as lost in suburbia as he would be along side Draco, watching with longing the pleasantly proletariat Weasleys knock about at the train station. It’s an opportunity to set him up to do ‘great things’ formed either by a connection to and welcoming of the good that can grow in all of the classes he can see - but never belong to; or else a rejection of these pockets of belonging and all the people who fit easily in one or the other. I don’t know that Rowling managed either in the end..but right now, Harry is still in formation - full of potential and the loneliness it brings.

And now, here’s Seth:



   The subject of wand-length came up in discussion recently; being somewhat visual I decided photos were needed to aid the “are they too short, too long, or just right?” debate. Everything was measured carefully (brushes included bristles) and came within a quarter-inch accuracy (mostly dead-on). They are listed in order of appearance in chapter five, starting with Lily Potter (note the nice, feminine hand position).

“ ‘Ah yes,’ said the man… ‘ It seems only yesterday she was in here herself, buying her first wand. Ten and a quarter inches long, swishy, made of willow. Nice wand for charm work’.” 

                                (not actually made of willow. Made of chainsaw sharpening file)

Next is James Potter: “ ‘Your father, on the other hand, favored a mahogany wand. Eleven inches. Pliable. A little more power and excellent for transfiguration…’ ”

                                (certain tiny wand shoppers have no respect for personal space)

And of course, Voldy.
       "Mr. Ollivander touched the lightning scar on Harry's forehead with a long white finger. 
        'I'm sorry to say I sold the wand that did it' he said softly. Thirteen-and-a-half inches. Yew. Powerful wand...' "

                      (Aggressive. Green. Gritty. No, really. Actually gritty. The wand is fake, not the dirt)

Then a couple of Harry's rejects: "Right then, Mr Potter. Try this one. Beechwood and dragon heartstring. Nine inches...' " and "... 'Maple and Phoenix feather. Seven inches. Quite whippy... ' "

                                              (Chopstick. Carpenter's pencil. Not terribly impressive)

Skipping his last reject (which, at eight and a half is between those two) we finally have Harry's wand itself.

" 'Tricky customer, eh? Not to worry... yes, why not - unusual combination - holly and phoenix feather, eleven inches, nice and supple.' "

  (Um, that yellow is just phoenix tail poking through. It is definitely NOT oil paint I forgot to clean)

So I suppose whether these representations look right, wrong, or a mix, is dependent on your pre-formed mental image of "appropriate magic wand". Mine tends toward something a bit longer and a bit less "something I found lying around the house"-ish.

                                                                          -The Neglected (and can you tell it's been rainy here and I've had a lot of time on my hands?) Husband

13 comments:

  1. Wow, I never really considered just how short these wands are. Voldy's is the only one that actually looks functional.

    In a semi-desperate bid to come to Rowling's defense, I suppose it's just possible that there's a handle or something that isn't counted in the full length. She doesn't mention any, but her description of the wands might be vague enough to allow for them.

    On the other hand, this explains how the characters are able to keep stowing their wands securely in their jeans pockets.

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    1. hmm..a handle might be problematic though, in that you are then not actually connected to your wand..and connection is important..

      You are so very right though in the whole 'stowing their wands..in..pockets' comment. I wondered about that too!

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  2. Wow. Seven inches seems QUITE small. Voldemort's is so much larger in comparison! It really helps to see actually see it. It's funny how wand size doesn't really seem to come up as a way of measuring a witch's or wizard's skill or talent. And yet, Voldemort is one of the greatest ("terrible, but great") wizards we see and coincidentally has the longest wand. hmmm.
    Thanks for the visuals!

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    1. I know! There does seem to be a direct correlation!

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  3. Masha said: It’s an opportunity to set him up to do ‘great things’ formed either by a connection to and welcoming of the good that can grow in all of the classes he can see - but never belong to; or else a rejection of these pockets of belonging and all the people who fit easily in one or the other. I don’t know that Rowling managed either in the end..but right now, Harry is still in formation - full of potential and the loneliness it brings.

    That's beautiful. I'd never thought about potential being a lonely thing, but now I might be thinking about that all week. And I'm interested to hear your thoughts as the class ideas develop... that part of the story hasn't really prioritized itself to me in past reads, so it'll be interesting to think through.

    Seth, HAHAHAHA. Your captions just killed me. And the visuals were awesome; the movie adaptations, which I never questioned on the point despite my knowing them to be much less supremely book-loyal than myself, obviously made all the wands much longer.

    The Warner Brothers' replica of Harry's wand claims to be 14 inches long, so at the very least, they added handles. But it looks like seven inches would be ridiculous either way. BTanaka's right; Voldy's is the only one that looks functional.

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    1. I'm glad you liked it! I'd love to read your thoughts on the whole potential - loneliness thing! Especially in relation to Harry, as you know him better! The seven inch wand is embarrassing, isn't it, I think I'd take Bob Tanaka's thought and get myself a handle for it - if I ended up with a seven inch wand :P

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  4. I like Harry's loneliness at present because he is our window into the wizarding world and mirrors our inexperience and uncertainty.

    Seth, this was delightful!

    Maybe Rowling was thinking about it the way I visualized it. When I read, I saw a hand holding a wand by the fingers rather than the palm, making the free-space length much longer. Practically, though, that wouldn't do very well for holding onto it during a wizard's duel.

    Kelly's observation is great, too. What would it be like to have a Voldemort with a stubby wand? Not as threatening, that's for sure. So there's a symbolism, and then there's _symbolism_. Huh.

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    1. "I like Harry's loneliness at present because he is our window into the wizarding world and mirrors our inexperience and uncertainty."

      Yes! Very true!!!!

      I think there is definitely some _symbolism_ ;) here with wands..at least that's sort of what Rowling seems to be intentionally or not - heading for..Voldy with a stubby wand would be so..cute..and definitely non-threatening..is it sad that I always give him a falsetto voice to go with his stubby wand???

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    2. This!!!!

      http://www.dragoart.com/tuts/pics/8/13212/how-to-draw-chibi-voldemort,-voldemort-from-harry-potter.png

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  5. This: "(certain tiny wand shoppers have no respect for personal space)" cracked me up :)

    Great post, love the visuals and the cameo from the hubby!

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    1. He had so many missed shots because of her! :)

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  6. **Not too much of a SPOILER, but talking about future character/books**

    I'm reading OotP right now and noticed that Umbridge's wand is described as "unusually short" (239 American). This is the only time I can think of that wand length is mentioned in adjectives and not simply numbers or measurements. It kind of makes sense that her wand would be short, especially in light of the fact that she just told the first DADA class of the year to put their wands away. Seems to be a commentary of her using theoretical magic instead of practical magic.

    Just thought I'd share that thought, since I read it and thought of this post :)

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  7. That's true!! And she does seem very uncomfortable with practical magic doesn't she?? How interesting!..Unusually short for Rowling must barely clear her fingers too..Poor Umbridge, I wonder if she was mocked at school for her 'unusually short' wand..and I wonder how that affects her ability.

    Thanks! :)

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