Harsh Morality - Combined answers

[pippin_999]

No: HPFGUIDX 121239


> Betsy wrote:
> "Some of the *characters* may have their own harsh morality, 
but that point of view is treated rather dimly by the author.  (See 
the tragedy that is the House of Crouch.)"
> 
> Del replies:
> I disagree. Even the Crouch example shows that there is Good 
and there is Evil, and if you partake of Evil even for apparently 
good reasons, then you're evil. The reason Crouch fell is 
because he used the tools of Evil : he allowed the Aurors to use 
the Unforgivables during VWI, he didn't let his son, a DE, pay for 
his crime, and he used an Unforgivable on him. Crouch partook 
of Evil, and by doing so he became evil too.<

Pippin:
But Crouch didn't become evil. He did wrong and suffered the 
consequences but he never gave allegiance to Voldemort, and 
when he broke free, he sought to confess and make amends, 
not to get vengeance. 


> Del replies:
> Snape is the only truly grey character IMO. But you'll notice that
 when commentating on him, JKR systematically condemns his 
behaviour, and she doesn't seem to understand that some 
readers should like him.<

Pippin:
She doesn't condemn all his behavior. I've never heard her 
condemn Snape for saving Harry's life. IMO, she's teasing her 
fans by saying she doesn't know why people like him--she 
knows perfectly well that they  will clam up rather than talk about 
it. Snape crushes are not something you'd want to discuss in 
front of an audience of children, <veg>. Alan Rickman and Tom 
Felton crushes are respectable by comparison, which is why 
she always shifts the conversation to those.


Del:
> So I tend to think that this is a reverse "Ron is a good guy" 
case, where the author has to explain her feelings about a 
character in interviews because she didn't make it clear enough 
in her books.<

Pippin:
Don't forget that interviewers usually have only a surface 
knowledge of the books and that the interviews are a marketing 
tool directed in part at people who (gasp!) haven't read the books 
even once yet. They ask obvious questions, and she answers 
them very simply for the benefit of people who would otherwise 
have no idea what she was talking about.  

Also, fans come in all levels of sophistication -- just because 
some people ask to have things explained to them doesn't prove 
they aren't sufficiently explained in the books. None of Rowling's 
answers about the characters' behavior have surprised me. 

Del:
> You'll also notice that the *only* thing that redeems Snape is 
that he works for DD. He's written as a completely black 
character with a white lining, not as a truly grey character. <

Pippin:
He. Saved. Harry's. Life. I don't think that's in the job description 
for Potions Master, and if DD had dropped dead the day before, I 
think he still would have done it.  It's true Snape doesn't seem to 
quite grasp what he's fighting for, but so what? I figure he prefers  
Dumbledore's principles, even though he doesn't entirely 
understand them, to Voldemort's, which he understands all too 
well. 

Pippin