The Problem with Lupin (long) was Re: How Close Are Harry and Lupin?

[Renee]

No: HPFGUIDX 96884

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "pippin_999" <foxmoth at q...> 
wrote:
> > 
> Caesian:
> >>>  I think many of us would argue that  the personal 
> development of Lupin's character is at a high (or at least 
> deeply-reflective) level, and then he's got some failings.  But, 
> unlike Hagrid, or Fred and George, Filch,  Hermione... we don't 
> seem to accept these failings (or his struggles against them) as 
> an  integral part of his character.  We might even believe he's 
> faking his calm or nice  characteristics. 
>  

Pippin:
>  How is it that he seems racked with guilt  and yet we 
> perceive him as the innocent victim of circumstances?  If he isn't 
> doing anything terrible, why is he so hard on himself?  

Renee: 

Firstly, knowing your failings and admitting them to others isn't 
the same as being racked with guilt. Reading the Shrieking Shack 
scene, I see at least one person who is more racked with guilt than 
Lupin. And in the OotP scene where Harry confronts him and Sirius 
with the Pensieve incident, Lupin doesn't seem too guilt-ridden, 
certainly no more than Sirius. In fact, Lupin strikes me as the kind 
of person who willingly owns up to his wrongdoings because such a 
confession usually takes the edge of other people's anger and may 
leave a favourable impression (which is tremendously important to 
him). And when you say "we suckers let him get away with it", you're 
right. It *is* disarming. It's one of his coping mechanisms.  

Personally, I'm willing to cut him a lot of slack: he's one of the 
few HP characters who voice a substantial measure of self criticism. 
Hagrid doesn't, and neither do Fred, George, Filch, or Hermione, to 
mention the characters listed by Caesian, and it would be easy to 
add others to the list (Snape? Mundungus Fletcher? Molly Weasley? 
One Harry Potter?) Maybe these people are aware of their faults, but 
if they are, they're none too quick to admit them.   

Pippin:

> You'd have to wonder about somebody who says he felt guilty, 
> but didn't change his ways. Lupin's fans say his guilt is 
> needless, the product of his overly tender conscience. And if his 
> conscience is that tender, well, he just *couldn't* be  up to 
> something, could he? 
> 
> Well, I'm afraid he could. 
> 
> Because even though Lupin is endlessly remorseful about his 
> actions, he never takes any responsibility for the consequences. 
>  Think about it. It's all shoulda, woulda, coulda. 

Renee: 
I'm not among the Lupin fans who say his guilt is needless, or that 
he has an overly tender conscience. I don't think he has; as I said 
above, his self-criticism strikes me as a habit, and this would also 
explain why he doesn't change his ways - why do so if you can take 
the sting out of other people's fury by acting remorseful? It's the 
way of the least resistance, and very tempting. 

Yet none of this means Lupin is "up to something", as in being 
Voldemort's secret agent in Dumbledore's secret Order: that's a non 
sequitur. It just means he's got a serious flaw, like so many others 
in the HP books. There are plenty of people who are aware of their 
faults but don't take the responsibility for them and don't change 
their ways. That doesn't make all these people evil, or enemies of 
the state, or agents of darkness.        

<snipping the long list of Lupin's very real transgressions, and 
also snipping the questions whethert Lupin realised the consequences 
of his (in)actions>

Pippin: 

> This is speculation, of course. Since Lupin neglects to mention 
> the consequences, we can't tell whether he's cognizant of them 
> or not. But Lupin doesn't always ignore consequences. 
> Sometimes he blames them on somebody else.
> Lupin's dreadfully upset that he *might* have bitten somebody 
> the night of the shack. He  says it musn't ever happen again. But 
> he *did* forget to take his potion. He never says he's sorry about 
> that.  Poor, poor Remus,  it's all Snape's fault that he has to 
> the school.

Renee:

Poor Snape, unjustly blamed by Lupin for making him lose his job!
But Lupin doesn't actually blame Snape (who of course acted solely 
in the best interest of the students, and not at all out of spite), 
he just explains to Harry what has happened and why he's going away. 
He doesn't have to blame Snape in so many words, because he knows 
Harry will. For someone who is supposed to be endlessly remorseful, 
Lupin is refreshingly remorseless here. No wonder: the "it's all my 
fault" routine isn't necessary, because Lupin knows Harry won't get 
angry at him. But he doesn't excuse himself either, and he does 
resign. 

In short, Lupin isn't only nice and helpful, he's also a clever 
manipulator who uses remorse as a shield and never loses sight of 
his own best interest - because few people in the Wizarding World 
have the best interest of a werewolf in mind. Poor Lupin? Well, I 
wouldn't want to be in the shoes of someone who, through no fault of 
his own, has to be grateful for what most wizards and witches take 
for granted: an education, friends, a job, the basic goodwill of 
others.

Renee