Lockhart - Yuck!

[Indigo]

No: HPFGUIDX 19521

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., "Susan Hall" <shall at s...> wrote:
> 
> >I don't think Lockhart is evil in that sense of the word.
> 
> >I just think he is really self-centered to the point where he 
> >believes his right to fame, fortune, glory and a lifestyle to 
which 
> >anyone would like to become accustomed  supercedes anyone else's 
> >rights.
> 
> and you would define evil as.....?
> 
> Susan

Hmm. How to explain this more clearly without further befuddling what 
I'm trying to say?

Lockhart probably rationalizes to himself that memory charms don't 
really hurt anybody.  

I think he's cowardly and fraudulent more than truly evil.

I don't believe he would wipe out all the muggles if he had the 
chance.  

I don't believe he would even memory charm without a good reason.  He 
actually was trying to teach the DADA class, after all.  He was 
abyssmally bad at it, but if he was all that evil, I don't see him 
treating the students nearly as well.

He treated them like an audience.

He doesn't even consider it.  And if he were truly as evil as all 
that, he could easily have viewed Harry as 'competition' and moved to 
take the young one out of the limelight so Gilderoy could be shone 
upon all by himself at Hogwarts.

I consider him more a tragically flawed character  -- Vanity makes 
him do really stupid things.  But he doesn't do them out of malice.  
He just doesn't _get_ that the world doesn't revolve around him.

Indigo
[hoping that makes more sense]