Unforgiveable v. Illegal (Was: Re: Umbridge (WAS: Umbridge's Rape)
ellejir
eberte at vaeye.com
Thu Aug 21 22:13:50 UTC 2003
No: HPFGUIDX 78319
> Elkins wrote:
> <snip>
> But for what it's worth, my understanding of the "Unforgivable"
> designation derives from these two passages, both from
> the "Unforgivable Curses" chapter of GoF.
>
> Crouch!Moody opens his lecture on the UCs with this:
> "So. . . do any of you know which curses are most heavily
> punished by wizarding law?"
> And concludes his demonstration of said curses with this:
> "Now...those three curses -- Avada Kedavra, Imperius,
> and Cruciatus -- are known as the Unforgivable Curses. The
> use of any one of them on a fellow human being is enough
> to earn a life sentence in Azkaban."
>
> The phrasing of those two passages led me to assume that the UCs
> are classified as "Unforgivable," as opposed to merely "illegal,"
> because no mitigating circumstance would be considered sufficient
> either to excuse ("forgive") their use or to justify softening the
> legal penalty.
> <snip>
Me:
The word "unforgivable" certainly connotes that the use of these
curses is *absolutely* taboo; however, Elkins gives several good
examples of people using these curses without the repercussions one
would expect if that were really the case (most notably Crouch/Moody
using the Imperius curse on the DADA students.) Perhaps
Crouch/Moody's statement that "The use of any one of them on a fellow
human being is enough to earn a life sentence in Azkaban" implies
only that the curse alone *may be enough* to get you sent to Azkaban
for life in some cases, but intent and mitigating circumstances can
be taken into account. Notice that he did not say that the use of
any of the UCs *mandates, no questions asked* a life sentence in
Azkaban.
That said, the "unforgivable" label gives these three curses alot of
extra punch. There is an element of shock when Umbridge gears up to
use the Cruciatus curse on Harry, and when Harry uses the same curse
on Bellatrix. The students certainly do not use the UCs to hex each
other and seem to take them very seriously.
In the scene in DD's office when Umbridge is questioning Marietta and
Kingsley "modifies her memory", IMO the description of what he does
and how she behaves seems more consistent with the Imperius curse.
Significantly, JKR does not let the "good guys" use an UC--even to
good ends (at least so far she hasn't--Harry's attempted attack on
Bellatrix excepted.)
Elle (who loves Elkins' analysis of why the UCs were once deemed
unforgivable and had to *force* herself to snip it as she had nothing
to add to it and does not want to run afoul of the snipping police!)
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