Various and sundry topics

[Ebony]

No: HPFGUIDX 7809

Good morning, everyone...

Rita wrote:

"Altho', in my universe, the young Sirius wasn't in any hurry to 
marry Jenny or Anika or Gwyneth when there were So Many pretty girls 
to sleep with... "They're always chasing after me, and it would be too
cruel to refuse them...." 

LOL!  I think more along the lines of your universe, Rita (although I 
am enjoying Dracaena Draco).

Kathy wrote:

I forgot to add...the first man who ever broke my heart had untidy 
black hair and startlingly green eyes (no glasses though)...which is 
probably the REAL root of my R/H shipperdom! 

Poor girl... one of my high school crushes had messy black hair (we
called him Spike) but his eyes were brown.  So I don't think that 
counts.

Peg wrote:

"If Ebony is correct, that Hermione is the symbol of JKR in the 
story, and the story is constructed so that she longs for Harry, then 
to me, that means the Hermione IS a Mary Sue character, Q.E.D. Would 
like a fuller explanation from Ebony as to why she thinks Hermione 
ISN'T a Mary Sue."

Definition of "Mary Sue" (which to my knowledge is a
fanfiction and 
not a literary term--I didn't use the term at all in my draft of the 
paper, simply to clarify my position here) according to ff.net's 
Fanfiction terminology list:  "A character that may be loosely
based 
on the author. The character often is perfect and has a tendency to 
save the day. The story may focus around canon characters and their 
relationship to the character. If a character is called a Mary Sue, 
it is generally considered a not nice thing."  Hope this helps.

Peg wrote:

"You know, many fan fic writers act as if Peter was merely a
tag-a-long, not as good at magic as James, Sirius and Lupin, 
not "really" one of the four, almost sort of resented. I think this 
diminishes the fact of his betrayal. It seems to be a sort of 
squeamishness/reluctance to claim Peter as "one of us"--because it's 
too scarey to imagine that someone you have totally accepted and 
considered one of your team could have betrayed you."

Interesting observation.  Over the holiday I thought about the 
significance of Peter's name.  The Biblical Peter wasn't on
the fringes of things; he was a leader amongst the Twelve... and yet 
he betrayed Christ.  This is also why Ron is not immune to fulfilling 
this role in his generation... because he *is* trusted.

Betrayal via an associate is one thing.  Betrayal via your own flesh 
and blood--or your own right arm--is quite another.

Some have mentioned their like of Shakespeare's "Much Ado About 
Nothing" (which is not one of my favorites--I prefer the tragedies) 
while chatting about their R/H leanings.  I'll use a line from Julius 
Caesar that I think fits in this case:  "Yet Brutus says he was 
ambitious/And Brutus is an honorable man."

Also consider the fact that shape-shifting is a possibility in this 
magical world.  Someone else could shape-shift (via Polyjuice Potion, 
etc.) into Ron or Hermione and do a lot of damage.  If we follow the 
argument I've seen thrown about here that Harry is much closer to
Ron than Hermione, the logical choice would be Ron.

Susan wrote:

"Hope everyone who celebrates has had a lovely Christmas.
Here in Michigan, it's been the quintessential Christmas.
Clear and cold and covered with snow, icicles everywhere..."

...and ice, and older cars stalling, and biting cold while you're
waiting on the bus, salt creating huge potholes/eating away 
at your car's paint, more snow to come so that the curbs 
resemble tiny mountains.  I lived in Florida from 1995-1999,
and during a winter like this I am trying to remember why I 
came back.  ;)

Hope everyone's holidays were and are happy.  It's Boxing Day
for our English and Canadian list members, right?  For me, it's
the first day of Kwanzaa—Umoja (unity).  ;)

--Ebony