(CAUTION) Re: [HPforGrownups] Re: Stereotyping

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 85007

In response to Iggy's long post, which I'm mostly snipping because
it's long:

Thank you for having the courage to express potentially unpopular
views in a calm and tactful manner. I agree completely that imposing a
particular political or philosophical agenda on a literary work is not
a legitimate form of literary criticism, and I left academia for
exactly that reason. I was not about to impose my political views on
my students, right or wrong, and call it teaching, much less teach the
views that were imbedded into the textbooks I was assigned. It seems
to me that some of the people on this list are also confusing their
views of right and wrong with what the Harry Potter books "ought" to
be. 

Regarding Hermione, you said:

> Hermione is questing for House Elf rights, but she tends to not
think about
> many factors.  Do they want to be freed of their service?  Or do
they see it
> as their accepted and honored purpose in life?  Does she respect
their
> wishes when they seem offended at the idea of pay and freedom?  If
she
> succeeds in getting all the House Elves f[r]eed, what then? <snip> 
She feels that her perception of their situation is the right
one, and
> seeks to achieve what she feels is right. whether or not anyone
else, the
> House Elves included, agree with her at all. <snip>
> in her quest to promote SPEW, she's trying to not change
the minds
> of her friends, but instead impose her views on them.  She annoys
everyone,
> and instead of truly researching her cause and trying to
diplomatically
> enlighten people to her goals, she browbeats them. <snip>


I agree entirely with your analysis of Hermione's crusade (which I've
shortened as much as possible without losing the gist of the argument)
and its potential consequences. The later books could have been
shortened by 200 pages if SPEW were not inflicted on us (sorry--my
view, not yours). Granted, the House Elfs will probably have some role
to play in VW2, but they're not sufficiently integral to the plot to
have so many pages devoted to them. 

But in defense of Hermione (whom we know from the interviews is a
caricature of JKR's younger self), many intelligent young people are
zealously idealistic, certain that they're right and that adults for
thousands of years have been wrong. If only the enlightened teenager
could open the adults' eyes! If only the adults would listen to the
teenager, they could mend all the social evils that persist into
modern times and everyone would be equal and happy. I know what
Hermione is like because I was that kind of teenager, too. I "knew"
all the answers until I was about twenty years old and had to start
living in the world I had been so critical of. JKR has said that
Hermione will "lighten up." I think she's going to realize that she
can't single-handedly change a society (the WW) that has resisted
change for at least a thousand years and that, as you say, she needs
to do her research rather than assuming that she's right and use
persuasion rather than brow-beating to promote her cause. Frankly, I'd
like to see her caught up in the war against Voldemort and forget
about SPEW altogether, but that's my particular preference and JKR may
well choose some other direction for Hermione. My point is that
Hermione is an exaggerated depiction of a particular type of young
person, usually female, often encountered in the muggle world. Her
self-righteousness will mellow into a more mature understanding of the
world and how it works. Whether House Elfs will get their rights
remains to be seen, but it won't be through badges and knitted caps
and imposing ideas on unwilling listeners. Learning that we don't know
everything is part of growing up, and Hermione (possibly with the help
of Luna) will, I hope, learn that lesson in the next two books.

Carol