The Gilding of Gilderoy, cat caperings, Mandarin mutterings

[Tabouli]

No: HPFGUIDX 24551

Eric:
> Molly Weasley *speaking very slowly and deceptively gently*:
>
>Let me see if I've got this straight...you _knew_ where my baby daughter
>was...and you proposed to _leave_ her there to _die?_
>
>*a beat*
>
>I'LL KILL YOU!  I'LL MOIDILIZE YOU!  I'LL RIP YOUR LUNGS OUT AND MAKE A
>MILKSHAKE WITH THEM!  GIVE ME MY WAND!

(different post)

> Just imagine how many students he could have seduced, if
> he had been inclined to do so.

Amanda:
> But sex can mess up a hairdo that took simply *hours* to get perfect!

With Lockhart, I come up against my lifelong conflict between what I like in a fictional character and what I like in an actual person.  As a person, Lockhart is undeniably a nasty, narcissistic piece of work.  However, as a fictional character, he's great fun.  So gloriously awful I want to applaud, especially in the Valentine's Day scene... "I'm sure my colleagues will want to enter into the spirit of the occasion!  Why not ask Professor Snape to show you how to whip up a love potion?"

As for being so worried about looking good that one doesn't want to have sex, this is surely a case of the means overtaking the ends!  All the same, Gilderoy evidently cares a lot what people think about him, otherwise why spend so much of his life faking his way to fame?  "But enough about me... what do *you* think of me?"

Robyn:
> There's fantasy literature where the cat has the magic of the person, the
non talented person who is actually so talented that he unconsciously
transfers his magic to a harmless form lest he harm someone. There's also
all those fables where the wizard's heart and source of magical power is
in a creature and to defeat the wizard, you defeat the creature. Or
there's a magical parasite idea, where the cat is actually stealing the
wizard's power. <

Oooo, now *this* is interesting.  An interesting possibility for Filch and Mrs Norris, and Mrs Figg and her cats.  Note that Mrs Figg is married... maybe she married a muggle, given she lives in Muggledom.  Perhaps she married Accountant Weasley...?  I wonder how the magic gene works: could a squib and a muggle have magical children?  *Would* a wizard marry a squib, or are squibs outcast and unmarriageable?

re: Chinese translation:

My Chinese, once almost up to a simple newspaper article, has now degenerated well beyond anything approaching good enough to read the Chinese versions of HP, but I *did* manage to crowbar an article on translating HP into Chinese into a cross-cultural training program I ran at a College of the Arts.  It talked about the difficulties of translating the concepts and nuances of JKR's work into the language of a completely different culture, and I printed it out and added annotations for my audience to help them relate it to their experiences of teaching the arts to international students.

Marcus:
> (Hermione)'s the class swot, remember?

Some people were speculating on Hermione's magical talent, as opposed to her effort, implying that Harry has more raw talent, and she is "book smart" only.  (obligatory cultural insert: note that not all cultures separate ability and effort: some consider diligence intrinsic to intelligence... Hermione would fit right in!).  Backed up, of course, by JKR, who said that post 3rd year, Harry would beat her in a duel.  What do people think about this?  Is Hermione really only an above-average witch who studies herself into the ground, or is she genius-level ability as well as effort?

Michelle V.
> I'm not sure where lycanthropes like Lupin (I love alliteration :) ) 


A fellow fan!  We should form the AAAA (Altruistic Alliterators Alliance Anonymous)...

Tabouli



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