Fudge is Way Evil and I have the acronyms to prove it

[naamagatus]

No: HPFGUIDX 35863

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., "dicentra_spectabilis_alba" <bonnie at n...> 
wrote:
<ruthless snip> 
> But because few Potterverse characters turn out to be what
> Harry originally thinks they are, I have to anticipate some kind of
> revelation later on. Not so much because I don't believe Harry's
> interpretation to be valid, but because JKR likes to yank the rug 
out
> as often as possible.
> 
> Eloise continues:
> > My view of him is, incidentally the inverse of my view of Snape.
> > I see Snape as a strong man who did evil very deliberately, but 
who
> having
> > realised his error made a principled decision to change sides. I 
see
> Fudge as
> > a weak man, who hasn't decided anything. he's just gone with the
> flow and now
> > he and potentially the rest of the wizarding world are in Big 
Trouble.
> 
> Dicentra replies:
> I think that Big Trouble is definitely what we're in for, but as I
> stated earlier, JKR rarely lets us maintain a particular impression 
> of a character for long.
> 

Okay. This is one of my pet peeves. I've commented on this a few 
times (way back) but didn't get much response. So I'll just say it 
again (in the most provocative way I can :-)) :


MOST Pottervers characters turn out to be exactly what Harry 
originally thinks they are. Moreover, once a character has been 
established s/he NEVER surprises us as far as his/her basic qualities 
go. If you'll think back to the books, you'll see that all the 
characters who surprised us were part of each book's plot and the 
twist in our perception of them serves and is part of the twist in 
the book's plot.

PS/SS: Only two characters surprise us - Quirrel and Snape, both as 
part of the who-dunnit plot. Quirrel, the timid seeming, who turns 
out to be the bad guy, and Snape, the classical red herring, who 
turns out to be a good (well, good-intentioned at least) guy.

CoS: Only Tom Riddle gives us a nasty surprise. Seems a nice, 
upstanding guy, and turns out to be the darkest wizard in a century. 
Ginny is used by him, which is a surprise, but it doesn't shed any 
sinister light on her character. 

PoA: Obviously the major twist involves Sirius and Scabbers. Other 
than that, I don't think there are other surprises as far as 
characters go.

GoF: The final twist - Moody revealed as the evil Crouch. I don't 
think there are other major surprises. Krum maybe? I don't think so. 
Harry's impression of him (and mine) was pretty positive from the 
beginning. 

Apart from these twists, that are very closely tied each specific 
book's plot, NO other characters change in any significant way 
(particularly the Good-Bad affiliation). Even characters such as 
Lupin, who seem suspicious for a while, once their innocence has been 
established, do not change. 
Maybe we should distinguish between "guest appearances" and "regular 
cast". The surprises all come from the "guest appearnace". Once a 
character is established, he DOESN'T change. There are periods of 
time when we are not sure about a character - Dobby in CoS, Lupin in 
PoA, Krum in GoF, but once they are established as innocent, they 
become part of the "regular cast" and DO NOT change. 
This is true for the first four books, of course. To use induction in 
this case is an obvious fallacy, since JKR is not a mindless force of 
nature but a reflexive human being (meaning it might all be a big 
build up for the final surprise - e.g., Voldemort turns out to be a 
misunderstood saint).
No member of the regular cast (so far, of course) has surprised us. 
So, if I apply this to Fudge, I'd say that (as a member of the 
regular cast) he is precisely what he seems to be. Lacking in moral 
courage, tending to avoid nasty realities (remember that "you must 
love each other.. er.. deep down"?) but not affiliated with Evil.


Naama, hoping for some reaction