Edge/Evilness Compatibility

[charisjulia]

No: HPFGUIDX 38343

Laura Huntley wrote:


>Charis Julia again:
>>Hmmm, can one actually have Edge and be Evil 
>>simultaneously? Wouldn't the one cancel the 
>>other out? Dunno. 
>
>Oh, of course! *pauses* Well, I suppose it depends on your 
definition of "Edge". 
>I mean, there can certainly be Evilness without Edge *and* Edge 
without
>Evilness...but I think that they could coexist as well.
>


Still not fully convinced. <shrugs> Guess it really does depend on 
your definition of Edge. Is there a single, established, universally 
accepted interpretation of Edge we could look up anywhere or is it's 
understanding purely subjective, allowing each individual license to 
determine it as they will? Huh. Wouldn't know.


But see, what my problem is, is this: a long time ago, while 
discussing Edge, kimberly expressively illustrated Lupin as an only—
just—under—control—volcano and this is also how I tend to think of 
him. And, see, the thing is, once a volcano's actually gone and * 
erupted*, well, nobody's really going to be sitting around worrying 
if it * will*, are they? They're all just too busy running.


And that's just it.


Lupin is of course the supreme example of Edge and, well, Lupin, he's 
* nice* really, isn't he? Or should be. Or would be. If.


But (thankfully) he's not. He's got Edge. <Yay, Edge!> And Edge, 
always for me , is just that: Something That Is Not Quite Right. 
Something that makes you say, "Yes, well, I like him and all, 
but. . . Hmmmm. . ." Something you just can't pin—point, but is 
indubitably, beyond a shadow of a doubt, unmistakably * there*. But 
you Just Can't Be Sure.


And of course, in this sense, Edge really is incompatible with 
Evilness. Because once you've really, actually taken the leap and 
gone * over*, then there is no Edge. You' ve passed the Edge. Off it. 
You're smack—bam at the bottom of the bloomin' cliff! Once you're 
Evil, there's nothing there anymore for people to wonder about. Now, 
they * can* Be Sure, they * can* pin—point it. You've made it crystal 
clear: Not only is Something Not Quite Right, but in fact* 
Everything* is spectacularly Very, Very * Wrong*.


Do you see what I'm getting at?


In this sense I can't accept that Mrs Lestrange has Edge. She's 
certainly got something of course, you're right. But I'm just not 
buying Edge.


What has she got? Err. . . oooh. . . toughie. Mrs Lestrange, well, 
she kinda steals the show, doesn't she? I mean there's poor old Barty 
frantically giving the best performance of his life and is anyone 
desperately pairing him off with every eligible witch? No, they're 
all too preoccupied with Flo, whose whole repertoire consists of 
hardly four (* four*!) flimsy lines, for Pete's sake! I mean it's 
downright insulting, it is!


Mrs Lestrange has. . . she has. . . well, in greek I'd say she has * 
tipos*, but I honestly have no idea how to translate that. Pizzazz? 
Spark? Flare? Personality? Ahhh, I give up. What Mrs Lestrange has is 
that rare quality of ultimate attractiveness. She's the kind of 
person who when they walk into a room, everybody just * knows* 
they're there. She's the kind of person you just * don't* forget. You 
can't. Even if you want to. (though, must point out, the occasional 
Cruciatus zap does help a * great * deal in this direction. . .)


Mrs Lestrange is just Dead Sexy.


Laura again:


>Crouch Jr., for instance,
>is sort of Edgy to me...however Wormtail wouldn't know Edge if it 
striped naked
>and danced the Macarena for him. Conversely, Lupin is the classic 
example of
>Edge, while Arthur Weasley hasn't got it at all.


Ooooh, you think Barty Jr. had Edge, huh? Humph. Bother. Got me 
there. . . Boy. Stumped. Huh.


Now, you see, I can't properly deny that Moody/Crouch * does* have 
Edge. All though GoF you're wondering about him: "Is he Bad? I think 
he's Bad. He must be Bad. He's * acts* Bad. Errr, but that could just 
be his style. And he * is* Dumbledore's friend. And surely Seriously 
Evil Wizards can't very well go around bouncing ferret—pupils off the 
ceilings, can they? I mean, what a give—away! Nah, he's Good. He must 
be Good. He * acts* Good. But then again. . ."


So, yeah, for most of the book little Barty does in fact give a 
admirable show of Edge. But nevertheless, I'm not really so sure this 
is really his own inherent charactaristic as opposed to something 
simply __acquired__ by dint of playing--acting. Something that 
somehow came with the part, if you know what I mean. Or is even 
actually nothing more than an indication, a symptom, of it all * 
being* an act. Let's see if I can explain. . . errr. . . he's acting, 
right? He's not being himself. And though he is of course 
astoundingly brilliant at it, he can't pull it off completely. We 
still know that Something's Not Quite Right. We still * wonder*.


But the Not—Rightness, see, it doesn't actually * belong* to Barty. 
Not like it does to Lupin at least. Barty's just pretending. And so, 
when the shows up and he's revealed for what he truly is, whatever 
Edge he had disappears into thin air. With Lupin on the other hand, 
the effect is quite the reverse. Lupin Edge is actually * 
intensified* by the knowledge of his history.


I just think Barty forfeited all his Edge in favor of the Complete 
Loonybin look. That's all.


Moody. Now * he* might have Edge.


Charis Julia, who would desperately love to have some Edge, but is 
pretty sure she's prominently lacking in it. <sigh> Goodnight.