The Dursleys and Harry: Neglect or abuse? (Was: SPOILERS. . .)

[lifeavantgarde]

No: HPFGUIDX 115044


>>Carol:
They also keep him in a cupboard under the stairs, complete with 
spiders, at least till he receives his Hogwarts letters.
<snip> 
Still, he isn't beaten or subjected to punishments of the sort that, 
say, Victorian children had to endure. Setting aside the snide 
remarks that the Dursleys occasionally make about his parents, which 
again take us into the grey area of emotional abuse, maybe he's 
neglected by the Dursleys rather than abused?<<


Stefanie (making a reappearance!):
"Harry paid dearly for his moment of fun. As neither Dudley nor the 
hedge was in any way hurt, Aunt Petunia knew he hadn't really done 
magic, but he still had to duck as she aimed a heavy blow at his 
head with the soapy frying pan." (CoS 1 [pg 16 - Bloomsbury 
Paperback])

In the whole beginning sequence of CoS, we see the Dursley's and 
Harry at *breakfast* conversing about the Masons' visit, pause for 
the obligitory back story, resume at breakfast, Harry v. Dudley 
action, gets in trouble and is "[given] work to do, with the promise 
he wouldn't eat again until finished," (CoS 1) and then we're told 
that he finishes working at 7:30.

If this isn't abuse, I can't see what is. Here you have a twelve-
year-old boy who is allowed a couple slices of bread at, let's round 
it out at 8:30ish (Vernon *was* woken early by Hedwig), is put to 
work that has "his back aching [and] sweat running down his face" 
for about 11 hours and then is given a bit more bread and a lump of 
cheese for dinner before being sent to his room to act non-existant. 
Not to mention the fact that Petunia seems to not think twice about 
*aiming* at his head with a large, metal kitchen implement even 
though she knows he's done nothing.

And this is just one book. And we're not getting into the disgusting 
jail-cell he's put into later in the next chapter where he's living 
on vegetable broth for three days with the intention of keeping it 
up for another month.

Harry is certainly emotionally abused (can you really picture 
Petunia hugging Harry at all as a child? comforting him when he was 
scared or ill?), but it's clear he's physically abused, as well -- 
The Dursley's intentionally cause Harry physical pain: back-breaking 
work, being used as a punching bag, intentional malnourishment... If 
they simply left him to fend for himself, there may be a case for 
neglect, but they're far too actively and deliberately invested in 
the horrid situation for it to be left at that.

Stefanie, on who's "poop list" the Dursley's top out