Mudbloods

[Philip Nel]

No: HPFGUIDX 30524

Dear all,

Catlady (Rita Prince Winston) writes:

> You must be the author of that book I just ordered from Amazon based
> entirely on Penny's recommendation on this list!

Yes, that's me.

> The bad guys care about pedigrees and the good guys don't. I suppose
> that, rather than being a handy way to tell the good guys from the
> bad guys (I don't think Ernie Macmillan is a bad guy despite the
> quote above), it's a mildly preachy way of condemning both racism and
> the class system (both based on pedigrees). The Death Eaters have an
> obvious resemblance to Nazis and NeoNazis (including following their
> charismatic leader), and also an obvious resemblance to the Ku Klux
> Klan (someone on list pointed out how similar the costumes are).
>
> The prejudice is not bound into law like Jim Crow laws, the Death
> Eater organization was not invented by leading members of the
> government to enforce customs generally accepted as laws, and the
> wizarding racists show no sign of wanting to keep the Muggleborn
> around as cheap and subservient labor. They just want to eliminate
> (kill) the Muggleborn.

Rowling has admitted that Voldemort is like Hitler (see the CBC "Hot Type" interview), but what fascinates me is that, while it's true that "bad guys care about pedigrees" and "good guys don't," the distinction between "good guy" and "bad guy" is not so neatly defined.  In _Goblet of Fire_, Ron reveals a learned prejudice against giants: When asked, "What's the problem with giants?" he has a hard time justifying himself.  "Well, they're...they're...not very nice," he says "lamely" (chapter 23).  Cornelius Fudge is not only prejudiced against giants -- as he reveals at the end of chapter 29 ("Dumbledore, you
know what that woman is?") -- but against "Mudbloods," too.  As Dumbledore says to Fudge, "You place too much importance, and you always have done, on the so-called purity of blood!" (chapter 36).  And not only Fudge but Mrs. Weasley is susceptible to the rumor-spreading Rita Skeeter -- Fudge believes the article on Harry's alleged madness (chapter 36), Mrs. Weasley believes that Hermione was two-timing Harry (chapter 31).  Rowling understands that prejudice is insidious, subtle, and easily fed by rumor.  Not only do powerful people harbor prejudices but the apparently "good" characters hold many unexamined
assumptions about certain "types."  So, it's true that Rowling is condemning racism, but she's also saying that racism is not the exclusive province of the "bad guys."

And prejudice is, indeed, entangled with the legal system.  In fact, there seem to be laws combating prejudice as well as laws tacitly condoning it.  For an example of anti-racist legislation, recall Arthur Weasley's Muggle Protection Act (mentioned in _Chamber of Secrets_).  However, recall, too, the caste system upon which the wizarding world operates.  To my knowledge, there are no laws preventing discrimination against giants (or half-giants) -- which is why Madame Maxime conceals her giant parentage and Hagrid doesn't broadcast his.  The social structure of the wizarding world depends upon labor
provided by house-elves who, clearly, do not have the same degree of rights that wizards have.  And what of the status of goblins?  I don't think that their role in the wizarding society has been as clearly defined as the house-elves' role has been, but we do hear of the goblin rebellions, and we know that goblins seem relegated exclusively to jobs dealing with money.  The goblins are money-lenders: they run the bank, and the loan money to Ludo Bagman.

So, that's why I asked these questions in the first place.  To ask what percentage of "pureblood" heritage a character has is to ask the question of a prejudiced character; in fact, asking such a question unconsciously replicates the very belief systems that Rowling criticizes.  On the other hand, asking *why* certain characters are obsessed about heritage allows us to think critically about the cultural beliefs of the wizarding world.

Best regards,

Phil
--
Philip Nel
Assistant Professor
Department of English
Denison Hall
Kansas State University
Manhattan, KS 66506-0701
U.S.A.
-----------------------------------------
http://www.ksu.edu/english/nelp/
philnel at ksu.edu