Sirius

[monika at darwin.inka.de]

No: HPFGUIDX 13607

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., "Horst or Rebecca J. Bohner" 
<bohners at p...> wrote:

> I still don't quite understand the slashing of
> the Fat Lady and Ron's bed hangings (other than that JKR felt this 
was
> necessary to keep up the dramatic tension, of course) because it 
just didn't
> seem in character, and still doesn't.  So I practically ignore those
> incidents, for all intents and purposes, when thinking of Sirius's
> character.

Well, I think it is important for the understanding of his character 
*not* to ignore those incidents. You are right in believing that it
is a plot device, but there is more, because it is also a very
realistic reaction to all he is been through. As Carole explained
in her summary, we believe that he is suffering from post-traumatic
stress disorder, and his violent outbursts fit perfectly into this
theory. For anyone who doesn't know it (sorry to repeat myself), this
is a *mental* disorder that some (not all) people develop after
being exposed to a traumatic event. Year long imprisonment and
torture absolutely qualify as a traumatic stressor. And being exposed
to Dementors over years *is* torture, you won't be able to convince
me that it is not. The longer the trauma lasts or the more often you
are retraumatized the higher the possibility that you will develop
PTSD. There is only so much a human being can take. And if you look
at Sirius' behavior in PoA carefully, you will find that he has some
pretty classic PTSD symptoms. You don't do him justice if you ignore
his ordeal or if you think he got away unscarred. I think JKR did a
very good job with his characterization, including the events that
disturb us like the slashing of the Fat Lady or when he nearly choked
Harry in the Shrieking Shack. At this point, he can't control his
reactions, and I am convinced that we don't see his real self in PoA.
There's a reason why he had to pass the summer (four months to be
precise) in a place where he could feel safe and begin to recover
from the last thirteen years. He seems to be a different man in GoF,
but I truly believe that we finally got a glimpse at his real
personality. I also believe that he has matured a lot, and that's why
he will be a good parent to Harry, once they will have the chance to
be together, something that I don't see coming for a while.

Monika