[HPforGrownups] Re: the term "professor" and titles in general (was: Snape's

[eloiseherisson at aol.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 58592

Odile (confident that our excellent friends in the UK
will be kind enough to explain this to her... )

How kind!
Unfortunately it isn't *always* possible to explain JKR's idiosyncrasies just 
by dint of being British, but I'll give it a go.

>Back to res Harrius Pottericus, why is it that some
>female teachers are addressed as "Madame" (Madame
>Pomfrey, Madame Hooch) and some are addressed as
>"Professor" (Professor McGonagall)? I know that this
>is (probably) movie contamination, but I always
>wondered about it because in film version of CoS,
>Dumbledore addresses Sprout as both Madame and
>Professor. They're not interchangeable, are they? Is
>"Madame" an honorific?

Eloise:
I hadn't noticed that in the movie.
IIRC, the only two females *at Hogwarts* regularly addressed as Madam are 
Madam Hooch and Madam Pomfrey. I assume this is because neither of them is a 
teacher of an *academic* subject (Madam Pomfrey isn't a teacher at all). Although 
sports science is treated as an academic subject in the Muggle world, I think 
the WW is too old-fashioned for that.

The academic anomaly is Madame Maxime. But then I presume this is to do with 
the fact of her being French-speaking and possibly more to do with her 
characterisation, than anything else.

We see other examples of the use of "Madam" as a title: Madam Malkin, Madam 
Rosmerta. I think it just another of those WW archaisms. Although not exactly: 
"Mistress" in alliance with a name would be a true archaism. In British 
English I think that Madam, or Ma'am, is more usually (even *was* more usually) used 
on its own *without* being accompanied by a name. But in the Potterverse, it 
seems that "Madam" is a respectful form of address for an adult witch.

So why not Madam Weasley I hear you all clamour?
Good question. Which leads me to think that perhaps it's the title used by 
"professional" women (other than teaching academics)

And as I have said before, "Professor" is simply an old-fashioned term for a 
school teacher.

Odile:
>And while I'm at it, why is Voldemort a "Lord," yet
>the seemingly aristocratic Malfoy is "Mister"? Or is
>that movie contamination as well?

Eloise:
I think someone else has already pointed out that Voldemort *assumed* the 
title "Lord" for himself.

OTOH, Dumbledore uses it and Snape, amongst others, talks of the Dark Lord.
We *assume* that Malfoy is aritstocratic from his name, his wealth and the 
fact that he lives in a manor named after his family.

I wonder, though if in the WW, there aren't *titles* as such. Not the kind of 
inherited titles that we have. 

What about Nearly Headless Nick? The Bloody Baron? Sir Properly 
Decapitated-Podmore, then?

No probs! These are *Muggle* titles inherited by those who just happened also 
to be wizards. But what the WW recognises is *magical* prowess, so that 
wherever Voldemort's title came from, his lordship in the Dark Arts is acknowledged 
by the WW at large.

~Eloise
    
    



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