The Tales of Beedle the Bard read along, Part 1: Intro and The Wizard and the Hopping Pot

December 6, 12:07 PMBook ExaminerMichelle Kerns

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Was I the only Potter-head that was absolutely gleeful to finally get my hands on something new to add to my Harry Potter collection? Judging from the initial sales and reaction of fans to the Beedle, I don't think so; all of us Muggles who have been in love with Harry from the very beginning greeted The Tales of Beedle the Bard with open arms.

And, despite murmurs from the hoity-toity lit critics who sniffed at the Beedle saying it is too short, too simply written, too whatever, I don't think any fans will be disappointed.

I wonder sometimes, when will those critics get it? They collectively scratched their pointy heads over the wild popularity of the Potter series, attributing it to everything from a kind of short-lived mass hysteria to an interest in the occult. One critic I read had the temerity to say that in ten years, no one will be able to understand why anyone ever bothered to read the Harry Potter series; another, after reading Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, declared them too boring, too detailed, and too hopelessly complicated to engage modern readers. I hope those critics are enjoying eating their words as much as I enjoy laughing about it as I hold this slim book that will bring in more money than anything their combined efforts could even remotely touch.

But enough of this ranting. This post begins a series in which I'll yak about my thoughts about the Beedle, from beginning to end, and I hope some of you Potter heads out there will chime in with your own commentary, questions, rants, and raves. Yes, I know it probably took most of you about an hour to read the Beedle, but there is still a lot to chew over in these 111 pages. Besides, how long is it going to be before we get another offering from Ms. Rowling? I say we get every bit of enjoyment out of what we've got for as long as we can. And so, let's begin at the beginning:

 

Introduction

Ms. Rowling tells readers right off the bat that, although wizarding fairy tales are like Muggle tales in that "virtue is usually rewarded and wickedness punished," there are a few differences: first, in wizard fairy tales, success doesn't lie in magic itself -- it lies within yourself (gee, that sounds familiar); second, wizard tales feature active, aggressive, and independent heroines (not unlike Hermione), not the fainting, boy-crazy ladies of Muggle tales.

These two themes are classic Rowling. The Harry Potter books repeatedly emphasized that it isn't the power of the magic, but the integrity of the wizard that is most important, (Hello? Lily's sacrifice being able to defeat Voldemort's avada kedavra?) despite the fact that many misguided fundamentalist groups fell over themselves declaring Rowling to be pushing the occult on young minds (help me, Jesus!) And take a look at all of the women that are portrayed in a good way in the books: Mrs. Weasley; Professor McGonagall; Hermione Granger; Ginny Weasly; Nymphadora Tonks. No faint hearts here, despite the fact that one early reviewer of Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone called Hermione's character too "passive." Whatever.

I think we can take Beedle the Bard's list of Most Hated Things -- cruelty, apathy, the arrogant misuse of talent -- as Rowling's personal list of hates. (You'll especially believe this if you watch the first part of the documentary, JK Rowling: A Year in the Life), and the good list -- kindness, common sense, ingenuity -- as what she most prizes.

I particularly loved the addition of one of my favorite Dumbledore quotes about truth:

It is a beautiful and terrible thing, and should therefore be treated with great caution.

I wonder, what do other Potter heads take Dumbledore to mean by saying this, not only in the context of the Potter books, but in life in general? Do you think Dumbledore was right? And was his adherence to this perspective on truth a mistake or something that intelligent people should emulate?

 

The Wizard and the Hopping Pot

The first thing that struck me about this tale was how much it reminded me of folktales that have existed in cultures across the globe for hundreds of years. Ms. Rowling has managed to write a tale that sounds brand new and as old as the hills at the same time; even the moral, that of a cruel, thoughtless person learning a painful lesson in generosity and empathy, is as old as mankind. Adam probably entertained the kids with similar stories while Eve made dinner.

Of course, every Potter fan was just biding their time, waiting for the promised footnotes by Albus Dumbledore, and the notes on this tale didn't disappoint.

Right off the bat, I had to argue with Dumbledore's characteristically overly kind conclusion on page 11 that "The young wizard's conscience awakes, and he agrees to use his magic for the benefit of his non-magical neighbors." To my eye, the bratty guy only gave in because he couldn't stand the pot bugging him anymore. Dumbledore was always only too ready to believe the best of everyone, Slytherin, ex-Death Eater, whoever. Not many of us can do that, and I suppose that was part of Dumbledore's appeal -- he makes us feel like that no matter what we do, there is always room for redemption.

In these notes, Rowling doesn't only manage to thrash discrimination, racism, and intolerance, she gets in a well-aimed thrust at everyone who thought the Potter books had an "unhealthy preoccupation with the most horrid subjects," through Beatrix Bloxam, who I am absolutely certain would have been best friends forever with Dolores Umbridge if they had met.

             Umbridge and Bloxam: BFF?

Bloxam's rewriting of the hopping pot tale on page 19 is pure gold -- oh, how I love J.K. Rowling! What a way to stick it to all of those people saying the Potter series was simply too hot to handle for impressionable young readers. I have two things to say on that subject: rub - bish. Anyone with those thoughts still running about their minds should take a look at 1) the original Grimm Brothers' fairy tales and 2) the Old Testament. Gruesome, death preoccupied, graphic, and terrifying don't even begin to cover it. Kids read that stuff for generations with no observable psychoses; I think Potter is just fine. In fact, the reaction children had to Bloxam's Toadstool Tales, "uncontrollable retching," is what overtakes me when I hear those arguments. I have to say, if Ms. Rowling has any kind of heart in her, she would write The Toadstool Tales to give us all a good laugh in these trying times.

Any thoughts? Rants? Raves? Questions for discussion? Post them here as a comment or email them to michellekerns@surewest.net. Tomorrow will feature The Fountain of Fair Fortune (and a lengthy Book Examiner rant on the folly of book banning), as well as the ultimate Twilight Movie Debate. If you're a Potter-head as well as a Twi-hard, take a look at the Twilight movie debate team and be sure to weigh in with your pithy comments after seeing what they had to say about the movie.

If you haven't seen the documentary JK Rowling: A Year in the Life, I simply cannot recommend it highly enough. Take a look at it here.