looks determining character

[hickengruendler]

No: HPFGUIDX 139651

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Sherry Gomes" <sherriola at e...> 
wrote:
 
> 
> So, i haven't judged the characters on their looks.  Whew, ok, a 
long
> prelude to my point.  I think that those who fear the ugly 
description of
> Snape then him being evil could send a bad message to children 
might be
> forgetting that the big baddie is supposed to be handsome and 
charming.
> Isn't the young Tom riddle described as handsome?  Didn't he have a 
way of
> charming everyone around him, except for Dumbledore?  I remember 
that,
> because I felt kind of squeamish at the descriptions of his charm 
and good
> looks.  

Hickengruendler:

You are right. The villains are both, good looking and ugly. You 
already mentioned Tom. Bellatrix, too, is described as beautiful (at 
least before her holiday in Azkaban), as is Narcissa. Gilderoy 
Lockhart, who is not as evil as the ones mentioned above, but still 
completely unlikable, too, is very handsome. Other villains, like 
Quirrell or Crouch jr are at least average looking and certainly not 
completely ugly. But I think the problem, that many people have, is 
not, that nearly every villain is ugly, it's that nearly every ugly 
looking person is a villain. Snape is deeply unpleasant, no matter on 
which side he is, the Dursleys, who in their features are complete 
caricatures, are horrid, the background Slytherins and Death Eaters 
all resemble trolls (might be because they are all inbred, like the 
Gaunts), Sirius' mother is a remarkably old and ugly witch and I 
won't even start about Umbridge. On the other hand, both Molly and 
Neville, who seem to be a bit on the chubby side, are always 
described very carefully. It are only the bad characters, like Draco 
or Pansy, who call them "fat", and they are nonetheless pretty normal 
looking, in contrast to many villains. In fact, the only ugly 
character, who is not evil, is Moaning Myrtle. And even if nothing 
will take away Snape's horridness towards the students, it would IMO 
still help a lot, if his ugliness and his appereance, who resemble 
the classic villain so much, are just a red-herring by the author. 

Sherry:

In fact, other than
> the impression we are given that the young Sirius and James are 
attractive,
> is any good guy character presented as particularly stunning?  i 
know
> there's been talk about Ginny being beautiful, but is she?  I don't 
even
> remember that at all.  

Hickengruendler:

Seeing that about every character called her beautiful, I think it's 
fair game to say that she is. Cedric, too, was described as handsome, 
though it didn't help him much, and the most obvious example is of 
course Fleur. 

Hickengruendler