Sociopathic Sirius?

[Penny Linsenmayer]

No: HPFGUIDX 47343

Hi all --

Judy said:

<<<<<I'd say that Snape is far higher than Sirius in introspection.  <snip> Sirius, on the other
hand, is much more interested in external stimuli.  He wants action. 
He likes socializing and playing jokes.  He's not the type who wants
to spend his time sitting by himself, lost in thought. The
psychological term for this is extroversion.>>>>>>>

I agree with you in general, however, I do want to point out that the Sirius you describe, if ever he existed for certain, existed 14 yrs ago ..... before Azkaban.  I am not sure if it's the comparison that Hagrid makes between James/Sirius as a pair of "trouble-makers" and the Twins ......but a fair number of people have the definite impression that Sirius likes to "play jokes."  That's not canon.  He could be a troublemaker but not be keen on practical jokes.  The Twins are practical jokers, but they may not be *exactly* the same kind of troublemakers that James and Sirius were.  I think most people have the impression that Sirius is more extroverted than introverted, though I expect his time in Azkaban could have made him more introspective on the whole than he might previously have been inclined to be.

Judy again:

Sirius and PTSD

<<<<As Penny mentioned, I don't subscribe to the theory that Sirius'
behavior in PoA can be explained by PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress
Disorder.)  Symptoms of PTSD usually don't appear until *after* the
trauma is over.>>>>>>

As Marina said, I subscribe to the idea that the trauma, the triggering event for Sirius, was the death of the Potters and the escape of Pettigrew.  I think you are correct Marina that Monika originally espoused this theory.  

Marina went on to say:

<<<<One of the classic symptoms of PTSD is fixation on the trauma:

"Long after the danger is past, traumatized people relive the event 
as if it were continually recurring in the present... The traumatic 
moment becomes encoded in an abnormal form of memory, which breaks 
spontaneously into consciousness, both as flashbacks during waking 
states and as traumatic nightmares during sleep."*

Sound a lot like what the Dementors do to you, doesn't it?  In 
effect, Sirius spent twelve years trapped in a continuous post-
traumatic flashback.>>>>>>>>>>

As someone close to me was diagnosed with PTSD in the recent past, I can attest that this sounds quite correct from where I'm sitting.  I agree that he likely spent his Azkaban years trapped in a continuous trauma state.  Ergh.  

Judy: <<<<I don't believe that a few months in the tropics could undo the damage caused by 12 years of hell.  Saying that Sirius has recovered by GoF implies that people can recover quickly from years of trauma, and I
don't think that's true.  Portraying Sirius as recovering so quickly
bothers me because people who've been traumatized in real life are
often told to "just get over it" and are pressured to recover quickly,
even if that just isn't possible.>>>>>>>>

Again, I agree with Marina.  We don't see Sirius on a regular basis in GoF, and he certainly has forewarning of impending contact with Harry to prepare himself to put up a front of someone who's functioning quite fully.  This doesn't mean that this is actually happening though.  I don't expect he's recovered at all, and if he and the other "Old Crowd" members remain in a heightened state of alert for the next few years fighting Voldemort and the DEs, then I rather expect it may be some time before he recovers fully (an idea that Carole and I explored quite fully in our fanfic, ASA).  

<<<<Here's a question that I've been meaning to ask Sirius' (many) fans.
Did you like him in PoA?  Or, did you not start to like him until you
read GoF?  I'm wondering if people like him *because* of his actions
in PoA, or *despite* his actions in PoA.>>>>>>>>>

I loved him from the point at which his eyes become "over-bright" and he says that he "as good as killed them."  I was completely hooked by the time Sirius asked Harry to live with him.  He was one of my favorite characters from that point on, as I waited impatiently for GoF to arrive, hoping desperately that he (Sirius) wouldn't be the much-touted death of GoF.  I remember reading the final 30 pages of GoF, after Cedric had been killed, completely convinced that Cedric could not have been *the* death .... no, Dementors in the castle ... I was just sure that Sirius would be killed.  :::shudders:::::   

Penny
(who has just mentally moved Sirius definitely to the #3 spot....)

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