No: HPFGUIDX 104168
Jocelyn:
> I read a scientific article recently which said that there is a
region of
> the brain which engages when considering consequences. This
develops at
> different rates in different people, but generally is finished
developing in
> most young women by their late teens, however in many males it may
not
> develop until the late 20s. Obviously there is a spread in
individual
> development which you may imagine finishes later in the male
population.
>
> So there is Sirius, still immature in his early 20s, thrust into
Azkaban
> with nothing to do but dwell on the past. In fact he remained
suspended in
> time, fixated on his school-days, his school-friends and the evils
of the
> past for TEN YEARS. Isn't that what the dementors DO? He was
continually
> thrust by them into his darkest days, with no opportunity to move
forward or
> develop perspective.
>
> Even after his escape, he was unable to assist in the grown-up
tasks around
> him, to use his strength and skills and to form more normal
relationships;
> to succeed in something and build for the future. Instead he was
locked in
> a house he hated, with all around him infused with a mighty
purpose he
> wasn't able to assist.... No one had the time, or perhaps the
will and
> insight, to counsel him, and he would have needed a LOT of that.
No one
> loved him enough.
>
[snip]
> I see Sirius as a tragically stunted figure. The life he led
magnified his
> flaws. He was in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Katie now:
I originally wrote a huge response to Demetra's post, and then it
got accidentally deleted (arrgh... very frustrating!) So, this will
be sort of a response to the entire thread. I absolutely agree with
what you're saying, Jocelyn, and would like to add to your comments,
if I may.
I do think Sirius is immature, but I think that, as Jocelyn says, he
*was* relatively young when he went to Azkaban. (I believe I read
that same article, Jocelyn, by the way, and entirely agree with you
here. The article said that decision-making capability and
rationality were the last areas of the brain to fully mature, and it
seems that Sirius has most of his trouble in these areas.) We find
out that Sirius ran away from home and had to become independent at
a young age, due to his miserable family. This certainly would also
have some effect on his emotional maturity. If the rest of his
family is anything like his mother, I'd say it's remarkable that he
turned out as well as he did :)
I'd argue that Sirius is suffering from depression in OOTP. As
anyone who's had to deal with depression and loneliness knows, it
can make you say some rather petty and foolish things. Not only do
we have the matter of the dementors (who, I believe JKR said at one
point, are symbols of depression) but there is Sirius' behavior as
well. Certainly several of his (admittedly manipulative) comments to
Harry about James seem to me to be indicative of this; also, there's
his frustration at literally not being able to leave the house, etc.
And I don't buy the argument that Azkaban shouldn't have affected
his emotional development. As (I think!) Hermione says, he's just
been very lonely for a long time. He is becoming used to human
relationships again, which I think is very hard. There's a
discussion going on in this group about Hermione and her parents
that touches on the idea that the wizarding world can sometimes be a
little indifferent toward characters' emotional health. As Jocelyn
says, for years people dismissed PTSD in soldiers until it became
fully recognized. At any rate, twelve years in a soul-sucking prison
would probably have some effect on your personality, don't you think?
This all gets at a larger question that's been bothering me for
a little while. If I am being way off-topic here, or surmising too
much, please let me know. I really don't wish to sound insulting- I
have the greatest respect for the posters on this list- and bear in
mind that I'm not nearly as serious about this as I sound here :)
It seems to me (though I may well be wrong) that HP fans are
often quite absolutist about the characters in the books. There's a
tendency to see characters as overwhelmingly evil or good, begetting
character assassination and complex theories (frequently involving
charms and spells to affect personality) to justify a "good"
character's morally ambiguous choices. My question is, why do we
need characters to be overwhelmingly one thing or another, to a
degree that would be unrealistic in real life?
JKR writes the occasional flatly "evil" character, it's true
(I'm thinking of Voldemort and the Malfoys here, though if we get
some further background on Tom Riddle in the next book, that would
make a difference) but I think that her "good" characters-- and yes,
I include Sirius in that-- are remarkably complex and well-
developed, full of moral uncertainty, subtle and not-so-subtle
flaws, and human weaknesses. I prefer them this way; in fact, I
didn't particularly really like or relate to Harry until the fifth
book, when he finally began to demonstrate some ordinary human
failings. This is one of my favorite things about the books,
something that's quite rare in fantasy and (for lack of a better
word) children's literature. I don't mean simply moral flaws,
either; I for one would be very happy to find Neville come into his
own without memory charms having anything to do with it. It's
arguably more heroic to perform great acts when you're *not*
naturally gifted.
I think that Sirius is being judged a bit too harshly. Would you
consider James always to be a sadistic bully? Or Snape to be an
arrogant racist? Then why place so much importance on Sirius'
behavior in the Pensieve scene? I don't think he comes out too much
worse in that memory than anyone else (except Lily, of course.)
Katie
who spent some time at an Ivy League college and knows what soul-
sucking places can do to your mental health