Pampering (was Re:Harry at the Dursleys)

[lupinlore]

No: HPFGUIDX 118662



--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "delwynmarch" 
<delwynmarch at y...> wrote:
> 
> And then, things changed in OoP. The Dursleys suddenly seemed to
> become real people, Dementors haunt the neighbourhood, Harry starts
> bullying Dudley, Uncle Vernon tries to strangle Harry and gets
> shocked, and Aunt Petunia knows about the Dementors and receives a
> Howler. Things aren't fun anymore.
> 
> So of course now, we're forced to consider the Dursleys like real
> people, and the way they treated Harry becomes very real abuse. It
> doesn't make sense to me because, just like you Kjirstem, I never
> really considered the Dursleys to be real people. But hey, it's 
JKR's
> story, she can take it wherever she wants. We readers are not 
forced
> to follow all the way, though. For now, I'm still happier with
> Parody!Dursleys.
>

I think herein lies the heart of the problem with OOTP, and much of 
the problem with the "turn" of the series in OOTP.  I suspect that 
JKR wants to go "only so far, no farther" with the darkness and 
realism.  That is, we are supposed to accept certain things without 
accepting their implications.  The problem is, you can't have it 
both ways.  That's akin to throwing someone out a window and yelling 
at them to stop halfway to the ground.

Thus we are supposed to accept the Dursleys as "real" but not accept 
the implication that their "real" behavior constitutes abuse.  We 
are supposed to accept Dumbledore as a real person who made a real 
decision with real knowledge but we aren't supposed to accept the 
implication that he is therefore party to said abuse.  But that just 
doesn't work, because you can't have it both ways.  If the Dursleys 
are supposed to be "real" as opposed to over the top parodies then 
they are child abusers.  And if Dumbledore is "real" in that context 
he is party to child abuse.  What is acceptable and uncontroversial 
behavior in a fairy tale is not acceptable and uncontroversial 
behavior in a story that aims to be "real."

Lupinlore