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

[Katherine Coble]

No: HPFGUIDX 129651


On May 28, 2005, at 4:23 PM, horridporrid03 wrote:

> >>Betsy:
>  >How do we, the readers, *know* that JKR doesn't  like Draco?  I'm
>  honestly curious about this because Draco has such a large fan base
>  (and I'm talking adults here, not Tom Felton loving teeny-boppers)
>  and that can't have been formed in a vaccum.<
>
>  >>Katherine Coble:
>  >I believe there are several interviews where she says so--and also
>  in the FAQ on her page.<
>
>  >>Hickengruendler:
>  >She said so several times. If you want to read one example, it's on
>  her webpage at the Edinburgh book reading.<
>
>  >>Nora:
>  >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.<
>
>  Betsy:
>  Okay, so this is the "JKR wants us to hate Draco but is such a bad
>  author she can't get it across in the text and is forced to give
>  readers a heads up in interviews and on her website," point of view. 
>  In other words, readers *aren't* able to pick up that Draco is evil
>  to the bone.  Only fans devoted enough to visit the website and
>  listen to interviews are able to realize how JKR feels about Draco. 
>  You'll excuse me if I find such arguments as less than satisfying.
>

K:

If I may.  I hated Draco from the getgo.  I hated him from the moment 
we first met him in Madame Malkin's.   I simply point to external 
examples to prove my point--said point being that JKR means for him to 
be reviled.

Is she a bad author simply because there are particular people in this 
world who for some reason want to romanticize a character which is 
portrayed in the simplest of terms as bad?

I'm turning the question around.   What is with the people who INSIST 
and PERSIST that Draco is this gentle sheep in wolf's clothing?   Where 
do they get that idea?  What has Draco Malfoy  (whose very _name_ means 
BAD for kermit's sake) ever done in any of the canon anywhere that has 
people believing that he's good, I just know he is I can change him 
mama my love can make him a better person?!??!?!?!?!?


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