Petunia allowing Harry houseroom (Re: Etiquette )

[Jen Reese]

No: HPFGUIDX 142769

a_svirn:
> Personally I suspect that the melancholy truth is that Dumbledore
> did bully the Dursleys into adopting Harry, even though he couldn't
> *make* them to love him. What else does his little speech about
> Harry's being "unwelcome" and the Dursleys taking him "grudgingly"
> mean? Why would you "grudgingly" agree to raise other people's
> child? There are only three possibilities: either you stand to
> gain, or to loose or both. I don't see what the Dursleys got in
> the way of carrots. They are unaware of Harry's fortune, and their
> way of life has not changed noticeably since the Halloween 1981.
> As for sticks we don't have to overtax our imagination: we've seen
> enough of them. Fear might be only a "halfway decent" factor, but
> I believe it was enough for the Dursleys.

Jen: Your analysis sums up the situation well, and only our 
conclusions differ. The main reason I can't accept fear of 
Dumbledore as the motivating factor is because the Dursleys did not 
hesitate to go against Dumbledore's wishes for Harry when he was 
left with them. 

Dumbledore said in Book 1 chapter 1 that he was leaving a letter 
so 'his aunt and uncle will be able to explain everything to him 
when he's older.' Not only did the Dursleys keep this information 
from Harry, they also decided on their own to 'stamp out that 
dangerous nonsense'. Then when the Hogwarts letter came, they 
attempted to thwart Harry's admission. These actions tell me the 
Dursleys had no fear of retribution and in fact, didn't expect to 
have contact with the WW again. They considered themselves in charge 
of raising Harry as they saw fit, and were completely floored the 
day the WW re-entered their lives. 

So I think there was something that motivated Petunia to accept 
Harry besides being bullied by Dumbledore, and I do think Petunia 
made the decision; she was the one who had received letters from 
Dumbledore prior to finding Harry on the doorstep. Maybe the 
motivation was as simple as a wish to squash Harry's magical 
ability, something she couldn't do with Lily. Maybe it was 
protection granted. Perhaps in Dumbledore's letters to Petunia he 
mentioned that Voldemort was aware of the Dursleys and might 
possibly use them to get to Lily and Harry. When Lily was murdered, 
Dumbledore offered protection to the Dursleys in exchange for taking 
Harry in. After all, Harry might be safe from Voldemort in the place 
where his mother's blood dwells, but the Dursleys weren't so lucky! 
Over time though, the Durlseys felt the threat of Voldemort was gone 
and therefore their contact with the WW over.

Valky: 
> Just speculatively I am imagining Petunia as a young girl with a
> *special* sister, using my own feelings I am getting the sense
> that as a girl Petunia might have been fascinated and even mildy
> enamoured of the secret special society Lily belonged to. 
<snipping>
> If this was the case, then it follows that taking Harry in offers
> Petunia a dream come true in itself. Her own little secret to keep,
> just like Lily had, a letter from the little secret world that she
> is connected to, again like Lily. Although she is older now and
> outwardly she presents her very diginified Muggle persona, could
> it be so unusual that inside her little princess persona doesn't
> want her to let go of her fantasy. 

Jen: Oh Valky, I always like your ideas even when I can't totally 
agree! Personally it pains me greatly to read the scene where 
Petunia speaks of Lily with such venom in her voice and calls her a 
freak. Having a sister I wouldn't trade for anything, it would be 
soothing to know Petunia and Lily had a good relationship at one 
time, and perhaps the combination of perceived rejection on 
Petunia's part as Lily spent more and more time in the WW, and 
Vernon's influence, caused the resentment to grow over time.

Whatever feelings Petunia may have had as a young girl seem long 
gone by the time we meet her in PS, though. Not to say she couldn't 
have her secret wish buried inside, but Harry isn't privy to it and 
therefore it doesn't appear to be a readily explainable motive in 
the text. We do get to read about the things that motivate Petunia, 
namely anything to do with Dudley, a world where magic doesn't 
exist, her sparkling house, gossip....

Now it *is* possible Harry misinterprets Petunia and that would be 
very revealing and interesting. That certain times when he perceives 
anger, hatred, resentment, etc. something else is actually going on 
for Petunia underneath the facade she's built. Then your idea would 
definitely work. But if we're meant to go strictly on what Harry has 
interpreted so far, it's a more difficult fit for me.

Valky:
> I think this simplifies nicely the questions that are on both our
> minds. Why did Petunia take Harry in, what is her personal
> connection to the magic world, and what explains both these things
> while keeping the visit in HBP and the Howler readable at face
> value? It takes us back to the original theories we had before it
> was all complicated by the OOtP Howler that Petunia was just a
> little jealous of Lily and that she likes the notion of a magical
> world just a little more than she lets on.

Jen: Well, it would certainly explain JKR's comment that Petunia is 
not a Squib but 'that is a good guess'. If she spent her girlhood 
learning about the WW only to reject it in her adulthood, she was 
definitely more like a Squib than a Muggle.

Jen