JKR characterizations--oversimplification?

[pookasmorning]

No: HPFGUIDX 115012


Jen <stevejjen at e...> wrote:
> I completely believed, because of the way JKR wrote the story, that
> we were intended to see Sirius' hatred of Kreacher as a very personal
> hatred stemming from his bizarre family, their love of the Dark Arts
> and even Grimmauld Place. It never occured to me in reading OOTP that
> Sirius was treating Kreacher the way he did *because* he was a House 
> Elf and Sirius looked down on him for it. From what we knew up to that 
> point, Sirius had befriended a werewolf, his best friend married a 
> person considered by some to be inferior because of her heritage, 
> and Sirius was a long-time member of the Order, whose philosophy is 
> inclusive rather than exclusive. None of those instances prepared me 
> to believe he was classist or prejudiced.

I don't think she's suggesting that he's prejudiced at all; it's a 
very personal dislike. Rather, she's explaining that while Sirius 
says the measure of a man is in how he treats his inferiors, he 
treats his *own* inferior with intense dislike and contempt. Yes, 
Kreacher is horrible. Sure, Sirius doesn't hate house elves in 
general. Absolutely, Sirius hates him because he reminds him of his 
own horrible childhood. The fact remains that he treats with open 
hatred someone who has nowhere else to go and is magically bound to 
serve him. The fact that it's personal doesn't change the fact that 
Kreacher is a dependent and an inferior and Sirius is violating his 
own convictions.

In my opinion, JKR is simply pointing out that Sirius is perfectly 
comfortable making exceptions for people he doesn't like. Exhibit A: 
Snape. Sirius has a double standard. Who doesn't?
 
> Jen: I thought Sirius, for all his faults, was a man of conviction.
> Reckless, rash, harsh, immature but a loyal man who was true to his
> word. If JKR was leaving clues along the way to prepare me otherwise,
> I failed to grasp them.

I'm not sure where you get this "man of conviction" thing. Nothing 
he did in PoA suggested that he was fighitng for some ideal. He may 
hate the Dark Arts, but he didn't escape Azkaban to fight evil; he's 
there to take revenge out of loyalty to James. Sirius has 
convictions, but they're subjective. Anything tainted with the Dark 
Arts is purely evil, and his ideals needn't apply to them. He's 
loyal and true to his word, but only to those he feels deserve his 
respect. And so on.

That doesn't make him any less good or likable, mind, but he is a 
force of loyalty and friendship rather than of abstract moral 
convictions. If James kicked a house elf and told Sirius the elf 
deserved it, who do you think Sirius would believe?

- Pooka in the morn'