Does JKR want us to hate Draco? (was: Re: Admonishing Snape)

[nrenka]

No: HPFGUIDX 129628

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "horridporrid03" 
<horridporrid03 at y...> wrote:

> Betsy:
> Okay, I'll bite. :)  How do we, the readers, *know* that JKR 
> doesn't like Draco?

Since you asked in this way, you've opened yourself to the meta-
answer even though I know you don't like it: because she's told us as 
much.  Draco got no birthday announcement (at least yet) on the 
website; she repeatedly has said (I think aimed at the younger 
fans) "Draco is not Tom Felton", meaning one should not be attracted 
to him because he is hot, and other comments etc.  But I think it's 
in the text, too.

> But again, *how* can they find such positive traits in that house 
> or those characters *unless* JKR put them there *herself*.

Massive projection.  Most all Draco defenses (and I include our 
arguments in this) involve going "Oh, that action wasn't that 
bad...", "He was just following Lucius' lead", "His motivation isn't 
really what he said it was", "He was actually trying to help in the 
only way he knew", "He's just an ignorant kid", etc.

If you look for it hard enough, you can probably find it.  Occam and 
I are both a little wary of that procedure.  But enough people out 
there really want to find positive traits in Slytherin House at 
present that the surface is explained away.

> Because when JKR *does* want you to hate a character, I mean really 
> despise someone, she doesn't seem to have a problem accomplishing 
> her goal.  Not many people defend Umbridge as horribly 
> misunderstood.  I haven't found a website dedicated to the subtle 
> courage of Minister Fudge.  Vernon Dursley does not send hearts a 
> flutter.  For that matter, the WW's fear of trolls doesn't get the 
> same chatter as their contempt of house-elves.

There are a good number of Death Eater fangirls (yes, they're mostly 
female) out there.  Umbridge has an apologist or two.  However, NONE 
of those figures has the capacity to be seen as 'hot' in the same way 
as Draco, or as 'misunderstood'.  If you think that Dumbledore is 
evil and manipulative, then Draco becomes an alternative figure to 
side with--he sees things they way they really are and is one of the 
few people not to suck up to that manipulative bastard DD.  And then, 
in fic, he can convince Harry to see the world in the Slytherin Way 
and open his eyes to reality.

> If Draco is meant to be so completely repulsive, if Slytherins are 
> supposed to be so drenched in evil why are so many readers missing 
> the cues?  Why do they consistently find evidence of something 
> more, evidence of possible goodness?  Has JKR done such a poor job 
> writing her villians?  If she really does dislike Draco, why can't 
> JKR, with her bully pulpit, get everyone else to dislike him too?

Because readers, many of them, are extremely resistant to actually 
closely following the text and are very open to reading the way that 
they want to, even if it fails to take into account a lot of things.  
How else can you explain the proliferation of post-war Draco!Stus (I 
won't list story names--ask me offlist if you want the offenders) in 
which Draco is this superior, smug, smooth, and extremely competent 
figure?

You're sure not getting THAT from canon.

I don't think JKR wants us to despise Draco as we do, say, Lucius.  
Draco is a considerably lesser figure.  On the other hand, I don't 
think he's the object of sympathy, particularly with how his arc is 
heading.  He has never ben shown to change his opinions, to learn 
that what he's doing is wrong, and to show positive character traits 
put to a positive usage.  The content of his character is poor, but 
he inspires a lot of "Oh, but he could..."  Draco, at current, is an 
object of deserved scorn who brings things down upon himself.  That's 
a pattern I can see continuing, especially with his current probable 
loss of social status.  (I can see Narcissa and Draco getting, out in 
Diagon Alley, "Aren't you that DE's wife and son?"  Hehehe.)

We'll have to see if he will.  In the spirit of which, email me your 
bets as to Draco's future: reformed?  dead?  more evil?  ambiguous?  
I'll collect and collate them all.

-Nora notes that the world of H/D slash alone indicates an awful lot 
of wishful thinking