Dating Muggleborns(was: Where does it say that Molly is a pureblood fanatic

[horridporrid03]

No: HPFGUIDX 125470


>>Naama:
<snip>
>And if you want to make counter arguments, could you please base 
them on textual evidence? I am getting tired of reiterated opinions 
that are unsupported by cannon.<

Betsy:
Yes M'am!  Unfortunately, the difficulty is that there really isn't 
any specific canon where Molly says, "I just don't trust those 
Muggleborns!"  But I don't think I'm going too far out on a limb to 
suggest that Molly isn't as liberal as her husband when it comes to 
Muggles (which I think most folks agree with) and even Muggleborns 
(which is a harder sell, I know).

I think that once someone starts to show contempt for Muggles, it 
lends itself towards a certain uneasiness regarding Muggleborns.  
You've said:

>>Naama:
>The thing that JKR portrays as problematic is the attitude to 
Muggleborns. It may seem psychologically sound that if you look down 
on Muggles (as the entire WW does), you would look down on 
Muggleborns too. However, that is not the case in the Potterverse.<

Betsy:
I've countered that those who show a high regard for pure-bloods 
(i.e. Fudge, and many in the WW) must therefore hold Muggleborns, 
with their entirely non-pure-blood, as something somewhat less.  I 
know you think it's applying RL logic to a fictional world, but I 
haven't seen any canon that demonstrates that the WW *doesn't* place 
some importance on a person's bloodlines.  

And it is canon that *everyone* knows who the Muggleborns are.  
Everyone knows that Lily Potter was a Muggleborn, everyone knows that 
Hermione is a Muggleborn.  In fact, bloodlines are so important Rita 
Skeeter leads with Hermione's blood status in the heart-break story 
that turns Molly against Hermione. (GoF Scholastic Hardback p. 512)

>>Betsy:
>Fudge is a good barometer for prevailing Wizarding views, and he 
distrusts Muggleborns.  He doesn't hate them, he doesn't think they 
should be destroyed (I don't think he's been portrayed as out and out 
evil, either) but he doesn't trust them.<

>>Naama: 
>Evidence? He is a snob in his regard for pure bloods, but I can't 
remember him expressing distrust of Muggleborns.<

Betsy:
Erm.  Okay, I thought Fudge said something about Muggleborns at the 
end of GoF, and it turns out he was specifically attacking Harry.  
So, yeah, I don't know if Fudge trusts Muggleborns or not.  So point 
there. :) 

However, I *still* think the most logical reason Molly suddenly turns 
on Hermione (on the word of a woman she *knows* is a liar) is that 
Hermione is a Muggleborn.  I *haven't* seen any evidence that the 
WW's distrust of Muggles does *not* transfer to Muggleborns.  It 
certainly transfers to a higher status to those most removed from 
Muggles, the pure-bloods.

You've suggested that Molly may have turned on Hermione because she 
doesn't like her hair, or her studiousness, or her lack of quidditch 
skills.  I took those as tongue-in-cheek, because there's even less 
canonical evidence for those arguments, IMO.  I *do* recognize that 
there isn't clear-cut evidence that Molly has an instinctual distrust 
of Muggleborns, but I think that there *are* some hints within the 
texts.  I feel like I've pointed those hints out (see message 
125308).  Of course, you can certainly disagree. :)

Betsy, who snipped and scrambled Naama's posts, but hopefully didn't 
mess up her points.