How wealthy is Harry Potter? (was Re: Ron's Jealousy of Harry...)

[moey at sugarquill.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 16644

Hi!
 
> "No -- don't bother," said Ron, going red.  He was always touchy 
about the fact that Harry, who had inherited a small fortune from his 
parents, had much more money than he did."

> Penny commented:
> <<<[side note: Rita -- this is JKR referring to the Potter wealth 
as a "small fortune" -- it seems you challenged last weekend that it 
might be a large fortune.  All a matter of perspective, but JKR does 
describe it here as a "small" fortune]>>>

Neil FFA:
> Interesting.  Perhaps this is a problem with UK to US translation:  
In British English, "a small fortune" can, and usually does, mean a 
very large fortune, not, as might be assumed, a modest fortune.   
Admittedly, it's a rather confusing use of the word "small," but it 
is an emphatic use, and I think JKR intended that phrase to mean that 
Harry was left a massive amount of money.
> **
> Oxford Encyclopedic Dictionary: -'small fortune'- [colloq] - great 
wealth; a huge sum of money.
> **

Thanks Neil. :) I really don't think that it has anything to do with 
UK to US translation.  The term *small fortune* is a phrase I've 
heard and used, so it's not unknown to Americans.  The term fortune 
means (in regard to wealth) a large sum of money.  It's amusing that 
we can refer to a fortune as small.  It's one of those beautiful 
oxymoronic phrases such as 'deafening silence' that helps make the 
English language so much fun. <g>

Therefore, I'm going to have to say that I believe Harry's fortune is 
*large* in the *massive* sense (neither of which I will define <vbg>) 
and I think that is what JKR is trying to convey.

~Moey  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Can I have a look at Uranus too, Lavender?" 
        -Ron Weasley, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire