More on Molly

[Doriane]

No: HPFGUIDX 84317

"artcase" wrote:
 
> If Molly is the "anti-Aunt Petunia" then why does Aunt Petunia 
> represent a stay at home mom as well?

Because she has to, or the whole blood-protection system wouldn't 
work. As we've seen in OoP, Harry has to be in the house to actually 
be protected. And that is most probably because the house is where 
Aunt Petunia is spending most of her time.
So I guess when DD gave Harry to the Dursleys, he first made sure 
Petunia would actually be around. OK, granted, when he went to school 
Harry spent a lot of time away from the house, but he still spent 
most of it at the same place Petunia spent most of her time.

Moreover, I think it would be terrible if Petunia was described as 
the bad working mother, while Molly would be described as the good 
stay-at-home mom ! Now what would THAT teach the young readers !? And 
the other way around might be seen as overly feminist, don't you 
think ?

> BUT I still think it is an injustice to millions of children 
> readers, especially female ones, to only show fleshed out mom 
> characters that are stay at home moms. The real world does not work 
> like that and shouldn't IMO. 

I agree, but since we're seeing things through Harry's eyes, I'm 
afraid no other moms can be described. I mean, apart from his foster 
mother, and his best friend's mom because he spends some time there, 
who else could he see in their private surroundings ? Not his 
teachers (I never got to know my teachers that personally), not the 
members of the OoP (except if the Headquarters had been hosted in 
another family's home), so who ? There's just no way he can know any 
other mother in her mothering role.

> IF women really want to be equal they should stop thinking in terms 
> of "stay at home mom" and in terms of Project Management. Men, take 
> a lesson too. If you define yourself as what you do, when what you 
> do is done, you are left with no persona. Psychologically this is 
> unhealthy and causes much more grief in this world than necessary. 
> There is no equality as long as people still believe a woman's 
> place is in the home. 

Er... Let's put it this way : I am a working mom and wife, and I am 
thoroughly miserable at work because my only dream *right now* is to 
be a stay-at-home mom. It doesn't have anything to do with my job, I 
could have my dream job that it wouldn't change my feelings. No, it's 
just that I want to spend my time at home for the next 20 years. So, 
as far as *I* am concerned, I believe that *my* place IS in *my* home 
for *me* to be happy.
My husband, on the other hand, is right now unemployed, so forced to 
stay at home, and thoroughly miserable too, because he feels that he 
has to go out there and earn money to take care of his family, in 
order for *him* to be happy.
So much for equality. And we're not doing it on purpose to annoy 
anyone.

> A point in my initial post was: Why couldn't Sirus be viewed as a 
> single, non-conventional Dad? 

Because personally I'd be terrified to let an ex-convict, no matter 
how innocent he is and how close a friend of my husband's he used to 
be, take care of my son. I'd MUCH rather my son was taken in by a 
loving family.

> You don't see the equality of sexes being undermined on two levels?

Nope. I wouldn't want a *female* ex-convict to take care of my son 
either. And I'd much rather he was taken in by a loving *stable* 
single-*dad* family. It's not the fact that Sirius is a man and Molly 
a woman : it's the fact that Sirius has a dark past, unpredictable 
reactions and untried kid-raising skills, while Molly has a record of 
love, seven happy children, and very predictable reactions.

Del