The Falling-Out of the Hogwarts Four - Salazar & Basilisk

[Steve]

No: HPFGUIDX 126493


--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, imamommy at s... wrote:
> 
> --- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Steve" <bboyminn at y...> wrote:
> > ...Huge Snip...
> > ...., we have NO real evidence that Slytherin was the 
> > pureblood-Nazi he is made out to be. All we really know is that he
> > didn't trust muggles, and ... that distrust was well founded, and 
> > ..., the stakes were very high if anything went wrong.
> > 
> > So, I can easily see how Salazar wanted to safely restrict 
> > Hogwarts students to those of magical ancestry. 
> > 
> > Not saying I'm right, but that's how I see it.
> > 
> > Steve/bboyminn


> imamommy:
> 
> Steve, this post was very well written, and I agree, although my 
> husband pointed out that Salazar had to be at least a little loopy; 
> he did, after all, leave a Basilisk to kill muggles even after he 
> left.  

bboyminn:

Well, we have been lead to believe that the Basilisk was there for
/ill/ purpose, but that's based in assumptions of modern-day people
who are relying on rumor, speculation, and an unreliable Legend. 

Further down in the same thread, in post #126025 I address this issue
in a response to Ffed and said in short...

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

....snip....

But old legends are not too reliable. I could just as easly speculate
that the Basilisk was on hand to protect the school should there ever
be a mass attack by muggles. It's possible that Salazar left the
Basilisk behind to save the castle/school when the Muggle attack
finally came, just as he had predicted. When that happened and his
Basilisk saved everyone, he would be a hero, and would gain control of
how the school was run.

The path of /legend/ logic is that muggles would attack which would
imply they had been betrayed by a muggle-born, the Basilisk would save
the castle, kill all the attacking muggles, thereby proving that
Slytherin was right, muggle-born's couldn't be trusted and were
therefore /unworthy/ to study magic. 

That would be a sequence of events that would 'rid the castle of those
unworthy to study magic'.

....snip...

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Notice how this alternate interpretation doesn't really contradict the
Legend or what we know as fact regarding Salazar's beliefs.


> imamommy continues:
>
> This prompted a discussion about what might have made ol' 
> Slythy go round the twist.  So, what if the Half-Blood Prince, 
> whomever he is, was the *cause* of Sal Slytherin's descent from 
> logical caution into madness?  ... It also leaves the possibility of 
> GG being the HBP open, although it could have been someone else.
> 
> imamommy


bboyminn:

Interesting point. First we don't know if the Half-Blood Prince is
someone living today, or a historical figure. For that matter, we
don't know if he is a real person or a metaphor. The HPB could be a
fairytale or myth that illustrates a critical point to Harry, perhaps
about courage, or sacrific, or some other noble attribute. 

Given how little information we have, your guess (or your husband's)
is as good as any.

As to whether Salazar /actually/ went 'round the twist. Again, we can
only speculate. I wasn't trying to paint Salazar as a prefect and
peachy person, I'm sure he had his faults. I'm also sure his belief
were based in a bias or prejudice against muggles, but I'm not sure
whether that was within general and reasonable bounds, or if he was
totally fanatic about it.

It seems clear if the conflict caused that much strife among the
founders, Salazar must have had very strong feeling which he defended
with equal strength and determination. It seems reasonable that
Salazar wasn't simply weighing in with his preference, he was adamant
and determines that he was right, and that his ideas be followed. 

But in considering this, we must also consider what was at stake. With
the abondoning of the 'spread-out' apprentice system, and the adoption
of a central school of magic, the wizard world became very vulnerable.
If the magic-hating muggles got wind of and attacked the school, not
only would the finest wizards and witches of the age be lost, but an
entire generation of magical people would be destroyed. That could
have spelled the end of the magical world in the UK. 

Given all that, it's within reason for Salazar to have taken a strong,
forcefull, and unyeilding position on the matter. So, in this light,
it's not that hard to justify Salazar's actions.

Again, I'm not trying to paint Salazar as a saint, I'm sure (very
sure) he had his dark side; he was ambitions, cunning, and had a
definite pureblood bias, but so far I haven't seen direct evidents
that he is 'round the twist or that he's evil.

Not sure what to make of the poor guy.

Steve/bboyminn