Interview w/ JKR - Harry's Support

[Steve]

No: HPFGUIDX 72505

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "kiricat2001" <Zarleycat at a...>
wrote:

> 
> All of the adult wizards - the Weasleys, Dumbledore, the professors, 
> Lupin...all of them...have offered Harry absolutely nothing. ...
> Adults, to Harry, do not offer comfort. ...edited... The wizards in
> Harry's life should make an effort to connect with him and help him.
> And they  don't.
> 
> ...edited...
> 
> They'll show up if they haven't heard from Harry every 3 days.
> Well, that should let them sleep at night. Just as long as they 
> don't have to deal with Harry as an emotional human being. ... The 
> lack of empathy from the adults in Harry's life makes me want to 
> scream.
> 
> Marianne

bboy_mn:

Well, I'm not disagreeing with you, I do think you have a valid point,
but I think we are facing a 'cultural thing'. As some one already
pointed out in this thread or another, the British are not much of a
touchy feely group of people. For them it's more, suck it up and keep
going, stiff upper lip, and all that. While that is a broad
generalization, I think there is some truth to it.

Also, there really isn't anyone whose responsibility it is to give
Harry this emotional support; no parents or assigned guardian (the
Dursleys are worthless) or person appointed to deal with these things.
Molly certainly does her share when she can, but teen independance, a
desire by Harry not be embarassed in those mushy ways the boys hate to
be embarassed, and the fact that Molly has limited access to him;
Harry is either at school or at the Dursleys. That doesn't leave much
room for heart-to-heart talks. Plus, Harry really needs a guy he can
talk to. Molly is nice but she just doesn't understand 'guy things'
the way Sirius would. 

The one person that Harry really DID want to have heart-to-heart talks
with, and the one person he felt comfortable turning to for advice was
Sirius. Molly is someone Harry shares, he shares Molly's mothering
with the rest of the Weasley. That creates a sense that he is
borrowing something; using something that's not his, something he has
to give back. Sirius was Harry's alone, he was his father's best
friend, and Harry's godfather; in that sense, he belong to Harry. Now
once again, Harry has nothing of his own; just the bits and pieces of
other people's lives that they are willing to share with him. I really
really thought Sirius would not be the one kill because Harry needs
him so desparately. Now who does Harry have to turn too? ....I don't
know; Lupin? Mr. Weasley? Bill? ...I just don't know.

But I do agree with the idea that, especially after what Dumbledore
told him, Harry needs some solid support right now more than he ever
has in his life. I saw Harry's sense of isolation, and that he was
separate and different from everyone else near the end of the book as
 a very bad sign. In a way, he has written off Cho as a love that can
never be, because now that he knows he is marked to die, no love can
ever be. Friends who get too close to him are just people waiting to
die in return for their friendship. I see Harry as withdrawing himself
from everyone. 

Even when he is amoung other friendly people like the Weasleys, I can
see Harry as feeling very distant from them, a sense of being alone in
a crowd, of being trapped inside a bubble, a bubble of difference and
isolation that even though it means he can be amoung them, will leave
him feeling that he can never be part of them. That's not a pleasant
path to go down.

I really hope they make a lot more contact with Harry over the summer;
letters, calls, out for tea, day trip to Diagon Alley, or at least tea
with Mrs. Figg, etc.... Sometimes just knowing that there are people
there for you is comfort enough. 

This is a trend that really has me worried.

bboy_mn