Re: JKR’s giant mistake?

[nkafkafi]

No: HPFGUIDX 117744


> Pippin:
> "Red herring" refers to the misleading clue itself. A mistaken 
> belief based on false evidence or faulty reasoning is generally 
> referred to as a superstition. 

Neri:
Aren't you using slightly too strong words? While there is no absolute
proof that the bad guys can't say the name Voldemort, canon does seem
to suggest it. 

>> Neri:
> > There isn't in fact any canon that the bad guys CAN'T say the 
> name,  only that they, like many of the good guys, rather won't.
> 
> Pippin:
> Exactly.
> 

Neri: 
I wasn't clear enough here. Lets look at the facts:

(1) Five wizards ALWAYS address Voldemort by his name, whether they
feel brave or not. These are DD, Harry, Lupin, Sirius and (only since
OotP) Hermione.

(2) Two other Gryffindors say the name only once or several times with
great reluctance, not because they feel brave but when challenged
(McGonagall) or because there's no choice (Hagrid).

(3) The other good wizards never say the name in canon, and usually
seem scared when they hear it. 
   
(4) The bad wizards don't say the name (except Voldemort himself and
Quirrell when possessed by Voldemort). Furthermore, Wormtail, Snape
and the DEs in the DoM flinch very badly or protest strongly when the
good guys utter the name "Voldemort" in their presence. Bellatrix is
enraged enough to forget that her boss needs the prophecy. Snape
actually rubs his dark mark, and claim that only DD is strong enough
to say the name (while DD himself thinks everybody should use it. A
strange disagreement there).

(5) Through all five books I could find only three exceptions to (3)
and (4), and as I showed in the originl post, there are some good
reasons to think that these exceptions are simply editing mistakes.

All this suggests that only wizards with lots of courage can say the
name, and that DEs have a real problem with it, which is perhaps
connected with their dark mark. As I said we don't have definite proof
that they can't say the name at all, but it certainly seems possible.
You don't have to believe in this opinion, of course, but it is no
more a superstition than the opposite opinion.  

> Pippin:
> If you are arguing now that use of the name Voldemort is an 
> indication of how brave a character is feeling at the moment, 
> I think that is very plausible. 

Neri:
No, I'm not arguing that. Canon doesn't seem to support it much.



Neri thanks Nora for resurrecting that old post from Yahoomort oblivion.