Chapter Discussions: Chapter 8, The Hearing

[Berit Jakobsen]

No: HPFGUIDX 87618

Geoff wrote:
> She did describe them. Bear in mind that she was rather intimidated 
> by the Wizengamot - 50 or so people sitting in a court and most of 
> them looking down their nose at you.
<snip>
> I don't think she made up the fact she could see them. She was 
> overawed - even felt humiliated.

Berit replies:

I agree with Geoff on this one. I belive Mrs Figg gave such a poor 
impression because she was nervous and felt very inferior in the 
presence of the Wizengamot; losing her head almost completely. This 
effect is seen in Muggle courtrooms all the time: Witnesses 
stuttering and stammering, saying things all wrong as if they're 
lying. But they aren't necessarily. One should never judge a witness' 
truthfulness by how well they control their emotions. Likewise some 
very articulate and confident witnesses are nothing but very good 
actors... Many juryes have been fooled by interpreting too much into 
body-language and looks.

I believe there are evidence that Mrs Figg is speaking the truth when 
she claims squibs can see dementors, not just feel them:

1. When she comes running up to Harry after his Patronus has chased 
away the dementors, Mrs Figg speaks about them in plural on more than 
one occasion. How could she have known there were more than one of 
them if she couldn't see them but only feel their presence? Harry 
never told her there were two of them.

2. When Mrs Figg, Harry and Dudley starts to walk in the direction of 
Privet Drive, Mrs. Figg takes the lead and peers anxiously around the 
corner to see if the coast is clear. She asks Harry to keep his wand 
out in case the dementors are still lurking nearby. If squibs can't 
see dementors, why does Mrs Figgs act like she can spot them with her 
eyes? She obviously EXPECTS to be able to SEE them; just look at how 
Rowling writes it:
Quote: "...peering anxiously around the corner... 'What's that at the 
end of the street? Oh, it's just Mr Prentice... don't put your wand 
away boy.'" (OoP p. 25 UK Edition) For a split second she thought 
what she was SEEING might be a dementor.

3. Already from the very start when Mrs Figg walks into the court 
room at the MoM it is very clear she is scared and nervous. She is 
described as "looking more scared and batty than ever", "perched 
nervously on the very edge of the seat", speaking in a "quavery 
voice". In contrast Fudge, who is interrogating her, is speaking in a 
bored and lofty voice. His demeanour gives poor Mrs Figg the very 
clear message of what he thinks about inferior, unimportant squibs 
like her. Not exactly giving her the confidence she needs, is he? 
Humiliating her even more, he actually doesn't address Mrs Figg 
directly when asking whether squibs can see dementors, but looks 
along the rows of the Wizengamot for an answer. He is talking ABOUT 
her over her head, as if she's a child or an animal; not TO her like 
an equal. It is at this point Mrs Figg answers indignantly: "Yes, we 
can!", forcing Fudge to relate directly to her again.

4. "Yes, we can!" said Mrs Figg indignantly (OoP p. 131 UK Ed). Now 
correct me if I'm wrong; English is not my first language. But to me, 
the use of the word "indignant" carries the meaning of something more 
than just being plain "angry" or "annoyed". That's why there are 
several words/synonyms for "angry", aren't there; to signify slight 
differences of meaning. To me, being "indignant" means something like 
being "righteously angry". Also the use of the exclamation mark 
stresses this point. If Mrs Figg was downright lying, she is doing it 
very convincingly :-) Just look at the scene: Scared, batty Mrs Figg 
can hardly string a sentence together, speaking in a quavery voice; 
but when fronted with the question whether squibs can see dementors 
she suddenly comes off very strongly, speaking in a very bold manner! 
Truly indignant at the lack of respect and the wizards' ignorance!

5. Both Harry and the readers can agree on the fact that Mrs Figg's 
explanation that follows is not very convincing. But again; there are 
more than one reason for witnesses to appear "less truthful". Yes, 
Mrs Figg might be lying, but she might also be speaking the truth. 
But because of her state of mind she gets it all wrong. It sounded 
like she had learned it all by heart, but to me that is exactly what 
a very nervous (and truthful) witness would have been doing before a 
court appearance. They would have gone over everything in their mind 
to be sure to remember correctly, but because of their nervousness 
the words don't come out like they were supposed to... 

6. What might the consequences have been if Mrs Figg were indeed 
lying about being able to see dementors? There were plenty of bright 
and learned wizards and witches in the courtroom; any number of them 
could easily have arrested her for her lie. Instead we see that none 
of them protest or speak up when hearing Mrs Figg's indignated 
assertion. I refuse to believe not one of them would have read or 
heard somewhere if squibs could see dementors or not... But if they 
hadn't, it would have been easy to call forward another squib or two 
as a witness to confirm or refute Mrs Figg's statement. Harry's 
future was at stake, and I don't think Mrs Figg would have risked his 
downfall by a lie that could so easily have been found out. Also, the 
way Rowling describes the whole scene it is pretty much obvious 
Fudge's question was just another way of humiliating Mrs Figg. The 
way the Wizengamot accepts Mrs Figg's explanation so easily (no 
further questions to clarify) confirms this.

These are my two knuts :-) I believe Mrs Figg!

Berit