Mother Molly (was: Some OOTP Questions) / Nice people get pass

[M.Clifford]

No: HPFGUIDX 125198


> >>Betsy:
> >I don't think Molly is completely bad.  But I do think she is 
> toxic.  
> 

Valky:
I'd like to sway your opinion on that Betsy. I think I have figured 
Molly out and I don't think Toxic sums it up all that well.

I agree that many times the consequence of certain of her behaviours 
is to emotionally injure her children. But her motivations haven't 
been clarified in discussions about it, as far as I can see, mostly 
because /all/ of us have been starting from the assumption that 
Molly is a proud liberalist and advocate of tolerance like her 
husband. But I have realised lately, that she is not proudly so. We 
have been working from the assumption that she is content to be a 
poor outcast Blood traitor and possesses the self confidence as well 
as the the will to cope with the interim debasement of her families 
civil rights. I think she begins and ends at will, the rest is all 
Arthur.

IMO, Molly *is* naturally a tolerant and loving person, but not one, 
like Sirius, who was able to see from an early age to what extent 
that would affect her own choices. She was raised by purebloodists, 
and married into a pureblood family and not once did she consider 
that she would ever be outcast for her love of Arthur. Molly thought 
she was keeping it real all around, she was in love, she was true to 
the creed of her family as far as she could comprehend, and she was 
thought she had pleased *everyone*.

But not so, because she had become a traitor to pureblood.

In OOtP when Sirius shows Harry the tapestry, and all the burnholes 
where names used to be, I admit having the presumption that the 
silly old bag hadn't *hurt* anyone by it. I was wrong. There is 
someone who was on that tapestry that broke down in grief in the 
household and could barely handle a simple boggart, there is someone 
who was acting irritated and abrasive in the Order HQ and possessed 
the fervent drive to de-demonise and breathe life into the estate of 
her family. That person was Molly. Mrs Black wasn't a harmless old 
biddy trying to make a foolish point, she really did break hearts in 
her family with her maliciousness, and Molly is our proof.

Molly is conflicted. On the one hand she loves and believes in 
Arthur. He is a brave and righteous man, what he does is right and 
she knows it deep down. But on the other hand, all this anti-
bloodism is destroying her family. 

In daily life she struggles with poverty and blame. Dearly she would 
love to have more to give her children, and sometimes its sooo 
frustrating having to put a lot of willywacky nonsense in priority 
over their future. After all, she was raised believing Pure Wizard 
blood *is* superior, though she might not agree that its a license 
to be fascist and reprimanding toward the unfortunate, she certainly 
doesn't "entirely" doubt that a Pure Blood wizard should have 
priviliege in their own world. Especially her law abiding and decent 
family, who after all *is* Pure Wizard Blooded.

But she is at pains to get this point across to her children, most 
of the time. Pressing them to do right, prove themselves worthy of 
the dignity they have been denied, get behind her cause and show 
that *tolerance* is not unworthiness.

This is shown in her dedication to traditions, she wants her 
children to go to Hogwarts, get into the Weasley Family House 
(Gryffindor) and become Prefects and Heads and other such over 
achievers of lofty goals. Moreover, she *needs* it for her peace of 
mind. She is frequently reminded in her memory of having been told 
Blood traitors could amount to nothing, she needs that to be proven 
false, and any threat to the security that would provide her is 
quickly rebuked and put aside in her mind so as to forget it is 
happening.

So she forgets that Fred and George aren't prefects, because 
ultimately she *needs* to deny that they aren't or else her plan has 
failed and her cruel family's taunts are proved correct, the Blood 
Traitors are nothing. And so she rewards her children materially for 
having fostered an alliance with her creed of righteous indignation, 
she wants them to believe, like she wants to believe, that Weasleys 
are worthy, noble and exemplary purebloods. 

I think Molly is a lot more vulnerable and low in self esteem than 
is first noticable. All she wants is to be dignified again. 

Valky