[HPforGrownups] Re: Musings on Draco/corrigendum

[ladjables]

No: HPFGUIDX 35716

I'm not a Draco/Hermione shipper, and I don't think
JKR is taking us down that road at all.  But I wasn't
clear on this issue so let me try to unpack my
thoughts:
--- uncmark <uncmark at yahoo.com> wrote:
> I posted on my Nephew's idea on a Draco/Hermione
> match because he  says Draco warned Hermione at the
> World Cup.  As I remember it, Draco warned Harmione
> to "Watch out if you don't  want everyone to see
> your knickers!" 
 
 And in response I wrote:
> uncmark, I think your nephew's very clever.  You
> should listen to him, he knows how teenage boys
> think!  I remember reading this and thinking exactly
> along the same lines.  Well, I'm not a 13 year old 
> boy, but I did wonder for a minute if Draco had 
> started to notice Hermione as a girl first, and a 
> mudblood second.
> ------- 
> Draco's prejudice doesn't preclude normal, human,
> adolescent  emotions. Hormones, those hormones, 
> determine feelings for the opposite/same sex!  It's
> not rare for a prejudiced teen to have a crush on 
> someone from another race/ethnicity/gender, because
> he simply can't help the way he feels!  
 

To which uncmark replied:
> Excuse me? You consider Draco's hormones on the same
> level as caring for her?  

Nope, I do not consider Draco's hypothetical
attraction to Hermione the same as caring for
Hermione.  I only meant Draco may have noticed that
Hermione was a mudblood GIRL, not just a "mudblood". 
You use the Ron/Draco contrast well; Ron's upbringing
lets him recognize the treatment of the Roberts'
family as muggle abuse, but don't make me get into
that Uranus joke-teenage boys can be quite crude when
they begin to notice the opposite sex, and I think
your nephew may have recognized this.  Rather than
being strictly racist in that instance, Draco's
referral to Hermione's knickers could imply he is
looking at Hermione differently.

Someone brought up Ron's and Draco's reactions to
Hermione at the ball; they both notice the same pretty
girl, but while the former gets jealous when Hermione
is the recipient of Krum's attentions, the latter just
stares and later makes his notorious "all death to
muldbloods" comment.  So which is it, is Draco
attracted to Hermione or does he want the mudlood
dead?  Well, maybe both.

Draco's supposed attraction to a mudblood girl doesn't
mean he wants to be with her or cares for her in any
way.  He may hate himself for feeling this attraction,
and then direct this hatred to her, enabling him to
see her as a plaything to be used and tortured,
because she's a mudblood.  

uncmark, referring to Draco's mention of Hermione's
undergarments:
>The incident brought to  mind a son of a Grand Wizard
>reveling as his fathers group of Klansman molested a
>black woman. If he warned a black girl that she would
>be next would that show any feelings but the basest?

But do those base feelings exclude attraction?  Who
says these feelings of hatred aren't sparked by
attraction, attraction that is twisted by prejudice?  
 
Hence:
> "on the flip side, realization of such feelings may
> lead to a  more virulent form of prejudice, 
> especially if the person experiences self-loathing,
> and/or is even rejected by the object of his 
> affections.  The suppression of anger and shame in a
> prejudiced mind must be like a powder keg about to 
> go off.
 
I said (admittedly offhandedly):
>So while D/H isn't impossible, Hermione could also
>find herself the victim of unrequited love!
>Talk about putting a fatal spin on the
>Hermione/Draco romance.

uncmark replied:  
>Have you forgotten Chapter 12 of ChofS? Harry & Ron
>as polyjuiced versions of Crabbe and Goyle
>questioned Malfoy about the heir of Slytherin. Malfoy
>knew nothing definite about the heir, but 
>boasted "But I know one thing -- last time the
>Chamber of secrets was opened, a Mudblood died. So I
>bet it's a matter of time before one of 
>them's killed this time.... I hope it's Granger," he
>said in relish"
> 
>Doesn't sound too subtle or hidden. Draco would like
>H dead. 

Except I think this is before Draco "notices" Hermione
in GoF, but if you follow my reasoning, he may want
her dead now more than ever...
 
On Draco's redemption, I mused:

> Since redemption is about delivering from evil and
> all that, who would make a better candidate than 
> Draco, ignorant child of aristocratic bigots?  He 
> is, after all, still a child, and as far as I'm 
> concerned, still teetering on the precipice
> overlooking damnation.   

to which uncmark replied:
> Still a child? In Tacoma Washington last year a man
>was beaten to death by a gang of kids ages 11-17 and
>they were discussing charging all of them as adults 
>(I think the youngest charged as an adult was 13) 
  

You're right of course, children can commit heinous
crimes, as your example illustrates, but Draco hasn't
beaten anyone to death.  I'm not excusing him for
being a prejudiced little twerp, but he's not
Voldemort, so far, he's just been mouthing off.    

uncmark: 
> I think her treatment of the Malfoys might be JKR's
> greatest challenge. It's easy to write racists, It's
> hard to write multi-dimensional characters. > 

Malcolm X experienced a volte-face after visiting
Mecca and renounced his racist views towards whites. 
I personally would like to see more complex,
prejudiced characters, because they're more realistic,
and teach a far more useful lesson than caricatures,
but I don't know if that's how JKR intends to treat
the Malfoys.  Perhaps we should keep an eye on the
Dursleys instead.
 
Ama/ladjables

Corrigendum for mudblood as epithet post: Draco uses
"mudblood" 4 times in CoS, not once.  I suppose that
theory is ruined, dagnabbit...






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