The character I pity the most

[saintbacchus]

No: HPFGUIDX 35538

Hello all! Cutting my teeth here on this weighty
topic. I have to say that I didn't think much about
Frank Bryce the first time through...going in on my
second, I'll be really depressed when he shows up.

In any case, I find it hard to pity characters who
have a lot of, well, character. Lupin and Sirius
have had Troubles, but they don't dwell on it, and
they don't let it stop them. Ditto Harry, and to a
certain extent, Neville Longbottom. Their emotional
reserves allow them to bounce back respectably from
setbacks.

So, I find myself pitying characters who are FUBAR -
those who have let what would otherwise have been
minor neuroses ru(i)n their lives. Namely, Bartemius
Crouch, Sr. and Petunia Dursley. Yes, they've brought
their problems upon themselves, and yes, they could
theoretically change, but they won't. Whether or not
this quality makes them unworthy of sympathy is a
matter of opinion, but in my estimation, this is what
makes them more pathetic than hapless characters like
Cedric Diggory, who are better defined as tragic.

I suppose I should note that I'm hopping over here
from Severus Snape's Slytherin Society - Snape is
also fairly pitiable, although he's on the road to
redemption, so I don't feel sorry for him per se.
Plus he has a never-ending stream of exchange students
and new DADA professors to heal him with good lovin'.
He doesn't really need my pity. ^_^