[HPforGrownups] Re: OOP:McGonagall's nationality (WAS: McGonagall's cookies )

[Kathryn Cawte]

No: HPFGUIDX 67609

 
Kirstini:  
The tartan biscuit tin I can accept, because my gran has one of 
them - you get them free when you buy shortbread. But the tartan 
robes are taking it a bit far. You do know we don't actually wear 
tartan in Scotland, right?

Me :
However her tartan apparel makes her seem more old fashioned (and by old
fashioned I mean old fashioned like the WW rather than old lady old
fashioned). It is a good way of emphasising her Scottishness without having
to constantly *say* that she is Scottish. Plus many of the other wizards
wear plain robes - I see Minerva's apparel as a way for her to add some
character to her robes while showing her pride in her nationality. Plus it's
a big, stone castle in the Highlands (possibly) somewhere - it's probably
darn cold most of the time and tartan is *warm*. I mean that was why people
wore that type of material in the first place. It's warm and hard wearing
(another quality I could see someone as practical as Minerva appreciating).
Besides a lot of purebloods, especially the 'aristocracy' seem to like to
emphasise their family history and line so maybe scottish purebloods (not
that we know whether she is one) have a tendency to use tartan to show that?
We are after all not talking about what modern Scottish muggles wear and do
but what a 70 year old Scottish witch does.

Having said that some of her national stereotyping has annoyed me - although
banshees may be stereotyping if your an Irish muggle but I guess if I was an
Irish witch and knew they existed they might be quite high up on my list of
fears too :) As for Fleur I wanted to drown her in the lake pretty much
every time we met her and I'm seriously hoping her laison with Bill doesn't
lead to her coming back in books 6 & 7.

K