[HPforGrownups] Re: Eye Roll

Thu Aug 23 04:52:23 UTC 2001

No: HPFGUIDX 24749

 --- rainy_lilac at yahoo.com ha scritto: 
<One of my disappointments about HP (which believe me
<does not interfere too much with the otehr pleasures
<I find in the series) is that I am still not
<convinced by ol' Moldy Voldy.
<He is too monsterous and snakelike on the one hand
<(not enough "like " us to give me real shivers) and
<he keeps making really dumb mistakes. I deeply wish
<that we could see his more human side, and see the
<complexity that would drive a man into such evil. I
<think we had a glimpse of that in CoS when we got to
<see him as Tom Riddle, a handsome young man who went
<completely wrong, but JKR seems to be moving him more
<toward the cartoon version of evil.
<Someone else commented that Lucius Malfoy is in fact
<scarier that V. I have to agree. It isn't beause he
<is "sane" exactly, but because he is cold,
<calculating, and knows a bit better when to hold 'em
<and when to fold 'em-- all of which makes him a more
<formidable opponent. I would NOT want to have to
<contend with Malfoy in any context. I think he does
<more damge with his sleight of hand than anyone could

<do with the Cruciatus curse.
<Is anyone else less than convinced by the Imperio and
<Cruciatus curses btw? They seem a bit mechanical to
<me. They actually don't make me fear the bad guys as
<much as, say, Malfoy's actions do.

Disclaimer: I only slept four hours and what I'm going
to write now might be complete nonsense.
OK, now I hope to have reduced the number of flying
tomatos to a minimum.

You know what, guys? I think we really need that 5th
book! And what a pity that we'll have to wait for so
many months. If it's really due only for next July, I
suppose we'll have discussed the first four to shreds
in the meantime. Thank God that we'll have the movie
to go for some months, or I really fear for JKR's
oeuvre.
This doesn't mean that I don't like this group or
what's being discussed. On the contrary. It's just an
observation that in these last days we are talking
more about the plot errors, weak characters,
eyerolling etc. than about anything else- which is
logical, as we have been dealing with these and only
these four books for such a long time. But maybe this
is just a temporary phenomenon, who knows.

Now to Voldemort: Of course he is a bit too scary for
our normal human Muggle- world. You just don't meet
this kind of person in your office or in the
supermarket. OTOH, the books *aren't* about the real
world and in literary fiction pure evil *is* possible.
Now, I can't think of any work of literature where
evil is perfect, the evil ones *always* make their
mistakes, simply because if they didn't, there would
be nothing to write about.
Just think of all the folk tales: The devil makes a
pact with someone and there is always a loophole that
allows the person in question to get his/her soul
saved in the last moment.
Scarpia gets stabbed by Tosca with his own bread-knife
(which is opera, but never mind).
Jago goes to jail, because *finally* people *talk* to
each other, even if a bit too late.
Practically every murderer in crime fiction commits
some fatal mistake and gets caught.
OK, I don't want to make this list too long, everybody
can add their own favourites anyway. What I want to
say is that in the battle of good vs. evil, if an
author decides to have good defeat evil, the latter
just *has* to be weaker or to make some crucial
mistake.
Now, these are books- and we have discussed this very
thoroughly- aimed not only, but also for children,
which means that the good side simply has to win. (And
let's be honest, we also like them to win, don't we?)
Which leaves us with the question ofhowtheauthor
manages to integrate this inevitable pattern into the
plot. IMO, JKR does a very good job here, as she
neither uses the Super Harry-plot model, nor presents
us with a suddenly and incredibly redeemed Peter
Pettigrew, nor makes Voldemort stumble over his robes,
misaiming the cruciatus curse at Lucius Malfoy. 
There are only so many ways of making the fatal
mistake and I think she has chosen the most plausible
one, as it fits best with the characters.

OK, end of rant.
Ceterum censeo: I find the unforgivable curses and
especially the cruciatus extremely scary, because the
one who tortures doesn't even have to overcome the
barrier of actually touching his victim, just point
your wand at a person, say crucio and watch- this *is*
scary.

Susanna/pigwidgeon37 (due for some sleep, but won't
get it)

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