[HPforGrownups] Dursleys

[ender_w]

No: HPFGUIDX 16955


  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: hfakhro at nyc.rr.com 
  To: HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com 
  Sent: Monday, April 16, 2001 7:12 PM
  Subject: [HPforGrownups] Dursleys


  Following up from the recent Dursleys posts - I have been thinking 
  about their role in the books. I hope this hasn't been discussed 
  before, but I couldn't find it in the search. OK, so we all think 
  that they are evil horrible guardians and it's true - they do abuse 
  Harry etc. but in light of this behaviour why do they (and 
  specifically Uncle Vernon) go to such lengths to keep Harry from 
  going to Hogwarts. If they hate him so much then why go on this mad 
  rush across half of England? You'd think they would be glad to get 
  rid of him 
  Could it be *gasp* that 
  they're worried about Harry's safety that there is a little bit of 
  family love there? I was thinking about Petunia's speech about Lily 
  in the Hut on the Rock: "Oh, she got a letter just like that and 
  disappeared off to that - that school - and came home every holiday 
  with her pockets full of frogspawn, turning teacups into rats. I was 
  the only one who saw her for what she was - a freak!...and then, if 
  you please, she went and got herself blown up and we got landed with 
  you!" (PS)


  i interpreted this as the Dursleys being terrified of magic and the wizarding world.  
  In SS, chapter 3, p36, Vernon said "I'm not having one in the house, Petunia.  Didn't we swear when we took him in we'd stamp out that dangerous nonsense?"

  My personal opinion:
  The Dursleys don't like Harry being around.  He's a burden.  But even more, they hate and fear Wizards and they hate the idea of having one in their house.  they don't want to let Harry go to Hogwarts because then he'll be magically trained.  to them Harry is like a gun.  they see him as dangerous, but to send him to wizarding school would be worse because it would be like loading the gun. 
  Why do they hate and fear wizards so much?  Is it pure narrow-mindedness?  Is it pure jealousy on Petunia's part (jealousy of Lilly, the attention she got and her special abilities)?  Is it because they know something about the Voldemort war and fear that danger visiting them?  Or, (and this is a pet theory of mine, kept tightly hidden until now), did Petunia actually love her sister, but feel so bitter and angry at her seemingly senseless and horrible death, that she couldn't contain it and it led her to not only fear anything related to magic, but also to feel bitterness towards her sister and James for "allowing" such a tragedy to happen.
  Crazy, I know.

  ender



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