Not Slytherin, not Slytherin

[dicentra63 <dicentra@xmission.com>]

No: HPFGUIDX 51288

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, Eileen <lucky_kari at y...> wrote:
> 
> I have no doubt that JKR did mean [the dissin' the Slyths] scene as 
> good vs. bad. Slytherin vs. Gryffindor. 
> 
> But I don't care for that sort of dualism. It's
> cheating. It's refusing to face up to the complexities
> of real life. 

Cheating or not, the dualism represented by Slyths vs. Gryffs isn't as
simple as "Harry the Gryff is the hero, therefore Gryffs are good, and
Draco the Slyth picks on him, therefore Slyths are bad."  

Slyths aren't the evil ones because they've won the house cup for 7
years running or because Lucius buys them all Nimbus 2001s or because
JKR needed some villians and decided to dump on one house to make
things easier.

When Harry is Sorted, he knows next to nothing about Hogwarts and the
WW, yet he pleads with the hat "Not Slytherin, not Slytherin." His
desire to not be in Slytherin is powerful enough that the hat puts him
in Gryffindor.

Why are Harry's feelings so strong this early in the game?  Because
his contact with Slytherins and what he's heard about them shows him
the core value of Salazar Slytherin: bigotry.  His first contact with
the name Slytherin is in Madame Malkins, when Draco comments that he
wants to be in Slytherin, then pops off with a whole slew of bigoted
remarks about Muggles and half-bloods and Hagrid.

Later, Harry tells Hagrid about his conversation with Draco.  JKR, as
usual, compresses the retelling--"He told Hagrid about the pale boy in
Madame Malkins"--but then she shows us the last line Harry said:
"--and he said people from Muggle families shouldn't even be allowed
in--"  Again, the emphasis on the WW's bigotry problems.  Then Hagrid
tells Harry that the most evil wizard in recent history was a
Slytherin, as were all the other wizards who went bad.  

His third contact with Slytherin is when Ron tells him that all his
family is in Gryffindor, and that he'd hate to be sorted into
Slytherin.  For some strange reason, Harry likes the Weasleys, even at
this point.  He can tell that Ron is good people--not at all like Draco.

Speaking of the devil, Draco comes into the train compartment.  He
insults the Weasleys and "riff-raff" and offers to help Harry know the
difference between "the wrong sort" and the right sort.  Harry's not
impressed.

Finally, he watches the Sorting Hat place Draco into Slytherin without
any deliberation.  It's no wonder Harry is desperate to not get into
Slytherin at this point.

JKR is most definitely biased against House Slytherin, but it's
because Salazar Slytherin hates "Mudbloods" and wanted to impose that
value system on Hogwarts admissions policy.  Good heavens, the man hid
a *basilisk* in the castle to wipe out "undesirables" centuries after
his death.  His heir--Tom Riddle--mounted an enormous campaign to
"cleanse" the WW of "the wrong sort."

JKR hasn't marked the Slyths as bad just to prop up a shallow
dualism--she's setting up the central conflict of the series:
Muggle-lovers vs. Muggle-haters.  Inclusion vs. Elitism.  Acceptance
vs. Genocide.  Love vs. Bigotry.
> 
> The annoying dualism and shallowness of
> the first book seems to be leaving us, whether it was
> only a trap to catch the unwary, or it's a matter of
> JKR's artistic vision growing. I suspect it's both.

I'd have to add that Harry's vision is growing, too.  It's natural for
an 11-year-old to see the world in black and white.  I'm going to give
her the benefit of the doubt and say that she planned the apparent
shallowness of the first book.

> if she doesn't make this
> Slytherin-Gryffindor thing a lot greyer, I will count
> it as an artistic failure. 

I would like to see more complexity from the Slyths, too, but
considering that they represent a value system that JKR finds utterly
unacceptable, House Slytherin is going to find itself continually
discredited in the series as a means of discrediting bigotry.
 
> And snakes have their ambiguities as well. The snake
> has had a bad time of it in Judeo-Christian tradition,
> to say the least, but there is also much fascination
> with the snake (and its relatives the sea-serpent and
> the dragon (not to mention the basilisk) often all
> brought together under the category "wyrm") as can be
> seen from Classical, Northern, and Celtic legend and
> mythology. 

The snake is a symbol of immortality in many cultures, because it
renews itself when it sheds its skin.  I've heard speculation that in
the Garden of Eden, Satan took on the serpent form because it was
actually a symbol of Christ, which is supported by Moses fashioning a
bronze serpent and raising it up to cure the people of snake bites.
(Here again we have the snake playing the role of good and evil).

It's therefore no wonder that Voldemort looks snake-like: he's trying
to take on the "immortality" of the snake.

> "Listen to me, Harry. You happen to have many 
> qualities Salazar Slytherin prized in his 
> hand-picked students: his own rare gift,
> Parseltongue -- resourcefuness -- determination -- a
> certain disregard for rules."
> 
> I doubt I am the only person to find Dumbledore's
> description curiously positive and respectful, even if
> the text goes on to congratulate Harry for choosing
> Gryffindor.

You'll notice that Dumbledore left out bigotry in that laundry list. 
  What sets Harry apart from Tom Riddle is his attitude towards
Muggles and Mudbloods.  He *chose* to not ally himself with people
such as the Malfoys and become overly proud of his own pure blood.

I'll admit I was baffled in the extreme when I entered HP fandom and
found Slytherin fans.  I had seen the Slyths only as representing
Voldemort's values, and I couldn't see why people would publicly admit
to supporting them.

I've since seen why people dig the Slyths, but I'm also noticed that
the Slyth fans rather conveniently forget what Salazar Slytherin was
all about in the first place.

--Dicentra, who is not a Slyth fan--could you tell?