Neville again

[eloise_herisson]

No: HPFGUIDX 102681


Kneasy said :
> > > > A short digression or two. Neville himself says that up until 
he 
> > > > was eight he was thought to be "all Muggle." Not Squib - 
Muggle. 
<snip> 

 Del replies :
> Sorry guys, but I DO think it's a kind of Flint. We weren't 
introduced
> to the concept of Squibs until the second book, CoS. In the first 
book
> we had lots of information to digest in the first chapters, and I
> guess JKR just didn't want to add the unnecssary complexity of using
> the word Squib. So she used Muggle instead. But Neville *can't* be
> Muggle at all : he's a pure-blood, we've been told so repeatedly.
> And remember also that when PS/SS was published, nobody knew if the
> following books would ever be published. So why introduce a concept
> (Squibs) that wouldn't be used anywhere else in the book ?

I kind of agree with Del on this, although I don't think I'd call it 
a Flint.  I'm not sure that I agree with the point about the 
following books; I think it's clear that JKR planned a series from 
the outset and whether or not she knew they'd all be published 
wouldn't necessarily stop her using a term she wanted to (it would 
have taken very little extra explanation. 

Although *we're* not introduced to the idea, I can't believe that JKR 
hadn't already decided that Filch was a Squib. Reserving the word for 
CoS increased the effectiveness of the Filch/ Kwikspell storyline 
which I asume she had sketched out. 

Or perhaps, she *hadn't* thought of the term to begin with and simply 
used 'Muggle' to mean 'non-magical', rather than it having the 
connotations of being from a non-wizarding blood line. JKR is 
arguably a little vague with some of these terms, hence the eternal 
discussion of exactly what a half blood is.

In any case, I cannot believe that the usage of the word is 
significant. What I do feel confident of is that JKR never expected 
anyone to dissect and analyse her works in the way that we do. 
There's nothing wrong with doing it, but if we do, we must be 
prepared to find ourselves analysing and imputing meaning to things 
that were never intended to be subject to such scrutiny or to carry 
the meanings that we might assign to them.

Kneasy
> No, it's only been with the magical stuff that Neville has had 
> difficulties.
> Herbology, he's OK. But is Herbology magic? No  spells, no potions, 
no  
> wand waving. And Neville does well. The rest seems to  be a bit of 
a 
> struggle. I sometimes wonder if JKR might cheat a bit on her 
> definitions (of what is magical or not) and Neville might be the 
one 
> who 'becomes magical' later in life than usual. Whatever.

Is Herbology magic? Is Potions magic? I know that others disagree, 
but given that thereis no foolish wand waving concerned, I'd always 
hoped that with proper tuition I *might* be able to make a decent 
potion. Both Herbology and Potions seem more concerned with arcane 
knowlewdge and the understanding of properties than with 
inherent "magical" abilities, but there again that is looking at 
things from a 21st century scientific/rational approach; for someone 
like Newton, the mechanics of the universe, alchemy, natural magic, 
mysticism, etc., were all different aspects of "philosophy".

But Neville shows evidence of some quite strong magical ability. His 
problem with the broomstick in their first flying lesson is not that 
he doesn't have enough magic to *fly* - the broomstick responds too 
enthusiastically. What he cannot do is *control* his magic. Ditto, I 
think some of his problems in Potions, melting cauldrons and the like.

~Eloise