prof-student etiquitte + Potions master stuff (was: Re: Master of This School)

[tonks_op]

No: HPFGUIDX 111861


> Kathryn:
> > 'please sir, the Chemistry master wanted me to give you this 
> > message'

Aura <annegirl11 at j...> wrote::
> (snip) To my American ears, it seems like an unnecesarily 
> subserviant thing for Hermione to say, so I assume I'm missing 
> some cultural context here? 
> 
snip> 
> I still say that he invokes that title just to puff up his 
> importance, because he's so insecure he feels he needs external 
> things like titles to make people respect his authority.


Not sure if I got the snips right.. but
Tonks here:

First anyone over the age of 70 in the U.S. will tell you that 
showing respect for your "superiors" was a normal thing here before 
the 1950's. Only younger people today think that this is a terrible 
thing. It was just accepted as good breeding and the way the society 
was. In the U.K. they have not changed as much as we have in the 
U.S. (They still have some manners there I believe.) I can remember 
a discussion with an older friend where I told her that the 
employees where I worked were taking up a collection to get our boss 
a Christmas gift, and she says "he is your superior, and it is not 
acceptable to give him a gift".   

Now as to Snape: Snape is a Potions Master because he is very good 
at what he does. (He is the Master, not the student. Master/Student 
is a very normal concept.) He is very intelligent and he knows this. 
HE IS NOT INSECURE, he is arrogant. If you have met any really 
intelligent people who knew that they were more intelligent than the 
people around them...well some of them are ok and nice, but many are 
very arrogant and impatient with others.  And Snape is like this. He 
is very self assured, there in nothing at all insecure about him!! 

Tonks_op