Female and male characters

[pippin_999]

No: HPFGUIDX 33339

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., "kiricat2001" <Zarleycat at a...> wrote:
> --- In HPforGrownups at y..., "pippin_999" <foxmoth at q...> wrote:
> > 
> > The male characters echo various aspects of Harry's 
struggles.   
> > Arthur, Hagrid, Lupin and Sirius are all displaced and   
deprived 
> > of something important to them.  Snape is also displaced, 
> > although we don't know for sure whether he is an unsung 
hero 
> > or an unpunished scoundrel. Even Dumbledore was 
deprived of 
> > his position for a while.
> > 
> McGonagall ranks 
> > superior to both Snape, who could use some of her fairness, 
> > and Lupin, who could use her self-discipline in dealing with 
a 
> > disliked colleague. It's clear that McGonagall would like to 
> > ridicule Trelawney the way Lupin does Snape, but she 
restrains 
> > herself. If Lupin had done the same, he'd still have a job. 
> > 
> Snip
> 
> I have to take issue with this.  McGonagall makes her feelings 
about  Trelawney and her Seeing abilities pretty clear at the 
Christmas  dinner in PoA.  While she is not openly ridiculing 
Trelawney, her  comments are fairly pointed. 
> 
> And, I also can't agree that it's Lupin's treatment of Snape that 
> lost him his job.  Snape never wanted him to be there and 
used whatever ammunition he could find during the school year 
to undermine  Lupin. <snip examples>

  That's right...she doesn't openly ridicule Trelawney, even though 
she could. She manages to comfort her class when they're 
spooked while making it very clear that though Trelawney is a 
tempting target for ridicule, it is *not* acceptable for anyone  to 
speak ill of her. McG's a team player. Lupin and Snape are 
*both*  loose cannons, IMO.

  Snape didn't want Lupin there, but Lupin took the first step 
toward restarting the old feud...if Lupin had wanted to be 
diplomatic, he could have avoided a confrontation in front of the 
whole class as he does for Hermione, whose greatest fear is 
also a teacher. Hermione's driven attitude toward her studies is 
no secret, after all.
   
   So Snape retaliates with the werewolf business, which Lupin 
(apparently) counters with the vampire essay. Then there's the 
map. Snape doesn't know how Harry got the map, but he knows 
that Lupin knows more about it than he's telling, which is 
confirmed when Snape discovers the activated map in Lupin's 
office. And Lupin, who tells Harry how amazed he is that Harry 
didn't turn in the map, keeps it instead of giving it to Dumbledore.


   Consider how Lupin's actions look from Snape's point of 
view...even if he learned the truth that night from Dumbledore 
and accepted that Sirius was innocent and Pettigrew was the 
traitor,  it's still *Lupin's* fault that Pettigrew escaped. That has to 
be the final straw for Snape, who has, however reluctantly, kept 
Lupin's secret and faithfully supplied him with the potion all year 
despite his misgivings. 

Pippin