Mudbloods, Halfbloods, and Purebloods

[Philip Nel]

No: HPFGUIDX 30485

Greetings, all:

I'm new to the list and thought I'd venture a reply to the questions raised by Joshua Dyal.  Penny writes:

> HARRY AS HALF-BLOOD -- Joshua mentioned that Malfoy never taunts Harry
> with being half-blood.  That may be true, but Riddle certainly tells
> Harry he's a half-blood down in the Chamber of Secrets.  I believe Harry
> is considered half-blood.

Yes, as Lucy Austin pointed out, Harry's half-blood.  We learn in book 1, chapter 4, that Lily's parents were Muggles.  At least, that's the implication of Aunt Petunia's remarks that they were proud having a witch in the family.  Voldemort, too, is half-blood: we learn in chapter 17 of _Chamber of Secrets_ that his father was a Muggle (his mother was a witch).  The intense focus on whether or not a certain character does or does not have magical parentage (or on the degree of magical parentage) seems contrary to the novels' argument that what you do matters more than
to whom you were born.  That is, we learn time and time again that choices are more important than any innate qualities we may or may not have.  As Dumbledore says at the end of _Chamber_, "It is our choices, Harry, that show us what we truly are, far more than our abilities."

If I may be so bold as to suggest it, the question that should be asked is not "is this character half-blood or pureblood?" but "what's the significance of asking such a question in the first place?"  That is, why does Rowling have certain characters care about magical parentage, when other characters do not care in the least?  What assumptions lie behind this concern over purebloods, half-bloods and "mudbloods"?

Best,

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