LONG: JKR preconceptions females>Snape-ish!Petunia

[darrin_burnett]

No: HPFGUIDX 41150

Laura wrote:


> Also, I'd like to add that Rita has shades of grey as well.  I 
mean, she's not exactly Evil with a capital E, now is she?? She's 
just..unscrupulous. 

Well, as a journalist myself, I consider what she was doing, making 
up quotes and using her power of the press to get personal revenge to 
be the height of evil. I realize JKR was probably making a comment on 
the British tabs, but I get sick of journalism being stereotyped.

But that's OT stuff. On to the Petunia thing.

 And adding to my Petunia theory...which is slowly turning into a wow-
Petunia-is-motivated-by-the-same-things-Snape-is-maybe-they-should-
get-married-or-start-an-Anti-Harry-Potter-club kind of theory (wow, 
there has got to be a better way to put that)...I'd like to point out 
her good points and some things we ought to sympathize with her/find 
her pitiable because of...(yes, it's another list)


Ugh... reading with an open mind, but I despise Petunia. The Dursleys 
disgust me and if it turns out they have been helping all along, it 
had better be a damn good explanation.

 
> a) She does love her son.  And he must be pretty hard to love, 
don't you think?  He's mean to her all the time.
> 


I don't consider feeding him to make him happy love. Petunia reminds 
me a bit of those mothers you see once in a while in the news who 
have made their kids sick so they can "mother" them.

Dudley's fat butt drapes over the side of the chair. His parents buy 
him a TV so he can do nothing but eat.

Petunia, deep down, probably does not want to hurt Dudley and may 
believe she's doing the right thing. But the next time you're out and 
you see a grotesquely obese child, ask yourself if feeding that child 
is "love."


> b) Her problems from Harry are very similar to Snape's.  She hates 
Harry b/c she was jealous of/hated Lily but at the same time feels 
obligated to take care of him because he's Lily's son and he's her 
blood...He hates Harry because he was jealous of/hated James but at 
the same time feels obligated to take care of him because he's James' 
son and he (Snape) has a blood debt to pay.  *looks pointedly at the 
Snape Lovers and shoves Petunia at them* see?  If you can love Snape, 
you can love her.  They're just the same...go on, take her.
> 

Luckily, I'm not enamored with either. Oh, Snape is much cooler and I 
think he's a much more complex character -- but he didn't get that 
way until GoF; until then, he was just a bully. And I do agree that 
had Dumbledore decided Harry was to be raised by a wizard and wanted 
Harry to grow up miserable, he'd pick Snape.



> c) She takes Harry back after he blows up a 
houseguest...personally, I was impressed with the lady.  If I had her 
views towards magic..I'd be too angry and too scared to let him come 
back.
> 

We don't know how Fudge got them to take Harry back. Since they never 
mention Marge again, I wouldn't be surprised if some memory charms 
were involved. I'd definitely not be surprised if money was involved.

Something interesting though. If you re-read the Marge baiting Harry 
bit, you notice that Petunia and Vernon do not appear to have great 
affection for Marge. Oh, they want things to go well so Marge doesn't 
speak ill of them, but there is a sense of "she's here, we have to 
deal with her."

Petunia hates the dog and Marge, though she says she's not 
criticizing Petunia, really insults Petunia's side of the family. 
Vernon tries to get Marge to shut up by pouring more drinks, because 
he knows she's pushing Harry too far. 

Just a thought... maybe those two weren't all together angry that 
Marge got a little comeuppance.

But I still think Memory Charms were involved.

> d)  She really is just like Snape you know..the more I think about 
it, the more sense it makes.  She abuses Harry while spoiling 
Dudley...Snape does the same with Malfoy.  And you know, JKR has 
hinted that the Dursleys were going to play a bigger part in the next 
books.  And I think when it *really* comes down to it, Petunia will 
help fight Voldemort...esp. if she thinks he's a threat to her 
Duddydums.


Dumbledore had better have a really good reason for deciding Harry 
needed to be physically and emotionally abused for the first 11 years 
of his life if he's been orchestrating all of this. And that's what 
this has been, physical and emotional abuse.

And Harry, as he gets older, had better DEMAND that explanation. 
Because if all it is is magic protection on the Dursley household, in 
the form of a secret-keeper or something else, then Dumbledore could 
have found someplace else where Harry wasn't being beaten up by a fat 
slob (and we have hints that it was Vernon as well as Dudley) and 
emotionally abused daily.

And I think it's safe to say that he had an idea of what was going 
on, if Figg was making reports back to him from her watching post.


> e) I really can't think of anything else...but if you agree that 
Snape has shades of grey..I don't see where you can say Petunia 
doesn't.
> 

Maybe she does, but in the end, the shades are only as good as the 
explanations for them. Just like I want a good explanation as to why 
Snape is such a miserable person, I'll want one for Petunia.


Darrin
-- Perhaps Petunia is just motivated by being a miserable person