Harry's emotional scars (was: In Defense of DD)

[cubfanbudwoman]

No: HPFGUIDX 126712


Lupinlore now:
> > Harry bears many deep scars from his time at the Dursleys, and 
> > Dumbledore should acknowledge them and admit to his own 
> > culpability in their creation.

John:
> You make it sound as if Harry is in need of some serious therapy! 
> (Then again, perhaps he is, but only because of the trauma he has 
> experienced since entering the WW.)
> 
> Just enlighten me with a few more of these "MANY deep scars" (my 
> emphasis) inflicted upon Harry. IMO he arrives at Hogwarts, as DD 
> says, as normal a boy as could be expected under the circumstances; 
> and, in fact, a good deal healthier than many kids. Sure he has 
> his flaws; just don't confuse those inherent in his person with 
> the "scarring" inflicted by the Dursleys. 


SSSusan:
I am in agreement with John.  Here's this kid who has lived through a 
nasty, nasty situation with the Dursleys, and yet he is able to make 
friends right away with Ron, shortly thereafter with Hermione; he 
seems to get on well with his fellow Gryffindor classmates; he knows 
how to laugh and have fun; he has a sense of right & wrong [in the 
big issues, if not in the little rule-bending behaviors :-)] and a 
sense of duty which is much deeper & more fully developed than many 
people's his age (or any age).  How many 11- or 12-year-olds (or any 
age, for that matter) would've said, "Try to STOP Snape?  No way!" 
or "Go AFTER Ginny?  Are you nuts?  Let someone else do it!"  But not 
Harry.  He has a very strong sense of watching out for the greater 
good and of doing his part (even if he tends to go a little farther 
than many people think he should in that!).  

I don't see in this the evidence of an individual with many deep 
emotional scars.

Now, I'm not saying there has been *no* lasting effect on Harry of 
living with the Dursleys.  Think of the scene in GoF where Molly hugs 
Harry after the graveyard ordeal.  He had no recollection of *ever* 
being hugged like that, as if by a parent.  This is incredibly 
poignant for us readers to read, true, and it may equate to an 
emotional scar (certainly to an emotional longing) in Harry.  So 
that's one example, possibly.  

We know Harry doesn't ask enough questions.  Is that a scar or is 
that typical teen behavior (or even JKR protecting her secrets for a 
7-book series)?  

We know Harry doesn't turn to adults as often as would be helpful for 
him, and this may be a result of his upbringing.  This is the example 
with the best canon support, I think.  

But all in all, I don't see these many deep scars you've suggested.  
I see a situation where a child might easily be *expected* to have 
developed many scars, but I don't see it *in actuality* in Harry.  
Any one of *us* might have come out of that experience deeply 
scarred, but for whatever reason, I don't think Harry did; he is an 
amazingly resilient young man.

Some would point to Harry's behavior in OotP as evidence of a young 
man deeply scarred, but it can be explained, as John suggested, 
mostly by the horrors which occurred in the graveyard and by his 
frustration at being left out of the loop by DD during his 5th year.  
I don't think we're seeing a manifestation of a bunch of deep scars 
from years & years previous as much as we're seeing reactions to 
present-time frustrations & grief.

So I guess that's a long way of saying, along with John, that I'd be 
interested in knowing these examples of many deep emotional scars in 
Harry.

Siriusly Snapey Susan