[HPforGrownups] Re: Obviously Petunia? (Was: Retrospective - Snape's Worst Memory)

[Kemper]

No: HPFGUIDX 142841

On 11/10/05, Goddlefrood <gav_fiji at yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> Goddlefrood:
>
> <snip>
>
> "Is Aunt Petunia a Squib?
>
> Good question. No, she is not, but—[Laughter]. No, she is not a
> Squib. She is a Muggle, but—[Laughter]. You will have to read the
> other books. You might have got the impression that there is a
> little bit more to Aunt Petunia than meets the eye, and you will
> find out what it is. She is not a squib, although that is a very
> good guess. Oh, I am giving a lot away here. I am being shockingly
> indiscreet."
>
> This suggests strongly, when read in conjunction with the quotation
> cited by Carol, that Petunia will be the one performing magic
> comparatively late in life.

 Kemper now:
I agree that Aunt Petunia is not the only candidate and that the semantics
'late' as in 'late in life' suggest late in age of displayed magic rather
than the twilight of someone's life.
...
To add to the Aunt Petunia as the one to display magic, I want to look at it
thematically. To have Mrs. Figg be the 'late' witch takes away from the
power we see in her within a society that essentially thinks of her as 'less
than': that she is not as valued because she is not magical. She stands up
for herself against a league of powerful witches and wizards: she is strong
without magic. It would be like Rosa Parks (American black woman who is an
icon of the civil rights movement) turning white.
...
However, having Aunt Petunia be the 'late' witch... ahh... literary irony...
yum! Plus, for those readers among us who psychotically need to see
righteous/vindictive retribution reigned over their most hated characters
(Snape?), they get to see the Dursley's in emotional turmoil over one them
possessing the hated and the feared Magic.
...
Kemper, who has mentioned this in the past but it's been a year or so...


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]