[HPforGrownups] Re: Coddling

[Janet Anderson]

No: HPFGUIDX 51682

cindysphynx at comcast.net said:

>Yeah, I'm thinking Indulged!Draco sounds about right, dangerously
>close to the line of HoldingHisBreathUntilHeTurnsBlueToGetThings!
>Draco.  ;-)

No, that would be Dudley.

We do not see a great deal of interaction between Draco and his parents, and 
I agree that while Draco is showered with material goods we have no evidence 
that he gets any actual affection or support. (What little evidence we have 
suggests that if he does get such things, he gets them from his mother, who 
didn't want him to go to Durmstrang because it was so far away and who Draco 
leaps to defend when she is insulted).

However, we see a great deal of Dudley's upbringing. Now there's coddling 
for you. Not only does he get everything he wants, but he is also showered 
with affection, support, interest, and boosts to his self-esteem (as if he 
needed it). In fact, I would pass by the word "coddled" and go right to 
"spoiled."

Which ironically is why I think Dudley will probably be redeemed eventually, 
but Draco is a hopeless case.

Remember when someone (I don't know who) said that the reason Harry turned 
out so well after years of neglect from the Dursleys is because he was, for 
about eighteen months, surrounded by constant love?  Well, Dudley is also 
surrounded by love, however misguided its expression. I think he's more 
likely to be turned around, and also more likely to have his parents' help 
and support in doing so. (Remember, Mrs. Dursley *can* say No, when she's 
convinced Dudley's welfare requires it, as with the diet.)

Whereas I do not think Draco has much redemption potential. I think at the 
end of GoF the lines were drawn. If you know there's a war on, you are 
either on one side or the other. Draco, by his own speech, knows what he is 
choosing, and *that's* what makes him evil. (Whether or not he's capable of 
actually carrying anything out is not relevant to the fact that he's made a 
choice.)


Janet Anderson

*    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *
An ordinary person says, "You have a face that would stop a clock." A 
diplomat says, "When I look at you, time stands still."




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