Is Harry a stoic?

[joanne0012]

No: HPFGUIDX 32855

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., Aja <aromano at i...> wrote:

> Is Harry on record as ever crying? Surely nights alone in a dark scary
> cupboard as a kid might have hardened him, but he must have cried for his
> parents too. . . .  I
> understand he's trying admirably to be strong, to be a man, to accept and
> deal with all that he has seen--but sometimes you just need to cry, and I
> think this was definitely one of those extreme moments. And this makes me
> wonder whether, if he keeps repressing his emotions--we know Harry is very
> private--a moment will come when they have been stretched to the breaking
> point and he'll snap, perhaps in a volatile, self-destructive way. 
> 
> Does anyone else see potential danger in this personality trait of
> Harry's?

I agree that Harry is a Stoic, but I think that's why he will NOT break down.  
Sotics accept fate, destiny, the inevitability of things.  Sh*t happens, it's not 
our fault.  That acceptance is not the same as being "hardened."

I'm sure that the Dursleys treatment of Harry bothered him at one time, but he 
got over it.  He realized that it's not his fault, it's nothing he did or is, they're 
jerks, it doesn't reflect on him.   This realization made him stronger, that's why 
he didn't turn into some sort of angry delinquent despite the Dursleys.  Different 
people cope in different ways.  Just because Harry hasn't cried, or doesn't want 
to cry in front of his friends, doesn't mean that he's bottling up something that 
will inevitably overflow or explode. (An example, on a personal note, my kids are 
still wondering why I haven't cried over their dad dying.)