7 Deadly Sins: Lust (long)

[Peg Kerr]

No: HPFGUIDX 2118

Hoo boy.

Well, I could cop out totally and start out by saying, first of all,
that there's nothing at all about lust in these books--if you're
thinking about lust in the strictly sexual sense.  The kids, best as we
can tell, are all virgins, the teachers don't seem to be involved in
sexual relationships (or else they're EXTREMELY discreet).  And Arthur
and Molly, judging from the number of their children, seem to have had
an active sex life, but they don't seem to do a lot of on-stage
snogging.  (Pause.  I love that term, snogging.)

(So???  Is that all, Peg?  Do we just end it here and go out for
coffee?)

Well, perhaps not entirely.  First of all, we're starting to detect at
least the glimmerings of lust--or at least awareness of the opposite
sex, in GoF.  Exhibit 1 is Harry's uneasiness/excitement around Cho;
Exhibit 2 is the peculiar strained conversations swirling around between
Hermione and Ron (especially about the Yule Ball) and even between
Viktor and Harry, again about Hermione.  Hormones are starting to wake
up, and our trio is becoming uneasily aware of it.  It seems to be a
mixed blessing at this point.  I think Rowling handles this beautifully
and realistically.  Harry is suddenly aware that there are a lot of
girls at Hogwarts.  Lots and lots of girls (and all moving in packs, he
thinks fretfully).  It's as if his sexual antennae are starting to
twitch.  We'll have to see what will develops with this in future books.

What troubles could the sin of lust create for Harry and the rest, if it
really becomes a problem in future books?  Well, all discussion must be
very tentative at this point, but perhaps we've seen at least one
effect, in his conversation with Cho about the Yule Ball.  He has
difficulty talking to Cho; he feels incredibly stupid around her.  If
one effect of gluttony is selfishness, then perhaps an equivalent effect
of lust is a certain, well, brainlessness, if you will.  Loss of
judgment.  Ron, for example, seems to be suffering a certain disorder in
his thinking about Hermione and Viktor going to the Yule Ball together
(see, for example, the argument between Ron and Hermione at the end of
Chapter 23, and Harry's thought that Ron seems to be the one "missing
the point").

Lust can also lead to strain, and even betrayal, of relationships.  We
can all see how budding sexual feelings are causing tension between Ron
and Hermione in particular.

Lust, like gluttony, can be thought of in more general terms.  I checked
my dictionary definitions; lust is defined first as an overwhelming
drive to satisfy sexual desire, and secondly, as an overwhelming drive
to satisfy any other desire in general.  I tried to apply a more general
definition to gluttony in my last post, besides the first definition of
feeding gastronomic desire.  The secondary definitions for these two
words explain gluttony as "an increased capacity" (including for things
other than food) and lust as "an overwhelming drive" (including things
other than sex).  Upon rereading these definitions more carefully, I
think perhaps I should have applied the discussion about Voldemort and
Lockhart to this message about lust rather than the last message about
gluttony: i.e., Voldemort can be said to have a lust for power, and
Lockhart for adulation.  (Alas, if I muddle around with these secondary
definitions even more, gluttony and lust will become indistinguishable,
and I'll only end up confusing everybody).

But if we stick to my original tentative hypothesis, that gluttony leads
to selfishness and lust to loss of judgment, then the star character of
this post that I'd like to talk about with respect to lust (in the more
general sense) is Remus Lupin.

Once a month, a kind of madness seizes Lupin (literally, blood lust)
coupled with the total loss of all human reason.  He has a strong drive
to bite other people, the danger being that he could infect them.  Now,
as far as simply BEING a werewolf goes, Remus suffers all the prejudice
of the wizarding world "blaming him" for being a werewolf, but Rowling
clearly indicates, and the reader believes, that initially Remus is
innocent of "sin" here.  He did not ask to be bitten and he tries to
protect other people from his malady.

Where Remus goes over the line from innocent victim to someone who
commits the sin of lust is when he agrees to let his friends become
animagi so that they can release him to run free during his
transformations.  By doing so, Remus is removing all the restraints that
are meant to protect himself and other people during the times that he
has no judgment.  THAT is his sin.  And for that, he must pay--casting
himself out, if you will, from his own personal Garden of Eden--Hogwarts
where he has been so happy, and has been gainfully employed for the
first time in his life, because he has violated the trust of others,
most importantly, Dumbledore.  For that he must go.

Passing mention of two subjects:

The Mirror of Erised, which shows you your heart's desire (what your
heart lusts after the most, if you will).  It is useful to know what you
desire the most, Dumbledore says, but remember that it may not be
attainable or even possible--and thus, you shouldn't let yourself obsess
over it, to the exclusion of all else in your life.

Secondly, many have suggested that one engine driving the plot might be
feelings that Snape had for Lily, whether love or lust--but of course,
it's all speculation at this point.

Comments?

Peg