Lupin as a metaphor (was: DD and the rat)

[Renee]

No: HPFGUIDX 115974


--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Sherry Gomes" 
<sherriola at e...> wrote:
> Pippin said
> 
> But Lupin was a Gryffindor, who, IMO, ended up on Voldemort's 
> side only because he began to feel that outside Hogwarts there 
> was no useful place for him in the light.

Renee:

Lupin was a member of the first Order of the Phoenix. To me, this 
qualifies as a "useful place in the light". I don't know if the 
Marauders and Lily became members right out of Hogwarts, but given 
the timeline it can't have been very long afterwards. Lupin hardly 
had time to start feeling useless until after Voldemort's fall. As 
the ESE!Lupin theory requires him to have joined Voldemort before 
that, this isn't a very convincing argument.   
 
> Sherry:
> 
> Pippin, you build a compelling case for ESE Lupin.  I hope you are 
wrong.  I
> admit this is a very personal bias on my part.  As a disabled 
person, I
> can't tell you how many times I've been told, that if I had enough 
faith I'd
> be healed, or that I or my parents must have done some terrible 
thing for me
> to be blind.  i've had people tell me that till they got to know 
me, they
> thought I was developmentally disabled, though they did not use 
such a clean
> politically correct term.  People talk to me as if I'm a child, or 
as if I
> am also deaf and mute.  People think I am incompetent, though I 
have worked
> successfully for many years.  People either think I am super human 
or only
> part human, the other part some freak of nature or God.  Over the
> generations, disabled people have been looked at with suspicion 
and fear,
> especially people who are developmentally disabled.  Now, I'm not 
saying
> that disabled people are all wonderful either; I've known some 
pretty scummy
> disabled people and some down right criminals.  But to me, to have 
Lupin bee
> truly ESE, would be confirming all the stereotypes the WW has 
about his
> kind.  I see Lupin as the representative almost disabled person in 
the cast,
> and I'd really hate to have the WW opinion of him proved correct.  
It would
> feel like a confirmation of many, many people's beliefs about all 
people
> with disabilities.
> 
> So, as I say, I realize my feeling on the subject is based on very 
personal
> bias, and your thoughts on ESE Lupin are very intriguing.  I just 
hope you
> are wrong.

Renee: 
Sherry, I don't know what value you attach to the judgment of 
someone who rarely posts on this list, but I'm with you here. 

As Pippin pointed out herself, JKR has stated that Lupin is a 
metaphor for the way people react to illness and disability. I'd 
like to add there's a very personal quality to this statement. JKR's 
own mother suffered from multiple sclerosis, a crippling, incurable 
disease that is often fatal - Mrs. Rowling died of it when she was 
45 years old. It can also lead to discrimination; for instance, the 
people affected by it have difficulty getting a regular job (sound 
familiar?) because they can't work 40 hours a week due to fatigue 
and other symptoms. 

In many countries, there are laws against this (though not in the 
Wizarding World), but these are only too easy to circumvent for 
employers. A great deal has to be done still for people suffering 
from MS and other chronical diseases that do not only cripple the 
sufferer but also make it difficult for them to function socially. 
Not surprislingly, JKR supports the MS Society of Scotland. 

I don't think it's a coincidence that Lupin is one of her favourite 
characters. Nor do I think he's unimportant to her; she's mentioned 
him too often in her interviews and commentaries. No wonder, if he 
represents a personal issue to her. 

As Alla said in a previous post:

I am again keeping my fingers crossed that having an "edge" does not
mean ESE!Remus, because to me it would cross out message about
tolerance and help to the victims of prejudice. It would mean that
you cannot survive in the tough conditions without turning to evil,
but it is just my opinion.

Renee again:
ESE!Lupin would also cross out the plea for a change of attitude 
towards people who, like JKR's mother, suffer from an incurable, 
crippling and socially impairing disease through no fault of their 
own. And what message would it be to say: If you're being treated 
badly because of your illness, you're bound to go bad? What we're 
actually shown, so far - that Lupin's integrity is compromised 
because of his condition (he likes too much to be liked), but that 
he remains a positive character nonetheless - is far more effective. 
To the general audicience it says: Look how discrimination can 
affect the victim. To the people affected it says: you don't have to 
conform to the prejudice; you can fight to retain your dignity. A 
two-edged sword.   

Plotwise, the ESE!Lupin theory is very ingenious. But the HP books 
can be read on more levels. Given JKR's personal involvement with 
illness and disability, the theory is complete and utter rubbish on 
the metaphorical level. To me, this means it won't happen in the 
plot either.

Sherry, I hope this helps,

Renee