[HPforGrownups] Death, DADA teachers, looks (was Of Crushes, Kickers of Buckets and Creeveys)

[Vicky Ra]

No: HPFGUIDX 21066

Tabouli: You know, I actually liked Hermione Goes Gorgeous,

So did I. I thought it was sweet.

Tabouli: and since reading people's grumbles, I'm trying to analyse why.  It
may have been as a backlash against the "a woman only has a right to either
brains or beauty" argument.  The ol' Just World Hypothesis, *no-one* is
allowed to have it all, it's not fair, which is why anyone who appears to
have too much in a desirable domain (beauty, brains, money, talent, etc.)
has to be very careful, lest other people get out their daggers and rip
him/her to shreds to find some terrible character flaws or gaping voids in
other domains or prove that they're Not So Great After All to make them feel
better about themselves.

Erm. I'm one of those nasty people who think that way.

<snip>

Tabouli: Another possibility (or another dimension of my reaction) is that
Hermione copped a lot of rudeness about her looks in GoF, from Snape, Pansy,
Draco, Parvati, Rita and so forth, and I felt a bit of "so there!" on her
behalf when she showed 'em at the Yule Ball.  Hassling an adolescent girl
about her looks is very very cruel.  And good on her even more for not
having her head turned by it afterward!

I didn't think of that. I'd thought she'd done it for Viktor. But honestly,
it's not practical to spend 3 hours on hair and/or makeup every day.

<huge snip of various responses>

Tabouli: I always did think that hiring an incompetent like Lockhart for a
subject as important as DADA for a year was a trifle irresponsible.  All the
same, JKR once said that Dumbledore hired Snape despite his nastiness
because he believes that school should provide a range of life experiences,
and teachers like Snape provide one of them.  Could the same argument be
extended to Lockhart?

Perhaps. Or maybe he was just tricked, like everyone else who thought
Lockhart actually did the stuff he wrote about. But it just occurs to me
that the only people who thought he did that stuff was Molly and Hermione.
Hmmm, I guess your theory's right. But I'd rather not have had the class,
then to have it taught poorly.

Tabouli: As for Quirrell, I didn't think it was clear that he was as useless
as Lockhart:

Yes. He probably did know his stuff. But how'd he get stuck with Voldie? Did
he agree to let him possess him, or was he threatened with death?

<snip>

Tabouli: Reading this list, I realise just how hard I worked to track down
all of the chats with JKR on the web!  In one of them, she said that
characters would continue to die, and that (in OoP?) one would be someone
her readers "really gave a damn about", unlike Cedric, who was pretty
peripheral in the grand scheme of things.

Good. She's going for realism. I'd be disappointed if it were one of those
glossed-over series. Then again, I can't bear the thought of dear Remus
dying, though I do see your point of him being somewhat peripheral. I'd miss
Snape and Hermione as well.

Tabouli: She also said something like "the next book will mark the end of an
era", which kind of hints at (the pointedly ageing in GoF) Dumbledore,
doesn't it?

Yeah. I did notice how the fact that Dumbledore was old and weary kept being
repeated in that particular book. I, too, see him dying. It just seems
inevitable, though I'm thinking he'll go in book 6. That would certainly be
sad, though it'd be interesting how the team pulls itself together
afterword, and if any reconciliations will happen, seeing as rivals have to
work closely with each other for the cause.

Vicky