Again, I insert spoilers from Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince in here, so be forewarned.
Well, it goes back to what we said: Rowling's works sometimes connect to Tolkien's because there are certain things that "work" to create the best effect. Going back to our parallel between dementors and the Nazgul: if you were to choose a creature that was the epitome of nameless fear and suffering, what would they look like? They would probably be shrouded, for, as Dumbledore even said in
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince:
Quote:
|
There is nothing to be feared from a body, Harry, any more than there is anything to be feared from the darkness. Lord Voldemort, who of course secretly fears both, disagrees. But once again he reveals his own lack of wisdom. It is the unknown we fear when we look upon death and darkness, nothing more.
|
So then we get the idea of tattered robes cloaking unknown evils - our fear of them is derived from the fact that we can't see their faces. The dementors only reveal their faces when they are about to apply the Kiss - when the victim will be beyond fear, when the unknown no longer matters, for the person is about to have his or her soul removed. This absence of soul prohibits them from feeling true fear, so it is no longer necessary to instill this terror.
And, if you think about it, the Nazgul and the dementors are entirely different in creation and purpose. The Nazgul were once human men, and their form is the result of corruption. They serve due to their own greediness. The dementors were always as they were - a separate species of creature. They are considered "humanesque" but nothing more. The dementors serve wizards only to their own ends - they have no allegiance instilled by threat or otherwise. They aid those they want to - they work for Azkaban when Voldemort has disappeared, but once he returns, they revert to supporting him. There is no force preventing them from either going to or coming from the "Dark" side.
So the physical similarity comes from the
fear instilled by the
physical form of the two beings, not in any other aspect really.
Rowling capitalizes on the ridiculous - the unbelievable - and says, "What if it were real?" I mean I sometimes read some of the things they say, such as:
Quote:
|
From here on in, Harry, I may be as woefully wrong as Humphrey Belcher, who believed the time was ripe for a cheese cauldron.
|
and I think, "Dumbledore's kidding, right?" But Rowling takes such eccentric things - such things only found in a child's dreams - and brings them to life. I think that's why she has such a following of adults: she allows people to live the unbelievable in her works. Actually, I loved the moment in
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix where they talk about the grades:
Quote:
"Then you get P for 'Poor'" - Ron raised both his arms in mich celebration - "And D for 'Dreadful.'"
"And then T," George reminded him.
"T?" asked Hermione, looking appalled. "Even lower than a D? What on earth does that stand for?"
"'Troll,'" said George promptly.
Harry laughed, though he was not sure whether or not George was joking.
|
Harry has the reaction we all have - "They give a grade called 'Troll'?" He doesn't know whether the people are joking or not. Then, when we finally do get their O.W.L. grades, we see:
Pass Grades
O = Outstanding
E = Exceeds Expectations
A = Acceptable
Fail Grades
P = Poor
D = Dreadful
T = Troll
And come on: let's leave poor Albus Dumbledore alone - let him rest in peace.
And for the record, Snape's not evil - all signs point to him killing Dumbledore on Dumbledore's own orders.
*Nods*