[HPforGrownups] Malicious vs. mischievous (was Re: Lupin's Edge/Twins' Edge?)

[ladjables]

No: HPFGUIDX 36013

Elkins, 
I had trouble understanding how the twins' teasing,
especially of their siblings, could be construed as
malicious.  It then occurred to me(!) that perhaps I
just don't get your use of the word malicious.  So, I
consulted a dictionary or two.

Collins defines:
1.malice-the desire to cause harm in others.
2.mischief-the inclination to tease or annoy, NOT
malicious behaviour.

While the OED:
1.malice-the desire to harm or cause difficulty to
others, ill-will.
2.mischief-troublesome but not malicious conduct,
playfulness. 

Do either of these definitions adequately cover the
concept of malice as you see it?  I'm assuming your
definition lies somewhere in between.

Now, there ARE malicious pranksters, but IMHO, the
twins' pranks stem from a love of mischief, not
malice.  They like harrassing people, and they're
often inconsiderate, but malice implies intent to
cause pain.  I don't think the twins really have it in
for anyone.  I see them more as artists, devoted to
creating and executing the perfect prank, as their
testing of Wizard Wheezes demonstrates.  

Regarding the twins' treatment of Percy, you wrote:
>I don't think it's accidental that they go after
>Percy on precisely the same points for which he is
>always being praised by their mother, or for which
>they themselves are always being *criticized* by
>their mother.

Percy has always been perceived as an insufferable
prig.  But Ron, in SS, confides in Harry about having
a lot to measure up to, and notes that F&G get good
grades.  And yet Percy was already a target way back
then.  So it's not Percy's academic achievements, it's
his attitude, revealed by his penchant for bombast,
that convinces the twins ol' Percy needs taking down a
peg.  And he does!
  
I believe if the twins really were malicious, if they
had really taken their mother's words to heart, they'd
have become saboteurs.  Yet in GoF we never see the
twins stealing and altering Percy's homework or
destroying his cauldron reports; instead, they limit
their pranks to childishly bewitching his badge and
sending him dragon dung at work, hardly spiteful IMO. 


I think that F&G's prank playing is a coping
mechanism; like Percy's ambition and Ron's temper,
it's their way of dealing with poverty (and it may
very well be their way out, if the joke shop gets off
the ground!)  Perhaps they think laughter is the best
medicine and because it works for them, it will also
cure everyone's ailments-Percy's bigheadedness
especially, Ginny's fear is another.  This sort of
gives them a unique responsibility in the Weasley
family.  They may be perceived as thoughtless, but
they're well-meaning too. Thus I can't see their
actions as malicious and therefore make the
distinction between malicious and mischievous
pranksters.  
Ama/ladjables







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