[HPforGrownups] Re: Stags and Rats, Oh My...

[Margaret Dean]

No: HPFGUIDX 34488

abigailnus wrote:

> I have to say that my cultural biases are still showing.  Intellectually
> I understand that a stag is a very powerful symbol, but a part of me is
> still going "Wait a minute!  That's *Bambi's* dad!.

Well, yes, and was he not the noble Lord of the Forest?  Even in
the movie IIRC -- in the book, even more so.

> Regardless, the stereotype of a rat exists whether or not it's true
> about the animal itself - one of the quirks of culture, kind of like
> "Lead on, Macduff" and "Play it again, Sam" - everyone knows the lines
> even though they're misquoted.  So let's just say Peter Pettigrew fits
> the cultural *idea* of a rat, and not necessarily the zoological truth.

Just as Remus' werewolf form (actions, temperament, etc.) is
obviously based on the cultural idea of a wolf, rather than on
the real animal.  Real Wolves Aren't Like That.


--Margaret Dean
  <margdean at erols.com>