Percy- a little odd? and the Wonderful Weasleys

[abigailnus <abigailnus@yahoo.com>]

No: HPFGUIDX 48987

Steve has written a very interesting post about why Percy 
is the way he is, but I'm afraid I have to take issue with its 
underlying assumption:

> We all have roles we play in our family dynamic. Percy plays the role
> of 'The Good Boy'.  And he does rebel, when you are in a family of
> rebels, you rebel by being a conformist. 

I don't quite see how the Weasley can be described as a 
family of rebels.  If they are anything, the Weasley are a 
bastion of middle-class propriety, with a bit of eccentricity 
thrown in.  Let's look at the various family members and 
the arguments for and against classifying them as rebels:

Arthur:   (for the sake of this argument I'm ignoring the 
various Imperius, Auror and Operative theories)
Not a Rebel - Hard-working, under-payed government 
employee.  Dedicated to his admittedly dull work, which he 
carries out concientiously - look at the pains he goes to to 
get his Muggle Protection Act passed.  
Rebel - Intentionally wrote a loophole into his own law that 
would allow him to create a flying car.  Note, however, that 
Arthur never actually flew the car himself, and we have no 
idea how long he had it for.  This suggests that he was 
never going to fly the car, and only built it to have.

Molly:
Not a Rebel - Devoted wife and mother.  Almost too devoted, 
in fact.  Constantly attempts to curb her family's improprieties.
Rebel - You must be joking, right?

Bill:
Not a Rebel - Former Head Boy. Currently employed in a 
prestigious position in the only Wizarding bank.  Brought into 
the 'new crowd' and given an important task by Dumbledore 
at the end of GoF.  
Rebel - Described by Harry as 'cool'.  Wears his hair long and 
has an earing.

Charlie:
Not a Rebel - Gainfully employed in a job that requires 
responsibility and care.  Counted his dragon eggs before 
showing them to Hagrid.
Rebel - Resembles Fred and George and was also on the 
Quidditch team, suggesting that there may be a resemblence 
in personality as well.  Arranged for Norbert to be smuggled 
out of England, which was presumably illegal.

Fred & George: 
(I'm aware that there has been some discussion recently 
about the differences between the twins, with the conclusion 
being, once again, that George is the 'nice' one.  My feeling, 
long held, is that if JKR intended to make the twins walk 
different paths, she should have tried harder to differentiate 
between them from the start, instead of introducing them by 
having their own mother confuse one with the other.)

I'm not even going to bother with these two, especially as it 
might send us right back into the 'Twins as Bullies' debate or 
some derivative of it.  We all know what the twins are like.  
However, it has been pointed out recently that the twins do 
get good grades, and in GoF it's evident that they have 
begun to seriously think about their future.  

Ron and Ginny:
Both are too young to have discovered in themselves the ability 
to rebel - against their parents or against the institutions around 
them.

A rebel, to my mind, is someone who eschews the trappings 
and confines of society, and makes his own laws.  He shows no 
respect for rules and regulations when these stand in his path, 
and seeks alternatives to the social model he has been taught 
to accept.  I don't think the Weasleys fit this mold.  With the 
exception of Molly and Percy, they all engage in activity that is 
extra-legal or falls slightly outside the confines of what society 
calls acceptable, but none of those actions are motivated by 
disrespect for society and its institutions.  

I doubt that Percy's personality stems from a backlash 
against his family, at least not fundamentaly.  I suspect 
that Percy is simply a bit of a square.  He was born that 
way, and he could probably live a rich and fulfilling life as 
a bit of a square if he only learned not to take himself so 
seriously.  The only problem is that, as Steve points out, 
Percy's family dynamic doesn't encourage him to lighten 
up.  Where he and I disagree is the debate on what came 
first - the family dynamic or Percy's big-headedness.  I 
don't accept that Percy's family has forced him to play the 
role of 'The Good Son', and that if he were to look deep 
inside himself he would find a cool person waiting to come 
out - if only because there already is a Good Son - Bill, and 
he is approved of by all members of the family, from the 
twins to Molly.  I see it the other way - Percy started out a 
fuddy-duddy, and having been born into a family of 
eccentrics found that he had trouble connecting with them.  
As Steve points out, Percy would be  unlikely to take the 
hazing that must pass for brotherly interaction in the 
Weasley family with good grace, as the other siblings do, 
and his no doubt indignant reaction served to alienate him 
from his brothers.  

It's also worth pointing out that Percy is obviously his 
mother's son, and the only one of his siblings who is 
strictly Molly.  The twins I see as hyper-Arthur, Bill as a lot 
of Molly with a healthy helping of Arthur, Charlie as the 
opposite - a lot of Arthur with some Molly. With the younger 
children it's too soon to tell, but I think Ron is a lot more like 
Percy then he likes to admit - one of the things he saw in the 
Mirror of Erised was himself as Head Boy.  It must be a bit 
lonely for Percy, being so obviously different from all his 
brothers, wanting different things.  Does Percy seek approval 
from his father and older brothers?  Yes, probably, but I think 
what he wants more then that is to be one of the guys instead 
of constantly being the odd man out.

Abigail