The Last Word

I am taking a break from studying for the GRE (being as I have the test of Thursday morning and I am off work for the day due to rain and thunderstorms) and I was thinking about this so I thought I would post it quickly. I was thinking about this tidbit Rowling has thrown out that the last word of the last book will be the word "scar." I think for one she has thrown it out there so that nobody misses it or misses the significance of it since it is the one tidbit we will have had this far in advance. I also think it is a little teaser clue to those such as Pauli and myself and John Granger that the scar will indeed somehow be crucial to the plot (such as in Pauli's theory that it somehow absorbs the horcruxes). But I also think it is highly symbolic for Rowling. A scar is the lasting effect of a wound. To be healed is not to be made as if you were never sick or wounded. Of course, in the natural realm sicknesses take their toll and usually wind up having shortened our lifespan some, but in the psychic/spiritual realm there is the old adage, "that which does not kill us only makes us stronger." There has been some purification and the scar is the mark it has left. In the Christian Tradition, on which Rowling draws heavily, it is believed that the marks of the nails in the hands and feet of Christ and the spear in His side still remain, even in heaven. In fact, "Stigmatists" are those who have been given the Stigmata, continually bleeding wounds that correspond to the 5 wounds of Christ (the number 5 is especially significant in the Christian Literary Tradition, and this numerological significance is the source of the 5 pointed star on Sir Gawain's shield, which is described in detail in the uniquely anonomous Arthurian tale Sir Gawain and the Green Knight). Moreover, the scars of Christ are seen as a witness to His truth to those who are having trouble believing, such as the Apostle Thomas in the upper room who says he will not believe the Resurrection unless he can put his hands on the wounds. With regards to Alchemy, the scar is like the unique identifier of the "Golden Soul" as human. It says, "This is not a gold that has always been pure gold (like an angel). It truly is pure gold but it had to become such, and that meant a sacrifice."