Shadenfreud

[bawilson at citynet.net]

No: HPFGUIDX 145477

"Bruce:
> And besides, considering how mean he's been to Harry all 
> these years, it is high time that something nasty should 
> happen to him.


Magpie:
> Well, sure.  But there are a lot of people who have been 
> mean in the world and that does not give me the right to do 
> something mean to them.  I could do that, but I would just 
> be being mean.  


Yes, but if you heard that someone ELSE had done something nasty 
to your tormentor, and done it in such a way that one of that 
tormentor's strongest character flaws triggered it, could anyone 
blame you for feeling some of what I believe our German friends 
call 'schadenfreud' (someone please correct my spelling)?  

If HARRY had slipped Dudley a piece of TTT, that would have been 
one thing--it could be argued that he was just 'descending to his 
level.'  But Harry didn't do it; he didn't even ASK the Twins to 
do it; they came up with it on his own.  As Harry is the character 
which JKR asks us to most identify, our exultation over Dudley's 
comeuppance is perfectly justified.

And the fact remains, no matter how you argue it, if Dudley had 
kept his gluttonous mouth shut and his fat, grabby hands to 
himself, he would never have gotten his tongue engorged.  The 
next time he's confronted with wizardling candy, he'll probably 
think twice at least before eating it, and anything that will make 
Dudley think can hardly be a bad thing.


BAW