Dumbridge/McGonagall

[finwitch]

No: HPFGUIDX 115574



> Frugalarugala: 
> When I called her Voldie-lite, I meant in terms of threat. As you 
> said, he chose to defy her *just like Voldemort*, but she's not. 
> Handling her required a different approach. More of a guerrilla war 
> approach than open defiance. The whole thing with Umbridge nicely 
> parallels the MoM battle--and Harry's first impulse was still to rush 
> in and face an enemy directly. 

Finwitch:

I've never heard the term Guerilla war before. Don't know what you're
getting at here.

What I see Umbridge as doing, is well - it's alike to what I've heard
that wife-beaters do. They start by ridding the wife from social
contacts, making all she says to seem like a lie, accusing her for
things she didn't do etc. None seeming like much to start with, but
the longer she tries to avoid 'giving him an excuse' the worse it gets.

JKR has her own life-experience of this sort of man. (The date of
Trelawney's prediction for that dreadful thing about (Turned out to be
a Rabbit dying? Reference to the first story she wrote, perhaps?) to
happen is the day she wed her first, abusive husband.
 

 
> Frug: 
> I agree Harry has to open up and life with the Dursleys taught him 
> not to do that, but emotional maturity isn't just expressing 
> emotions, it's knowing when and how and to whom.

Finwitch:

Maturity, yes - but 15-year olds are NOT emotionally mature, and
certainly not someone raised in a cupboard. (Seems to me that Snape
isn't either, BTW, and just how old is Snape in this? 36?)

Frug:

 As for point-taking, 
> I'm sure it was born of frustration and that McGonagall would have 
> liked to take him and shake him while yelling, 'Don't give her any 
> excuses! You're on her hit list! Don't give her any excuses!' But 
> that's the sort of non-aloof McGonagall we only occationally see, 
> like when she's under stress or the influence of quidditch... 

Finwitch:

Adults ought not to take their frustrations on children - or teenagers
either for that matter. Taking responsibility over your own emotions
is what I think emotional maturity is all about. And if she was up to
with 'Don't give her excuses', that's just plain WRONG, and certainly
not the way Harry should take.

How come no one did anything to stop all those 'educational decrees'
Umbridge made up?

Frug:
 
> For what it's worth, I'm not convinced that McGonagall actually knows 
> how to handle Harry's emotional problems--yes, he *has* emotional 
> problems, he was raised in a closet by the Dursley's *of course* he 
> has problems, the only question is why he doesn't have more problems! 
> But I'm not getting into the whole Harry thing, I'm just talking 
> McGonagall, here--I mean, she is very aloof, very self-restrained. I 
> think she does care for Harry deeply, but I don't see her as knowing 
> how to deal with his emotional needs. 

Finwitch:

I suppose she doesn't. Neither does Hermione and definately not Snape.
Dumbledore does, though. "Go ahead and break my things. I dare say I
have too many" - AND he says this calmly. Harry calms down pretty
fast. Mainly because DUMBLEDORE isn't losing his temper, I'd say.

Actually... Teenagers doing what ever they can to anger the adults - I
guess they want to see how an adult handles anger, so that they can
learn it, too. If an adult wants an angry teenager to calm down, they
must teach/show them HOW first.

Finwitch