Good characters going bad...specifically Wormtail

[Haggridd]

No: HPFGUIDX 20226

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., catherine at c... wrote:
> --- In HPforGrownups at y..., Penny & Bryce Linsenmayer
<pennylin at s...> 
> > I don't think any of our "good guy" characters would *choose* to 
> *turn*
> > the Dark Side.  I think any of them are susceptible to becoming a 
> pawn
> > of the Dark Side.  They all have some character trait that could 
be 
> used
> > against them.  
> 
> I totally agree with this.  I can't see any of them making a 
> conscious decision to join Voldemort.  This isn't however, a "me 
too" 
> post - it reminded me of some comments I wanted to make about 
> Wormtail.   I had been trying to figure out why exactly he joined 
> Voldemort, as I was thinking that if it was the story of James, 
> Sirius, Lupin and Wormtail we were following, we would probably 
> thinking the same about him as we think about our current "good
guy" 
> characters - that there is no way he would've joined the Dark Side. 
 
> 
> Voldemort seems to me to be a pretty good judge of character, 
whether 
> this is magically assisted or not.  I think that he had various
ways 
> of recruiting wizards to his side, and of bending people to his 
> will.  There are, of course, many who are inclined that way, who 
> would not need persuading.  There are others who he knows would 
never 
> join him - people such as James, Sirius, Barty Crouch Snr, 
> Dumbledore, Mr Weasley - these are the people who would be most 
> likely coerced into something against their will, by utilising the 
> imperious curse (as we saw with BCS) - which works with varying 
> degrees of success.  Wormtail, I think, fits into a third,
inbetween 
> category.  Their instinct isn't for evil, or for joining the Dark 
> Side, but they would do so if a) it is the easier option, 
> and "nothing seems to be gained from resisting" (Wormtail, 
> paraphrase, PoA) or b) they were too scared to do otherwise.  I 
think 
> the slightest threat of the cruciatus curse or death would have
been 
> enough to sway Wormtail, and I think there are plenty of others out 
> there who would do exactly the same thing - whether any of our lot 
> would is a debatable question.  
> 
> There are probably other factors at play with Wormtail - both push 
> and pull.  JKR portrays him as a sulky little boy during the scene 
in 
> the Riddle house with Voldemort.  Sulky and resentful.  I can
easily 
> see him behaving like this with his old school friends - knowing 
that 
> he isn't as good a wizard as they are, and that they seem to 
overlook 
> him would have made him feel resentful, and very much on the 
> periphery.  I am sure Voldemort knew this and used it to his 
> advantage, and in doing so, scared Wormtail into doing his bidding, 
> and poisoning him against his friends in the first place.
> 
> So I think that Wormtail's motivation was primarily fear - 
> cowardice.  I also think it likely that he regrets this now.  He 
> spends 12 years as a rat, then returns to a master who tortures him 
> for fun, or to teach him a lesson, and whom he finds repulsive.  He 
> is like a child who needs someone stronger than him to lead him - 
and 
> he swapped good people such as his Hogwarts' friends for someone
who 
> doesn't unintentionally ignore him, but who treats him very badly.
> 
> He is never going to be happy and I think he knows it.  Finally, if 
> anyone is going to be offered the chance of some kind of
redemption, 
> I believe it is him.  It is possible that JKR drops a hint about 
this 
> when Dumbledore is telling Harry that it wasn't a bad thing he does 
> when he saves Wormtail's life, and that he may be glad of this one 
> day.  I am hoping that there comes a time when Wormtail finds the 
> courage to do something good, and turn away from Voldemort.
> 
> Catherine

If there is anything like a "sure thing" in the HP saga, it is that 
Wormtail will redeem himself.  The textual clues, IMO, go far beyond 
the sowing of possible red herrings, and JKR is waving that big ol' 
red flag.  She would break faith with her readers not to follow up on 
these clues. More reasonably subject to speculation are some of those 
other characters about whom we have all spoken:  Percy (I think he 
will be duped, at least by LV); Draco (irredeemable, if any character 
is);  Ron (people have made a case for it, but I don't think so, 
myself);  even Karkaroff, whom I think is that kind of turncoat 
despised by both sides.

On another topic, As soon as I have heard enough more new voice 
characterizations, I'll be posting another interim report on Dale v. 
Fry.  TTFN

Haggridd