Today's coined word: Literothanatophobia

[dianeduane]

Or, "The fear of death in literature."

A British book retailer plans to set up a counseling hotline for all heartbroken fans of Harry Potter, in case he dies in the much awaited next book.

As a former psychiatric professional, I can kind of see the point.  ...But I do start wondering, sometimes... Are human beings actually less robust, more fragile, than they used to be -- or are we just being encouraged to believe we are? 

And I remember clearly the resilience and fortitude of my younger patients as compared to the so-called "adults". The kids were endlessly more pragmatic and better at handling pain than the grownups. Any bets on the percentage of over-eighteens who wind up being counseled, as opposed to the under-eighteens?...

Comments

[antikythera.livejournal.com]

Fictional characters have been dying for as long as fiction has existed. Teenagers and other sensitive readers/viewers/listeners have been moping and swooning over it equally long. And they get over it. There are such things as genuine mood disorders that require professional treatment, but this ain't one of 'em.

If someone doesn't get over it, they've got deeper problems that do need attention, but the majority of readers of this particular book will probably not fall into that category, and there's no need for a special emergency Harry Potter grief counseling service to take care of the overload.

[rymenhild.livejournal.com]

Certainly. The world is not going to weep for Hagrid (or Ron, or Professor Lupin, or whoever does kick the next bucket) any more than people cried for Little Nell (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Old_Curiosity_Shop).

In any case, when I saw the news mention the Waterstone's grief counseling line, I thought, "I don't need to talk to a stranger about my Harry Potter grief! I have friends, roommates and LiveJournal for that!"

[azurelunatic]

At one point I think I was encouraging people who were upset over Dumbledore's death to fling the book out the window of a train. That's certainly the time-honored best reaction to outrage over character death.

[starcat-jewel.livejournal.com]

Is anyone else getting the nasty feeling that this is because it's a SF/F character, and that all this is connected with the drumbeat meme that SF/F readers (more than other people) "have trouble telling fantasy from reality"?

[antikythera.livejournal.com]

Mmm... not really. I think if you asked the general non-geek population, they'd probably identify soap-opera fans as the ones most likely to take a fictional character's trials and tribulations too seriously.

[tysolna]

Could be; or it is because this is still sold as a children's book, and children supposedly have the same problem.