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Pecks, Clucks, & Cackles:
Considering the Parson’s Egg

There isn't a lot of mystery as to why you’re here.

Some of you might have followed a link from the Diana Wynne Jones site and are here for the Fire & Hemlock essay. Perhaps one or two of you may have heard of the Beauty x3 essay and decided to check it out. Or, possibly, you are simply browsing websites of people who have something to say about books, reading, or related subjects. There are a number of those here. You’ll find them all under the ‘At Tome’ button.

But we all know that most of you are here for the Potterverse collection.

It’s been re-organized again. This far downstream of the official closing of canon, I can’t see any point in keeping things divided according to levels of canon-compliance. Even if that does add up to a page with a LOT of links.

Some of them may get additional editing if something occurs to me that seems worthwhile to add. Any significant additions will be noted on the Updates page, when they happen. Don’t expect to see this collection brought into compliance with anything that Rowling has said since the release of Deathly Hallows. She more than demonstrated that she cannot stick to the same story for than two days running in the aftermath of that, and I cannot see indulging that level of capriciousness by attempting to keep in step.

And that goes double for her transparent attempts to rewrite the series ex cathedra on Pottermore. A printed book is going to be around for much longer than Pottermore.

Besides, the interpretations and theories in this collection are mine, and I am not J. K. Rowling.

As to the Parson and his Egg;

The story goes:

A timid cleric was once invited to make up the numbers at a posh country house party. All went smoothly until the morning that he was served a boiled egg that had gone off. Not wanting to cause a scene, he tried to eat it anyway.

Eventually his host, noticing him struggling with it, exclaimed; “Good heavens man! Why didn't you say something?

The cleric, cringing in embarrassment, protested; “Oh, no milord, I assure you, parts of it were excellent!”

Any theorist needs to keep the story of the parson and his egg very firmly in mind.