Names / Percy's Character Flaw

[Philip Nel]

No: HPFGUIDX 37317

Dear all,

I should confess that the list's extremely high rate of activity means that I don't get to read every word of it.  So, apologies in advance if anything here is repetitive.

OTR adds:

> And a sister whose name, if not short for Virginia (for the
> Virgin Queen, Elizabeth I), could be short for Regina, which is Latin
> for queen (source: http://www.behindthename.com/nm/r2.html).
>
> Of course, if it turns out that Ginny is short for Ginger...

And, now, I add an *extremely* minor point: I think Ginger is short for Virginia, too.  (Virginia Katherine McMath was better known as Ginger Rogers.)

Demeter suggests:

>     Perhaps Percy equates power with money. If he had the money, he
> could help his family the way he wants to. This is all theoretical
> though. Feel free to dispute it. ^__^

Perhaps the Weasley children develop -- or are in the process of developing -- a response to their family's poverty.  Charlie and Bill get good and/or interesting jobs (Charlie's working with dragons, Bill's hunting treasure for the bank); Percy
aspires to be Minister for Magic; Fred and George want to open a joke shop.  I'm suggesting here that the type of job that each seeks is (a) a response to their family's meager financial resources, and (b) tells us something about each one's
character.  Of the five who have graduated from Hogwarts, Percy seems the most interested in status.  He's proud, he's ambitious, he wants prestige.  Fred and George appear to be aspiring businessmen: much more than Percy, these two are interested
in money (see their behavior in _GoF_, for abundant examples).  I don't feel that I know Charlie and Bill well enough, but if I were to speculate on their motivations, Charlie's adventurous and scientifically minded; Bill's job combines adventure
with status, but his status resides more in being "cool" (to cite Harry's first impression of him) than in having a prominent job at the Ministry.  Revisions, additions, subtractions, challenges, etc. to this idea are, of course, welcome.

Cheers,

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