Animagus forms (was Peter, Sirius, or Lupin: who was the spy again?)

[madam_marozi]

No: HPFGUIDX 132139


Demetra:

> I have also read some articles where dog behaviors are evaluated as 
> pack-like.  The dog sees it's humans as pack mates.  But the animal 
> behaviorists that I have read don't describe the dog behavior as 
> loyalty, but rather as resistance to any disruption of the pack 
> order.  


Marozi: 

Well, inevitably, behaviorists are going to describe animal
behavior in value-neutral terms.  But the designation of animagi
forms seems to be anything but value-neutral, and as much symbolic
as anything.  There's nothing particularly treacherous about real,
flesh-and-blood rats, but for a human to call another human a rat
has a very specific meaning.  Peter is a rat.  A dog, on the 
other hand, in human symbolism, is Fido, man's best friend.  Stags
symbolize nobility and prowess.  "Bugs" are pests and, even more
idiomatically, eavesdroppers.

Demetra:

> My question to other listees regarding this premise is this: If 
> Sirius is meant to be seen in a positive light because his animagus 
> form is associated with positive traits, what are we supposed to 
> think about McGonnagall?  Should we be wary of her because her 
> animagus form is a cat?  


Marozi:

Lots of real life cats are ornery, stupid little beasts (sorry, cat
people), but folklore endows them with qualities like cleverness,
self-reliance, fastidiousness, and of course, association with
witchcraft. So, not necessarily negative associations.