Laughs at a Squib's expense?

[Jen Faulkner]

No: HPFGUIDX 16472

On Thu, 12 Apr 2001, Amy Z wrote:

<snippity snip snip> 
> I don't see it this way.  The passage reads:
> 
> "And what on earth's a Squib?" said Harry.
> To his surprise, Ron stifled a snigger.
> "Well--it's not funny really--but as it's Filch..." he said.  "A Squib 
> is someone who was born into a wizarding family but hasn't got any 
> magic powers.  Kind of the opposite of Muggle-born wizards, but Squibs 
> are quite unusual.  If Filch's trying to learn magic from a Kwikspell 
> course, I reckon he must be a Squib.  It would explain a lot.  Like 
> why he hates students so much."  Ron gave a satisfied smile.  "He's 
> bitter."
> 
> What I get from this passage is that Ron hates Filch, but =not= 
> because he's a Squib, and in fact Ron wouldn't make fun of someone for 
> being one ("it's not funny really--but as it's Filch...").  For all he 
> despises Filch, he never throws his Squibness up in his face nor 
> refers to it again to the others.  Is there anything else anywhere 
> revealing Ron's attitudes toward Squibs that I've forgotten?

I'm not sure I take this passage in precisely the same way as you do,
Amy (and may the gods forgive me for disagreeing with you! *g*).  When
Ron justifies laughing about Filch being a Squib by pointing out that
it's Filch he's laughing at, that read to me as though making fun of
Squibs isn't the 'done thing', that it's terribly gauche to laugh at
Squibs -- but that the impulse to laugh is there nonetheless.  (A
parallel might be laughing at someone falling down, but saying that it
was okay to laugh because they weren't hurt.  That sort of thing.)  I
agree that Ron doesn't hate Filch *for* his Squibness (Squibship *g*?),
but I think that it's politeness, and not natural inclination, that
keeps him from making fun of Squibs generally.  He's indulging himself
in a situation in which normal rules of what's polite have been
suspended since, as Ron puts it, "it's Filch."  

Just a general comment too -- it makes me so happy to see someone
actually quote the text when they're offering an interpretation!  It
absolutely warms the cockles of my classicist heart to have a specific
text to argue over; it's much eaiser than trying to provide an
interpretation based on summary and paraphrase.  (Others besides Amy
quote the text too, of course, I just noticed it here since I happened
to be giving a close reading, and it did make me happy. *g*)

--jen :)

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