On the other hand (was Re: Disliked Uncle Vernon)

[Tracy Hunt]

No: HPFGUIDX 92478

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "pippin_999" <foxmoth at q...> 
wrote:
> Oh well done, Kneasy!  And JKR may well have Vernon up to 
> something dastardly in the next book. But I think she dislikes him 
> most because he's not as much fun to write about anymore. 
> 
> As the odds shift in Harry's favor, giving Vernon his 
> comeuppances can't be as much fun--JKR likes to root for the 
> underdog as you say. Plus the other villains offer more 
> compensation to  the author for the weariness of imagining  their 
> unhealthy  mindset long enough to write about them. 
> 
> There's got to be some enjoyment in pretending to be a 
> nefarious mastermind like Voldemort or  that ravaged 
> seductress Bella, not to mention the various masters of sneaky 
> subterfuge, from Quirrell to Fake!Moody, or the ever-slippery 
> Lucius Malfoy. Even Draco has his wealth and his badboy 
> persona.
> 
>  What's Vernon got? A mustache and a bad temper? Not much to 
> envy there. He was probably more fun to write about when an 
> intact family and a stable middle-class existence was as far 
> beyond JKR's reality as the WW is from ours.
> 
> Pippin

Tcy:
While we're on the topic of good bad-guys...how good are some of 
them?  As the books get darker and the story gets jucier it seems to 
me that the bar is being raised for the bad guys.  We began with 
Vernon and then Quirrell.  Vernon was good because for what we knew 
of Harry, Vernon was quite an obstacle at the time.  Quirrell was a 
good bad guy for the first book - he came out of nowhere.  Then onto 
Tom Riddle - he filled in some backstory and also surprised us.  
Then we came to PoA and were introduced to Sirius and Pettigrew (I 
haven't forgotten those of you who like the idea of ESE!Lupin 
(Pippin), but for all we know to this point, I'll say he's a good 
guy).  Then we have Crouch, Jr. followed up by Umbridge and Bella.  
We also have the ever-present Lord Thingy, Lucius, Draco, DE's and 
Dementors.  

As the bar is raised, do those unable/unwilling to adapt drop from 
the list?  Vernon hardly seems worthy of the villan title when 
compared to Umbridge.  Draco's taunts seem so pitiful when compared 
to the capabilities of Bella.  They are more like annoying little 
gnats than real bad guys, anymore.  What place do they now hold?  

Tcy