Jobs in the Wizarding World

[Eric Oppen]

No: HPFGUIDX 41469

I came back from two weeks in California and got the HP4GU list back up, and
my eye was caught by the discussion of class in the wizard world.  I have a
few comments of my own to make, and hope these aren't things that have
already been said.

Firstly---there _are_ people who like undemanding jobs.  Whether they're
just not ambitious and are content with a moderate lifestyle, or whether
they're consumed with some quest that may or may not pay off, many people
are perfectly content to, forex, sell refreshment on the Hogwarts Express,
or drive the Knight Bus.  For all we know, Stan Shunpike's spending his
spare time working on the Great Wizarding World Novel, or painting and
hoping to be the wizard world's answer to Rembrandt.  "Day jobs" have a
long, honored history in the art world, and we see so little of him that
this could well be the case.  Or, to take another example, the witch who
runs the trolley on the Hogwarts Express might have taken the job because
her children are all grown and gone, her husband (if he's alive) is dull
_dull_ DULL, and she just likes getting out of the house and being with
people.  She might even enjoy the annual runs to and from Hogwarts because
she honestly likes children---I'm told that there are people like that.

Secondly, the wizarding world is a sort of topsy-turvy caricature of British
society, so you will have some class issues, but it seems to be fairly
meritocratic; if you've got the wizarding talent to do well, you're in and
can rise as far as you want.  Wizards come from all backgrounds (I'm
grateful to the British listies who've pointed out clues that sailed past me
about things like Neville Longbottom's probable background; I'd never have
spotted that in a hundred years myself) but if, say, Draco Malfoy was a
Squib, all his daddy's money and influence wouldn't be able to help him.  In
some ways, it puts me in mind of the old Chinese mandarinate:  you had to
pass tough tests to get in, but once you were in, you were in and your
family background didn't matter much.  Admittedly, being rich enough to
afford to be able to take the schooling to pass the tests was a big help,
but there were poor peasants' sons who rose to high office in the Chinese
Empire and founded prominent families of their own.  Same goes in the wizard
world, at least as far as I can see:  being of wizard parents helps a lot,
but if you're magical enough to get into Hogwarts, you're _in,_ whether
you're Muggle-born or Malfoy.

*I do wish she'd hurry UP with _Order of the Phoenix!_*