[HPforGrownups] One-Dimensional Dursleys

[yr awen]

No: HPFGUIDX 43099

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Francie said:
To propose a theory myself, I think the Dursleys could be allegorical 
for some of the seven deadly sins, which are Envy, Sloth, Wrath, 
Gluttony, Pride, Lust, and Greed.  Well, Dudley definitely fits the 
gluttony aspect, and Vernon is certainly Wrath personified at some 
points, but what would Petunia be?  Pride?

Obviously, I'm not really sure where I stand on this issue, but I'm 
hoping to pick your brains on this one.  Any thoughts?<<<<<<<<<

I don't think JKR was attempting allegory, because for allegory to work, it has to be consistent -- that is, you'd have to allegorize *all* the Potterverse and its plot. Doubtless someone has done that; if they have.... Ummm, I won't say anything. Yes. To continue, I would suggest an alternative term to 'allegory', and that is 'embodiment.' That would work a bit more smoothly than a word that would have JKR's universe wrenched into some kind of cruel, unnatural system.

Whether they are or not, that I cannot answer. They certainly *seem* to embody some of the more negative characteristics of humankind -- sloth, insatiable appetite, envy, avarice, wrath -- and JKR hasn't really gone out of the way to suggest that the Dursleys have much in the way of any redeeming value. That would lead me to say, tentatively, that she intends for them to be stress sources for Harry, who has to navigate his way through their blind, unreasoning hatred: in this sense, the Dursleys are almost psychomachiac; they embody Harry's own fears and prejudices against which he has to fight if he's to live with some fragment of self-worth.

And for more commentary on that, I'd refer you, and anyone else so interested, to Sheldon Cashdan's "The Witch Must Die: The Hidden Meaning of Fairy Tales" (Basic Books, 1999)-- although I sort of get the sense that, as we're talking about a wizarding world, the referral is somewhat ironic <g>. Still, Cashdan has a lot to say about the consistently one-dimensional witch/evil stepmother, what she embodies, and how she is used by fairy tales to get their respective points across.

Francie:
On the note of multi-dimensional characters, I'd also like to 
register what a wonderful character I think Snape is.  Not that I 
like him as a person, far from that, I'm just highly impressed that 
there's always another layer to him.<<<<<<<<

Yeah, I love him :-) What can I say? He's grown on me. And I don't 'love' him in the sense that I perceive my reality and his fictionality to not be an impediment to our getting married one day -- as you said, I love the complexity of his character <g>

Francie:
Just when you think you've got 
him figured out, he does something to surprise you.  I think the fact 
that Rowling can create such deep characters like Snape makes me 
think the Dursleys are one-dimensional on purpose.<<<<<<

There was a huuuuge, long discussion sometime toward the beginning/middle of July, right when I first joined up, about the Dursleys' one-dimensionality, their social class, and JKR's critique of (or confusion over) the values the Dursleys embody and the values espoused by the rest of the book. I remember only some of it because I was brand-spanking new, but hopefully someone else out there can give a better rundown than the one I won't attempt to do <g>

HF.
--
Habent sua fata libelli.
/Books have their own destiny.\
+ terentianus maurus +


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