There's one fact that fits in it, too: Harrys and Voldemorts wand share the Phoenix feather core. The phoenix out of the ashes means immortality as well, and - like you - I am convinced that it has a special meaning for the book series.
The woods in Harry's and Voldemort's wands are also associated, traditionally, with themes of rebirth and immortality--holly in a positive sense (it was once strongly associated with Christ, and with similar ideas before his time), and yew in a a negative sense. (Interestingly, both the phoenix and the unicorn have also been symbolically associated with Christ, which to me puts a whole new spin on their use in the books.)
My thought on why Fawkes and Flaumel's immortality themes are treated as non-evil, as opposed to Voldemort's: Voldemort consistently attempts to seize immortality, without regards to the cost to others (sort of echoing Tolkien's treatment of the subject, now that I think of it); whereas Fawkes possesses it as a natural gift, and Flaumel (as far as we know) created the Stone legitimately, harming no one--and also knew when to let it go.
Both Flamel and Dumbledore (who is, if I'm not mistaken, the second-oldest living person we know of in the books) are presented as good and decent men: one who devotes his life to teaching and to fighting evil, and one who is willing to give up immortality to protect others from his own creation. Maybe if there's a message behind it all, it's that long life is attainable and worth seeking only if one is willing to do something worthwhile with it.
Or, to put it another way: "Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him." (John 3:15)
(Not a practicing Christian myself, but I do see some very noticeable Christian undercurrents to the series.)
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There's one fact that fits in it, too: Harrys and Voldemorts wand share the Phoenix feather core. The phoenix out of the ashes means immortality as well, and - like you - I am convinced that it has a special meaning for the book series.
The woods in Harry's and Voldemort's wands are also associated, traditionally, with themes of rebirth and immortality--holly in a positive sense (it was once strongly associated with Christ, and with similar ideas before his time), and yew in a a negative sense. (Interestingly, both the phoenix and the unicorn have also been symbolically associated with Christ, which to me puts a whole new spin on their use in the books.)
My thought on why Fawkes and Flaumel's immortality themes are treated as non-evil, as opposed to Voldemort's: Voldemort consistently attempts to seize immortality, without regards to the cost to others (sort of echoing Tolkien's treatment of the subject, now that I think of it); whereas Fawkes possesses it as a natural gift, and Flaumel (as far as we know) created the Stone legitimately, harming no one--and also knew when to let it go.
Both Flamel and Dumbledore (who is, if I'm not mistaken, the second-oldest living person we know of in the books) are presented as good and decent men: one who devotes his life to teaching and to fighting evil, and one who is willing to give up immortality to protect others from his own creation. Maybe if there's a message behind it all, it's that long life is attainable and worth seeking only if one is willing to do something worthwhile with it.
Or, to put it another way: "Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him." (John 3:15)
(Not a practicing Christian myself, but I do see some very noticeable Christian undercurrents to the series.)