The Purpose of the Weasleys (was; Saving every Sickle)

[jodel at aol.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 59180

greatlit2003 says;

>>I am frustrated with this family's values. They are good people, but the 
parents seem to be living in their own little world.<<

I have a lowering feeling that the Weasleys are eventually going to be the 
vehicle whose purpose is to teach Harry a few hard truths. 

Because you are absolutely right, and I do not think it is accidental. For 
all that Harry thinks it is paradise on earth, the Burrow is not the happiest of 
households. (Don't run away with that statement. The Weasleys aren't going to 
make the top ten list of dysfunctional families in childrens' literature any 
time soon, either.) 

They also serve as a glaring example of how woefully ill-prepared 
Dumbledore's forces are for another round against Voldemort. 

Arthur's self-indulgence in his facination with Muggle technology has *not* 
served his family well. Molly's mis-applied ambitions (and Molly has a lot of 
ambition, it's just not in the Slytherin style) which she has displaced onto 
her children -- because her husband refuses to budge from his "dream job" -- is 
raising havoc. She has Percy's life all mapped out and he bought the package. 
See where it got him. She is trying to force-feed the twins the same template 
and they aren't having any, with gradually escalating hostilities, which is 
disrupting the whole dynamic of the family to the point that Ron is getting 
completely lost in the scuffle. Molly seems only to see him as a blur within the 
twins' sphere of influence and treats him accordingly, despite the fact that he 
is a full two years younger and not actively engaged in their antics. And 
Ginny is being strangled by Molly's apron strings. None of the younger five kids 
seems to be properly prepared for a world which includes Voldemort in the 
equation. Nor do Molly and Arthur for all of that. They've gotten soft over the 
past 13 years. Lost focus. Gotten careless.

And I think we are all going to be witnesses to the train wreck. But probably 
not in the 5th book.

Inside the structure of the series I think we are going to watch Harry come 
to the conclusion that he can't get by by trying to be "like" anyone he has 
met. Which means that even if the consequences are not fatal, he is going to see 
the consequences of the different methods all the people he looks to for 
guidance use for coping with the world, and realize that these methods will not 
work *for him*. He is going to see that Sirius is impulsive and his temper gets 
him into situations that are avoidable. He is going to see that Molly's rules 
don't have all the answers, and that other people manipulate the rules to their 
own advantage and to your cost. He will see that Arthur's good intentions and 
self-indulgence are no protection.

-JOdel