Nel Question # 6. Peter Pettigrew

Sun Apr 24 19:13:02 UTC 2005

No: HPFGUIDX 127998

Alla:
I hope it is OK  that I am posting it one day earlier than I was 
supposed to. Thanks to Potioncat for being a wonderful proofreader 
and simply for being wonderful. :-)

Dr Nel's original question:

Consider the character of Wormtail (aka Peter Pettigrew).  What 
motivates him?  When Harry is upset that he saved Pettigrew's
life, Dumbledore says, `Pettigrew owes his life to you.  You have 
sent Voldemort a deputy who is in your debt.  When one wizard saves 
another wizard's life, it creates a certain bond between them.
And 
I'm much mistaken if Voldemort wants his servant in the debt of 
Harry Potter.' When Harry says he doesn't want a bond with 
Pettigrew, Dumbledore replies, `The time may come when you will
be very glad you saved Pettigrew's life.' (POA, pg 311). 
Does 
Pettigrew telling Voldemort that his return to power could be 
accomplished without Harry Potter (GoF, pgs 13-14) seem motivated by 
a desire to help Harry or by Pettigrew's cowardice?  What will
his role be in the remaining novels?  Will Pettigrew remain
Voldemort's faithful servant?  Will he help Harry?  Are these 
questions complicated further by Sirius Black's suggestion in 
Chapter 19 of POA that other Death Eaters might turn against 
Pettigrew? 

My follow – up questions.
I believe that we know very little about motivations behind Peter 
Pettigrew's actions, therefore the majority of the questions,
while based on canon, are quite speculative, due to limited 
information.  
Here we go. 

1. `Although every society, large or miniscule, can change the 
meaning of betrayal, it is political circumstances that bear down 
most heavily upon our reliability. Of all extenuating circumstances, 
the pressure of military force is the most irresistible. Fear of 
persecution makes all of us potentially treacherous. Who is to 
condemn the Soviet citizen who shuts his door and heart to a 
dissident who once was his friend? It is the self-righteous, far 
more than the craven, who are unjust. Public fear, even more than 
personal circumstances, makes us treacherous; and it also excuses 
us, because danger summons us to look out for ourselves and our 
families. Heroism is very rare, and no one is obliged to rise to 
such heights. When someone does, he is being praised precisely for 
being more than merely good" –   "Ordinary Vices" by
Judith Shklar. 

Do you think that this quote is in any way, shape or form applicable 
to Peter Pettigrew's circumstances? In your opinion, did he owe
to his friends to be "more than merely good" or not?
Sirius in the Shack tells Peter that he should have died just as 
they would have died for him. Would they? 

2. In her well known quote JKR talks about Peter as someone who out 
of cowardice will stand in the shadow of the strongest person. 
"  Q. : You referred to the darkness in your books, and there's
been a lot of talk and even concern over that.

JKR: You have a choice when you're going to introduce a very evil 
character. You can dress a guy up with loads of ammunition, put a 
black Stetson on him, and say, "Bad guy. Shoot him." I'm
writing about shades of evil. You have Voldemort, a raging 
psychopath, devoid of the normal human responses to other people's 
suffering, and there ARE people like that in the world. But then you 
have Wormtail, who out of cowardice will stand in the shadow of the 
strongest person. What's very important for me is when Dumbledore 
says that you have to choose between what is right and what is easy. 
This is the setup for the next three books. All of them are going to 
have to choose, because what is easy is often not right."
(Entertainment Weekly, September 7, 2000)

Is that really all that there is to Peter? Is that the only reason 
he befriended James, Sirius and Remus?  Is that why he joined 
Voldemort?

3. What is your stand on "Peter as Dumbledore's spy"  
theory and all the variables from it?

4. As we all know Peter's finger was sent to his mother.  Where
is his father? Do you think his mother may show up in the later 
books or not?

5. So, why did Peter end up with Weasleys of all people?

6. Sirius in the Shack accuses Peter of passing information to 
Voldemort for a year. How did Sirius know for how long it happened? 
Is it because Dumbledore started getting suspicious a year before 
Potters death? Any other reasons? 

7. If Peter will indeed help Harry at the end, do you see it as 
conscious help or "a la Gollum"?

8. JKR in 2004 answered the question "What happened to
Wormtail"? As "You will find out in book 6".

What we will find out? Please look at the last question by Dr. Nel. 
Do you think that the issue of other Death Eaters being angry with 
Peter is now moot for discussion or not? Is it a possibility that 
Peter was hurt by his esteemed colleagues and was recovering during 
OOP?

Here are some post OOP Peter related threads

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/127566

- Mterman compared Umbridge and Pettigrew personalities

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/126713

- Nora wondered about Peter's ambiguous role in the narrative

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/125645

- Snow wonders about Pettigrew's life debt and what it means for
all involved parties

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/118386

"Two Wormtails"  Pippin speculates that Peter may not be the
only one who has the nickname "Wormtail". The thread requires
the
working knowledge of ESE! Lupin theory.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/118201

- "Unfortunate! Peter"   Kneasy argues that Peter could be 
Dumbledore's spy

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/115540

"DD and the rat" – Kneasy argues that Peter could be
Dumbledore's spy.  The whole thread is very interesting, IMO.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/107238

"New JKR FAO Poll" – Lauraasia wonders why answer to
question "Where was Peter in OOP?" could be important to the
plot.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/104011

- Carol argues against the theory that Peter is not a real Death 
Eater.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/99014

- Mike wonders who approached Peter with the offer to spy against 
the Order.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/95879

- Carol thinks that Peter could have been responsible for more 
deaths than just Potters and muggles or there was another Voldemort 
spy in the original order

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/95203

"Is Wormtail an Occlumens?" by Eric Oppen

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/91754

"Where is Pettigrew?" – Jen Reese and other posters offer
ideas about possible Peter's whereabouts in OOP.

Have fun!

Alla, who thinks that attempting to feel some kind of sympathy 
towards Peter was the hardest "book related" exercise of her
senses she ever did. :-)  

For a complete list of the discussion questions, go to:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/files/Discussion%
20Summaries/

For the schedule, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/125653