The Sneak Mark (was "Slytherin" Hermione?)

[pippin_999]

No: HPFGUIDX 112826

There are several ethical issues raised by Hermione's actions 
and they need to be considered separately. To justify them all by 
saying that Marietta was a snitch and deserved to be punished is 
to make the ends justify the means. In that case, the question is 
not whether Hermione is a Slytherin but whether we are ;-) ... 
which is better discussed on OT-Chatter.


Tonks_op

> Also, after the kids signed the paper "there was an odd feeling 
in  the group now. It was as thought they had just signed some 
kind of  contract." (p.347)<

Pippin:
It isn't a contract unless the parties involved agree to *all* the 
provisions. The students did not agree to be hexed if they 
violated the agreement, any more than Harry agreed to be hexed 
if he failed to teach defensive skills. 

The students did agree that Harry should teach them, and you 
could argue that they were giving *Harry* the authority to punish 
them, since those with authority over students in the WW have 
the right to discipline them, and even to disfigure them. 
(Umbridge aside, we are told that Arthur still has the marks of a 
beating he received for violating curfew.) 

 If so, then Hermione usurped Harry's power and only got his 
consent after the fact. That is an abuse of power similar to that of 
one Dolores Umbridge, and I think the use of a mutilating 
punishment deliberately emphasizes the similarity. Hermione is 
on a rather slippery slope.

I don't believe Hermione is a Slytherin--if you asked her whether 
you should use any means to achieve your ends she'd say no. 
But she has a tendency to assume that because she is a good 
person, any means which  does not cause her conscience to 
revolt is okay-- and some fans may make that mistake along with 
her. But  Dumbledore's analysis of his failure with  Harry shows 
us the limits of relying on your internalized sense of values.
 

Tonks_op
> 
> But lets look at the lesson here:  
> What might be a motive for the author to not punish Hermione?

The motive might be that JKR doesn't want to punish Hermione 
*yet*. For example, Harry tells lies  beginning in Book One, but 
only in GoF do we begin to  see the negative consequences -- 
Ron won't believe that Harry is telling the truth about the Goblet, 
and Harry realizes that he is letting Hagrid down by letting him 
think he is working hard to solve the egg clue. Dumbledore 
withholds information from Harry for five books before we find out 
that it was a mistake for him to do so.

Hermione's attempt to trick the House Elves into freedom and 
her assumption that the Centaurs would fall in with her plan to 
deal with Umbridge are other examples that show how her 
internal sense of values sometimes leads her astray. This 
struggle is part of Hermione's continuing development, and we 
shouldn't expect it to be resolved instantly.

Rowling's magic formula for deciding between your internal 
sense of values and others' would seem to be, go with the 
choice that is more difficult. But first you have to be aware that 
there is a choice--Hermione simply assumes that where her 
values conflict with others', it's the others who are wrong, not her.

Pippin