Would JKR Make Lupin Evil? Addendum

[catja3000]

No: HPFGUIDX 39789

Hope the looong post I subjected y'all to goes up before this, 
because I wanted to add a brief note to my "plot device" argument.

::puts on folklorist's hat::

The deep structure of the HP novels, like much genre fantasy in 
general, is that of the fairy tale. JKR subverts, spoofs and parodies 
many other genres (school stories, mystery novels), but remains 
faithful to the underlying framework.  The form and aesthetic 
criteria of the fairy tale are very deeply embedded within the 
narrative, and JKR is not interested in fussing with that structure 
(unlike, say, Calvino), as her concerns are elsewhere.  One of the 
key tropes of the fairy tale is that of opposing duality, the 
conflict between a delineated protagonist/antagonist who, 
importantly, mirror each other.  The hero cannot defeat the villain 
unless there's some commonality between them -- Bluebeard and his 
wife both seek the forbidden, Snow White and the Queen are forced 
into competition with each other, etc.  JKR's continual emphasis upon 
the links between Harry and Voldemort show this -- they're, in 
effect, doubles of each other, only Harry is good and Voldie is bad.  
It's the same with Lupin and Crouch-Moody:  Crouch-Moody's likeness 
to Lupin, a likeness explicitly remarked upon, lends him credibility 
and allows his plan to succeed.  As the story goes, there's got to be 
a Faithful Ferdinand for Faithless Ferdinand to get his foot in the 
door.  It's an old, old story, folks, and JKR doesn't screw around 
with something good; she layers it and expands it and tosses in a 
bunch of characters with differing agendas and motivations, but the 
tale-type, the narrative impetus, the fidelity to Story, remains the 
same.  Lupin is exonerated by the plot he's in, as his double has 
been revealed as the bad guy. 

::takes off folkorist's hat::          

I'm not, mind you, suggesting that Fred or George will turn up bad -- 
for all intents and purposes, they function as one character (one 
brain, anyway).    :)

Catja