[HPforGrownups] Re: OoP-Petunia

[Jennifer Angliss]

No: HPFGUIDX 62469

Quoting karenkyla3 <karenkyla33 at msn.com>:

> I was really struck too by her emotion and fear in relation to
> Voldemort.  I wonder if maybe her attitude is her way of denying what
> happened and masking the pain.  Let's say for argument's sake that
> she was very fond of Lily and close to her.  Her parent's were
> supportive of magic so it seems unlikely that their other child would
> be so adamantly opposed to magic (though possible I admit).  But,
> going on this theory, to suddenly have seen magic turn so vicious and
> her beloved sister and her sister's husband massacred, probably
> having followed much of it in the papers if they were that supportive
> of Lily, she would have wanted to lash out and blame as well as
> protecting herself and her family.  So by blaming magic she is able
> to vent her anger and feelings of unfairness.  By refusing to admit
> she had a sister, she protects herself from feeling the pain and
> loss.  But a part of her remains in still protecting Harry.  But he
> would also be a constant reminder of that pain which could be a lot
> of where her attitude toward him comes from.  I dunno.  Just a theory.

Ah, but Petunia had been pretending she didn't have a sister for several years
before Lily and James were killed. In the opening chapter of PS/SS:

"Mrs. Potter was Mrs. Dursely's sister, but they hadn't met for several years;
in fact, Mrs. Dursely pretended she didn't have a sister..."

This isn't to say that there was some other incident several years before that
would fuel Petunia's opposition to magic, but Lily's death couldn't have been it.

Jennifer