Forms of address II/Saints in the WW

[Tenou]

No: HPFGUIDX 115899



Brian:
> > Students overwhelmingly prefer to use last-name address with each 
> > other, e.g., "Potter," "Malfoy."


Being addressed by family name signifies a colleague, familiarity 
because of ones situation, position, age, etc. however not on 
friendly terms. ('Potter' and 'Malfoy') Also used to show respect for 
upper classmates who do not lay claim to a title, being too young for 
Mr. Also team mates may call each other by family name at all times 
as a show of elitism. (Malfoy, referring to his 'gang' by family 
name)  This is the way it was at my school, and seems to be the same 
at Hogwarts.

There are a few more nuances... but they are more difficult to 
explain if you haven't experienced it.


Brian:
> > Teachers seem to use last name address toward students and other 
> > teachers.


Finwitch:
> Snape keeps saying Potter! (And Harry, likewise, calls him Snape 
most 
> of the time) but I seem to recall other teachers using Mr/Miss - 
> unless, of course, they're *listing* names.


This may signify the importance of family - both with the teachers, 
and between the students... Ok, here's another insight, which may or 
may not be ingenious. 

Harry refers to all of his friends by first name: Ron, Hermione, 
Luna, Neville. However, Malfoy introduces himself as Malfoy and 
refers to his 'friends' by family name. As we all know, Malfoy, 
Crabbe, and Goyle are elitists who place more importance on who their 
family is than on what kind of people they are.

This could be a reference to what kind of people Harry associates 
himself with - those who don't really care that he's The Harry 
Potter, they care about him. However, Malfoy would not associate with 
Crabbe and Goyle if their fathers had not been part of the right 
crowd, if they had not been 'pure blood', had they not been Slytherin.

But back to the point at hand, teachers using Mr/Miss most likely is 
a reference to the rigid structure or formality of the classes, 
probably most evident in McGonagall's classes. However, using the 
given name shows that the walls are coming down, a personal 
connection.

Snape and Potter referring to each other by family name... that is 
most likely to show disrespect for each other. Though that could be 
reversed to say that they are on friendly terms, past the need for 
Mr, however, because of the difference in status, the elder (teacher) 
may refer to the younger by family name only, though the younger will 
continue to refer to the elder with a title until such a time when 
they are of an equal status.


Finwitch:
> Either way, it must create big confusion with all the Weasleys, 
twins 
> in particular. I mean, just imagine it...


Most of the confusion would be cut down because the Weasley offspring 
do not share classes with the notable exception of the twins, in 
which case I'm sure that even if the teacher can tell them apart, 
most likely s/he is reprimanding both of them.

If it were McGonagall speaking to all of Gryffindor house and wanting 
to single out one of the Weasleys, she would use given and family 
name if she didn't look directly at the subject in question to get 
hir attention to let hir know s/he is the one being addressed.


Finwitch:
>Mind you, even Filch's *cat* is referred to as Mrs.! Curious indeed.


Giving a title to an animal ('Mr. Ed', Willow and Tara's 'Miss 
Kitty') is presumptuous and tries to lend importance to the animal 
that it does not possess. No matter how you look at it, Mrs. Norris 
is merely a squibs cat with no power of her own. 


Brian:
>> St. Mungo's Hospital brings the MW idea of "sainthood" into the 
WW.  
>> Any theories?


Some of the saints of Ireland (some of which were common amongst all 
Celts) may have originated as ancient Gaulish deities such as 
Bride/Brigid who was a goddess of Fertility in Ireland and Britain. 
Very connected to the earth and now in more modern times, paganism. 

Their is a Scottish saint nicknamed Mungo - his real name starts with 
something that reminds me of Wolfville - sometime around the 4th - 
6th century AD, but I don't remember his origins) move from 
mythology - Christian mythology included - to the WW. Some other 
evidence would suggest that not all of JKR's creations are original, 
Merlin, Grindelwald (which sounds a lot like Grendel) and Hippogriffs 
are the ones springing to mind at the moment.

Ten'ou