Official Philip Nel Discussion Question #2 - Pettigrew!

[kiricat2001]

No: HPFGUIDX 37871

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., "Aberforth's Goat" <Aberforths_Goat at Y...> 
wrote:
> 
> THIS WEEK'S QUESTION
> 
> Peter Pettigrew
> 
> Consider the character of Wormtail (aka Peter Pettigrew).  What
> motivates him?  

 
> - Why doesn't Pettigrew want to kill Harry at the beginning of
> GoF?

I'm ambivalent about Pettigrew's motivations.  His entire demeanor in 
the opening scene in GoF swings from one emotion to another.  He's 
clearly afraid of Voldemort, yet when Voldemort talks about the 
return of his faithful servant and how he needs someone with brains 
and loyalty that has never wavered, implying that Peter does not 
quite fit the bill for any of these attributes, Peter's responses are 
called "sullen" and "sulky."  That strikes me as the attitude of a 
person who thinks he is being taken for granted.  

Perhaps this feeling of being overlooked, of not being given one's 
due, is part of what turned Peter against his boyhood friends.  If 
that's the case, Voldemort may be wise to recognize it before Peter 
turns against him, too.  

So, on the whole, I think Peter does whatever he feels he has to do 
to not endanger himself.  But, and here's where the ambivalence comes 
in, I do think his unwillingness to kill Harry comes from the life-
debt.  Peter, being Peter, may also find the idea of this debt 
uncomfortable and unsettling because he realizes it may cause him to 
act in ways that he wants to avoid.  He might have to cause his own 
injury or death in order to protect Harry and pay off the debt, and 
that's not something that's in his nature.


> - What's in Pettigrew's future? Will he ...
>         Stick to Voldie?
>         Help Harry?
>         Get picked on by the real bad boys?

Yes, maybe and yes. For the Harry question, see above.

Pettigrew will stick to Voldie because he has nowhere else to go, but 
all the while that he throws his lot in with the DEs, he'll be looked 
down upon by them.  I think that they see him as Voldie's lapdog who 
fetches and carries and generally acts as a servant to Voldie without 
having any position in the real wizard world the way that Malfoy and 
McNair do.  Will they torture him, abuse him, etc.?  I think that 
Voldie holds that threat over Peter's head, and may very well be 
amused by allowing his other minions to pick on or torment Wormtail.
Such a charming and happy group of folks, aren't they?

Marianne