Mrs. Figg's 'Cat among the Pixies'

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 93538

"lizvega2" wrote:
In OOP, A Peck of Owls, P. 24, Mrs. Figg says, while commenting that 
DD told them to make sure that Harry didn't use magic, that "Well, 
it's no good crying over spilled potion, I suppose...but the cat's 
among the pixies now..." Now, the first part of her speech, 'there's
no use crying over spilled potion'- I understand, but the latter part
about the pixies. Is that merely an extension of the former? Is this
an English saying? Does it say the same thing in the British version?

Kneasy replied:
It's almost certainly a twist on "the cat's among the pigeons", which
generally signifies an upset or a situation that's got out of hand.
And yes, it is the same in the UK edition.

Carol responds:
I think what's important about these cliches or proverbs is not their
meaning but Mrs. Figg's use of them. I think, first, that JKR expected
her young British readers to recognize these expressions and to smile
at Mrs. Figg's WW twist on them. But it also seems significant (to me)
that Mrs. Figg, a Squib, is using these expressions in front of Harry,
who presumably hasn't heard her speak this way before or he'd never
have assumed she was a Muggle. (Note that she also says, "we might as
well be hanged for a dragon as an egg," and calls Mundungus Fletcher a
"worthless pile of bat droppings," OoP Am. ed. 21 and 23. It's most
unlikely that she speaks this way in front of Petunia and dead certain
that she doesn't do so in front of Vernon.)

Mrs. Figg is clearly agitated in this scene, both because of the
Dementors and because of Mundungus Fletcher neglecting his duties, and
she's speaking in disjointed sentences and cliches, but they're WW
versions of Muggle cliches, indicating that she's had quite a bit of
exposure to the magical world even though she can't perform magic
herself, or so she thinks. (I predict that we'll find out otherwise in
a later book but that's another topic.) Her expressions remind me of
"Merlin's beard!" a mild WW oath used by several wizards in various
books (Amos Diggory in GoF may have been one). No Muggle would use
that expression.

In any case, Mrs. Figg, whom Harry and the reader thought was a
Muggle, turns out to be a Squib, and not just any Squib but one who's
clearly in close contact with the WW: a trusted member of the Order
who's been watching Harry since he was a baby and one of "the old
crowd" Sirius is sent to contact at the end of GoF (with the apparent
implication that she'll listen to Sirius's story if Lupin is also
present and vouches for him). She can definitely communicate, as Filch
can, with cats, even "stationing" one under a car to report to her if
Mundungus fails in his duties (OoP Am. ed. 20). She can apparently see
Dementors (she knows about them before Harry mentions them, 20, and I
see no reason why she would lie to the MoM. If she can talk to cats,
why not be able to see Dementors?).

My point? Only that, IMO, these humorous variations on British cliches
or proverbs emphasize Mrs. Figg's intimate link with the WW even
though she lives in a Muggle neighborhood and has never apparated or
"so much as Transfigured a tea bag," OoP Am. ed. 21. Her mention of
these skills provides additional concrete evidence of a longtime link
with the WW, as does her knowledge of DD, Dementors, the MoM, and the
Statute of Secrecy. In a way she lives in both worlds, passing as a
Muggle in Little Whinging, fooling even Vernon Dursley and staying off
the MoM's radar by not practicing magic. (Fudge, of course, learns
that she's a Squib at Harry's hearing, but I don't think that her
cover as an Order member guarding Harry is blown. At least not yet.)

To return to my main point, her cliches indicate to me that she grew
up in the Wizarding World, which would account for her instinctive use
of them under pressure. I'm speculating that (in contrast to Petunia,
whose sister was a witch but whose family were Muggles) Arabella grew
up within an old wizarding family in which magic was the norm and
everyone else was a witch or a wizard. Fudge makes a point of having
her register her maiden name (her Wizarding heritage) before she
leaves the courtroom, a seemingly minor detail that I think will be
important. Or rather, I have a feeling that the name itself is
important because it links her to someone we know--Dumbledore himself
or McGonagall, maybe. (Someone on this list suggested that the tartan
slippers might be a clue that she's related to McGonagall, but last
time I mentioned that, I was criticized for jumping to conclusions on
the basis of insignificant evidence. For the record, I mention it in
passing only as a possible clue, an interesting tidbit that may or may
not mean something, not as "proof" of any such connection.)

Regardless of whom she's related to, there's clearly more to Arabella
Figg than meets the eye. As I said before, those seemingly trivial WW
proverbs indicate that she lives in both worlds. IMO, Dumbledore
placed her in Little Whinging precisely because, as a Squib, she could
pass herself off as a Muggle and not give herself away to the MoM by
practicing magic in Harry's closely watched neighborhood. I'll even
bet that Dumbledore was willing to leave baby Harry on the Dursleys'
doorstep on a chilly November night (securely wrapped in his blankets
so he wouldn't get cold or toddle away and be run over or bitten by a
dog) because Mrs. Figg and her cats were already secretly keeping
watch, without the MoM or the DEs suspecting a thing.

In any case, I like Mrs. Figg and hope we'll see more of her in Book
6. Maybe Harry will even voluntarily visit her house as a refuge from
the Dursleys and ask her some of the "million questions" (OoP Am. ed.
24) about Dumbledore and the Order that he's never had the opportunity
to ask anyone else.

Carol, who thanks lizvega for asking this question and apologizes for
the length of the response, which I've tried to make coherent and
unambiguous and don't dare spend any more time on