[HPforGrownups] Serpents and Parseltongue

[Sherry Garfio]

No: HPFGUIDX 46874

Julie Stahlhut wrote:
> I'm wondering what people think about the generally poor 
> reputation assumed for both serpents and Parselmouths in the 
> HPverse; I'm not convinced they always hold true even in canon.  

I think that the circumstances surrounding Harry's exposure as a Parselmouth
affected people's view.  Salazar's heir was foremost in the students' minds,
and they would naturally be wondering who the heir was; they were bound to draw
the conclusion that Harry is the heir.  Under normal circumstances, discovering
that their famous classmate is a Parselmouth would inspire comments like "Cool,
he can talk to snakes!" and "Eew, he can talk to snakes!", particularly given
that Harry is credited with defeating Slytherin's last known heir.

> So -- Maybe Harry did get his Parselmouth fluency during 
> Voldemort's attack, but the fear it inspires among other wizards 
> seems based completely on prejudice due to the Slytherin crowd 
> having used it to control serpents and make weapons of them.

And there tends to be a basic mistrust of snakes in many people.  It may be
unfounded, but it is there.

> Could there be other good Parselmouths besides Harry?

Absolutely!  My guess is that Parseltongue is a gift like any other - good
people and bad people are equally likely to be endowed with it.  I also believe
that Harry will use it to his advantage in future books (more so than just
making Dudley wet his pants, that is).

- Sherry
Who immediately went and ordered "Harry Potter's World: Multidisciplinary
Critical Perspectives" on Amazon yesterday on the recommendation of another
listee, and finds today that it's not expected to ship until Nov 27 - how many
of us ordered that thing, anyway?


=====
"The one thing that unites all human beings, regardless of age, gender, religion, economic status or ethnic background, is that, deep down inside, we ALL believe that we are above-average drivers."

      -Dave Barry, "Things That It Took Me 50 Years to Learn"

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