Spinners End - changing views of Narcissa

[phoenixgod2000]

No: HPFGUIDX 134442

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "wickywackywoo2001" 
> I quite agree.  And this chapter had an unexpected effect for me, 
in
> that it changed how I would normally have reacted to the
> Harry/Draco/Narcissa scene in Diagon Alley later on.  When I last 
saw
> Narcissa, she was desperately trying to protect her son in a
> near-hopeless situation.  She was alone, vulnerable, and 
distraught. 
> When Harry mocks her in the robe shop, in front of her son, for the
> first time I don't feel like applauding his defiance.  He comes 
off as
> caddish.  

I loved the Harry/Narcissa confrontation. I loved seeing Harry that 
strong and defiant. No matter what book it was, in my mind I always 
pictured Harry as a small young boy in oversized clothes. It wasn't 
until that moment that I truly envisioned Harry as a man. Standing 
up to Narcissa and calling her out was bad ass and I laughed with 
sheer glee the first time I read it.

Narcissa really surprised me in Spinners end. Thanks to fan fic I 
always pictured her as a much more calculating and self possessed 
woman. This weepy, begging individual made me like her a lot less. 
And lest we get too sympathetic with her and Draco, remember she was 
trying to enlist Snapes aid in helping Draco *murder* someone.

 I don't think that's his strong suit, and he's all too ready
> to judge others - Dumbledore even has to tell him explicitly not to
> judge Merope harshly when he's ready to write her off as a bad 
mother,
> because he doesn't know how much suffering she went through before 
the
> end.

But isn't that Dumbledore's problem? He is always unwilling to judge 
someone harshly. Merope basically raped that guy every night they 
were together under the love spell. That deserves harsh judgement. 
But this is the guy who knew that Draco incompetent assassination 
attempts nearly led to the deaths of two of his students and he 
still did nothing to stop him. As much as I loved DD in this book, 
that was just dumb.

phoenixgod2000