[HPforGrownups] Re: Weasleys and the Problem of Money

[Carol Bainbridge]

No: HPFGUIDX 48203

Darla wrote:
>There's been something nagging at me about the Weasleys lack of
>money. If they are so hard up, as they appear to be on several occasions
>(i.e hand-me-down robes, shortage of family owls etc), why did they
>blow the money they won in PoA on a holiday abroad?

Corinth replied:
>I didn't see it as blowing the money on a just-for-fun vacation.  If
>I remember correctly (sorry, no books at my disposal), they traveled
>in order to see Bill, whom they hadn't see in two or three years.
>Why waste the money on luxury items that the family has done
>perfectly well without if they can see their oldest son, and get a
>vacation in the process?

bboy_mn comments:
>I'm inclinded to agree with Corinth, spending the money on a vaction
>to visit their son and to give the kids an experience that they would
>remember for a lifetime is hardly 'blowing it'.
>
><snip> They didn't just hold on to it and let in nickle and dime away until
>it was gone, the did something which to them was spectacular. A once
>in a lifetime opportunity to give their kids something big, special,
>and memorable. It may not have been the most finacially sound choice,
>but by much deeper more heartfelt standards I feel it was the better
>choice.

I think JKR is doing more with this vacation than what we see at this 
point.  Certainly the trip is needed to get the story started -- without 
the picture of Scabbers sitting on Ron's shoulders, Sirius wouldn't go to 
Hogwarts, etc.,  It wouldn't surprise me to learn too that JKR used it to 
tell us something about the Weasley family and their values.  However, I 
think there's even more to it than that and I'm sure we'll be finding out 
what that is later.  I'm sure that the trip was in some way related to what 
Arthur really does at the Ministry of Magic.

Arthur works in the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts office, but then some things 
don't make sense about what he does.  For one thing, after the Quidditch 
World Cup at which the Dark Mark appeared, Molly comments to the Weasley 
children: "Your father hasn't had to go into the office on weekends since 
the days of You-Know-Who."  Why is Arthur's presence required at the 
Ministry?  Are they so short of help that people from every single 
department must come into the office?  That doesn't make sense.  Also, in 
PoA, Ron tells Harry that his dad had to visit Azkaban once.  Why?  Was he 
visiting friends?  That seems odd.  What would Arthur be doing 
there?  Finally, according to _Magical Worlds of Harry Potter_ by David 
Colbert, many scholars believe Egypt to be the origin of magical knowledge, 
and Hermione also mentions how fascinating Egyptian wizards were.  Another 
link to Egypt is the scarab or dung beetle, which the kids have used in 
potions class and which symbolized immortality.  And what is Voldemort 
after?  (Wouldn't surprise me if Egypt turns out to be the place the kids 
will visit outside of Hogwarts.)

I really do think that the Weasleys didn't win this money at all, that it 
came from the MOM and that Arthur was on official business in Egypt.  Of 
course, all this could be coincidence that is just fun to think about, but 
I don't think so.  I think there's something about Arthur's past (and 
present) that explains the deep animosity between him and Lucius.  I think 
Arthur truly loves Muggles and is fascinated by them and that attitude 
makes a perfect cover for whatever it is he actually does.  I think he's 
much more significant than he appears to be on the surface.

bboy_mn again:
>Now a related but slightly different subject. <snip>
>It's true that Hermione said Ron was jealous, but the only
>conversation where Ron gets to speak for himself reveals different
>feeling if you analyse it objectively.

Well, aside from the fact that analyzing literature in a completely 
objective way is near impossible, I still might agree that jealousy is not 
the only thing Ron was feeling.  I do, however, think that was part of it.

bboy_mn:
>It reveals that Ron felt like
>his friendship had been betrayed. So, if the is foreshadowing, it will
>be in Ron feeling deeply betrayed by Harry again, and these
>circumstances will open Ron up to manipulation by other people.

This is certainly possible, but I also think that it's Ron's frustration 
with his position, financial and otherwise, that could lead to his being 
manipulated.  When I think of Ron being manipulated, I always think of it 
as coming from something more "innocent" than jealousy or sense of 
betrayal.  With both jealousy and a sense of betrayal, a person may have a 
feeling of wanting to get even with someone.  I don't think that's true of 
the frustration with lack of money.  If Ron is growing more and more bitter 
about his position, he doesn't necessarily want to be better than anyone 
else or get even with anyone.  It's more of a self-comparison than a 
comparison with others.  I hope that makes sense to someone.  He just wants 
to feel good about himself, but he doesn't need to hurt someone or see 
someone fall in order to get that feeling.

>But I
>don't think for a second that Ron will ever really truly go over to
>the dark side. He will go through a period where his judgement may be
>clouded by emotion, and there for easy to manipulate, but when it gets
>right down to it, Ron will return to his true nature.

That's exactly what I think.  It's also what makes me sometimes think that 
he could end up sacrificing himself at the end, just as he does in the 
chess game in PS/SS.  If he does get manipulated, I would say he'd figure 
it out and do what needed to be done in order for the good side to win, 
even if it meant self sacrifice.