Friday, February 17
Why "Pensieve"?
Coming up with a name for my blog bogged me down. I wanted something simple that communicated something more than just a name. Potter BOOK fans will get the reference immediately, everyone else will need this explanation. This is what I came up with, I love this concept...and at times I wish "pensieves" were more than just make believe.
Pensieve (as explained in Wikipedia)
A Pensieve is a stone basin, covered in mystic runes, with a liquid or gas within. A witch or wizard can extract his or her own memories and place them in the Pensieve, especially to relieve the mind when it becomes too flooded with information. Anyone can examine the memories in the Pensieve, which also allows viewers to fully immerse themselves in the memories stored within, much like a magical form of virtual reality. Tom Riddle's diary seems to have this same form of virtual reality. Oddly, users of these devices view the memories from, third person view. This of course, raises questions of how they are able to see things beyond what they have remembered. Rowling answered this question in an interview, confirming that memories in the pensieve allow one to view details of things that happened even if they did not notice or remember them, and stated that "that's the magic of the Pensieve, what brings it alive" [1]
Like many names in these books, pensieve is a pun: it is a sieve in that it is a device used for sifting out thoughts, and in using it one becomes pensive or thoughtful. It may be notable that "pensieve" is an anagram of Pevensie, the surname of the main characters from C. S. Lewis' The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, in which the Pevensie children are thrust into another world through a magical cupboard, as Harry is thrust into a memory through the pensieve in Dumbledore's cupboard.
A Pensieve first appears in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, again in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, and plays a pivotal role in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.
Pensieve (as explained in Wikipedia)
A Pensieve is a stone basin, covered in mystic runes, with a liquid or gas within. A witch or wizard can extract his or her own memories and place them in the Pensieve, especially to relieve the mind when it becomes too flooded with information. Anyone can examine the memories in the Pensieve, which also allows viewers to fully immerse themselves in the memories stored within, much like a magical form of virtual reality. Tom Riddle's diary seems to have this same form of virtual reality. Oddly, users of these devices view the memories from, third person view. This of course, raises questions of how they are able to see things beyond what they have remembered. Rowling answered this question in an interview, confirming that memories in the pensieve allow one to view details of things that happened even if they did not notice or remember them, and stated that "that's the magic of the Pensieve, what brings it alive" [1]
Like many names in these books, pensieve is a pun: it is a sieve in that it is a device used for sifting out thoughts, and in using it one becomes pensive or thoughtful. It may be notable that "pensieve" is an anagram of Pevensie, the surname of the main characters from C. S. Lewis' The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, in which the Pevensie children are thrust into another world through a magical cupboard, as Harry is thrust into a memory through the pensieve in Dumbledore's cupboard.
A Pensieve first appears in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, again in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, and plays a pivotal role in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.
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12 Comments:
Cool...a comment from an Irish blogger!
love the name. did not realize that about the pevensie children in the lion, witch...(it being an anagram.) that's cool. i've now read all your blogs posted to date and have to say that writing is definately one of your talents. thanks for letting me in on them.
definitely hell bound with the Potter theme....ha ha ha ha Thanks for having the courage to share....it takes guts...proud of you!
won't be the first time I've been told that! (love u shelly ;) )
Thanks for the explanation of the title. Never would have thought of the Pevensie children as being an anagram either.
Welcome to the Blogging Chicks and congratulations on being the 100th blog listed! I look forward to reading more of your thoughtful posts. TTFN~Pamela Lynn
Welcome to Blogging Chicks and congrats on being our 100th blogger.
I wear crocs, too.
The word pensieve is especially cool when you know that the word for the verb "to think" in French is pense.
All that witch-related nonsense gives me the willies, but okay--I catch your drift. Kept thinking of Pensees by Blaise Pascal when I first saw the word. I'm no Harry Potter fan.
Anon...you actually helped me re-think the explanation; particularly on my Profile. It DID sound more "mystic" than I'd like to communicate. The main thing I found intriguing was the ability to "unload" your thoughts when your mind was simply so FULL! Personally, although I have thoroughly enjoyed reading the Potter series, I do NOT condone witchcraft, and trust that people reading me will appreciate the concept of a Pensieve :)
;) took me a bit to get it at 1st since I've not read Harry Potter--intersting explanation.
I like the name.
I've read all the books, too.
(I'm not sure what I'm going to do if she "kills" one of my fav characters.)
Wouldn't it be nice if we had a sieve through which to put all of our thoughts before they came out of our mouths? Wouldn't it be nice if others did?
That's one of the great things about typing, you can re-think, re-write & delete.
My sieve: Do all to the glory of God
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