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Harry Potter and the Pillar of Storgé
by Farah Weheba
June 27, 2004
June 28 Edit: This title is not the title of book six.
A visitor to JKRowling.com claimed that they got past the door with the 'Do Not Disturb' sign, and found a message written by JK Rowling, stating the title of the sixth Harry Potter book. The visitor supposedly saw a book with the Dark Mark on one side, and the following message on the other:
22.06.04
Erm... it is perhaps time for me to reveal the title of Book 6! I am nearing completion of the
first draft and have definitely decided upon a
title. I had numerous possibilities in mind, but
as I wrote, I realized that only one did the book
justice.
The more clever Potter fans may recognize that
the title relates directly to both 'Order of the
Phoenix' and 'Chamber of Secrets.' I will be
highly amused if one of you can guess exactly
what's going on!
On a side note, the length of the book is
growing so fast, I could swear Filius has put an
Engorgement Charm on it; an editor's nightmare!
I promised myself not to exceed the length of
'Order of the Phoenix,' but every day that passes
makes that undertaking more difficult.
Incidentally, I have much more work ahead.
Alas, the time has come! Here is the reward for
you lot that so diligently figured out all the puzzles
on the site. If you scroll down to the bottom of
this page, I will reveal to you the title of Book 6!
The title of Book 6 is:
Harry Potter and the Pillar of Storgé
Rowling really shouldn't consider this a generous gesture. After all, we Potter fans had the title to the fifth book more than a year before its release. Rowling cleverly hints that there is a connection between the title of the 'Order of the Phoenix' and 'Chamber of Secrets' books. She also implies that it is nearly impossible for any of her fans to "guess what's going on." She might be telling the truth, or she may simply be using sly hints as a form of early promotion for her new book. Why not? That way, she can release some new information to her loyal fans, get them thinking and excited, and promote the fifth book all at the same time. That's called: smart advertising. Or, there really could be some unseen connection between the mentioned titles. Either way, Rowling sure knows how to get her readers pumped.
There is something fishy about the punctuation used in Rowling's note. In Britain, the ending quotation mark should go inside the period. The biography on her site uses British punctuation. This clashes with the sentence from her post: "The more clever Potter fans may recognize that the title relates directly to both 'Order of the Phoenix' and 'Chamber of Secrets.'" The same error occurs in a sentence that appears in the following paragrah, with the misplacement of a comma: "I promised myself not to exceed the length of 'Order of the Phoenix,' but every day that passes makes that undertaking more difficult." The comma should come after the ending quote after "Phoenix." Was this an error, or did Rowling try to deliver the news "the American way?" One more non-British word in the post: "recognize." The British way to spell "recognize" is "recognise."
Also, why would Rowling post that information anywhere on her site before she wanted the title released? She's no amateur at keeping things secret. She would seem like the type who would be able to wait until July 1 to release the big news. The master of suspense would not have a hard time withholding information. Then again, Rowling might have known that every columnist would search every possible source and reread the post as many times as possible to find a flaw. In other words, she might have purposely misplaced those punctuation marks just to get people talking; again, that's smart advertising.
"Storgé" is a Greek word for "love between parents and children or relatives." Obviously, this could mean the love between Harry, Lily, and James Potter. Or, the love between Harry and Sirius, or the love between Harry and some other mystery relative that has not yet been revealed. There are numerous possibilities.
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets mentions the word "pillar" a total of eight times. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix also mentions the word "pillar" several times, like in the Sorting Hat's new song. The hat refers to the four houses, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin, as "like pillars four." The context is: "The houses that, like pillars four, had once held up our school, now turned upon each other and, divided, sought to rule..." This might be the connection that Rowling was talking about between the second, fifth, and sixth books, though it's unlikely. This last use of the word "pillar" brings a new definition into the picture. The title, Harry Potter and the Pillar of Storgé, may be using the word "pillar" in a less literal form, more figurative form. Rowling might mean to use "pillar" as a term for "foundation." So, the title could translate to "Harry Potter and the Foundation of Parental Love." That's definitely a possibility.
Rowling probably didn't sit down and count the number of time she used the word "pillar" in the second and fifth book, then decide to tell fans that there was a connection. That would be very random, and would not have any significant meaning in the actual storyline of the sixth book. There should be some kind of spiritual connection between the books, and not just the fact that all three books contain the word "pillar." That's no connection, that's a coincidence. These are all theories that everyone has rolling around in their heads. The truth about the connections is yet to be known. It has not even been confirmed that Harry Potter and the Pillars of Storgé the official title of the new book. Everything is questionable, and anything is possible.
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