[HPforGrownups] Dumbledore's nonintervention at the Dursleys, was Re: Bad Writing? (was: JKR and the boys)

[Magpie]

No: HPFGUIDX 163107


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "pippin_999" <foxmoth at qnet.com>
To: <HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Friday, December 22, 2006 3:08 PM
Subject: [HPforGrownups] Dumbledore's nonintervention at the Dursleys, was 
Re: Bad Writing? (was: JKR and the boys)


>
>> Magpie:
> . More than one book has featured scenes where the Dursleys
>> are intimidated into better behavior by the mere hint of Wizard
>> interference.
>
> Pippin:
> Counterbalanced by scenes in which the mere hint of
> Wizard interference makes things even worse. If the MHOWI
> gets Harry a decent bedroom, it also gets Harry locked into
> said bedroom with bars on the windows and starvation rations.
>
> There's something  imperialist about the hope that the great
> white wizard father will use his mighty powers to make those
> savage non-believers behave. One suspects such an intervention
> would be no more successful that Hermione's attempts to
> liberate the House Elves.
>
> Nor does there seem to be a lot of evidence
> from the real world that punitive measures against child
> abusers work. I'm no expert, but it seems that some
> studies show that families with unconfirmed incidents of
> child abuse and families with confirmed incidents of child
> abuse re-enter the system at about the same rate. In other
> words, the imposition of  consequences hasn't been
> shown to reduce the number of repeated incidents.
>
> What is thought to work is reducing the risk factors, and
> it's hard to see how punishment could accomplish that
> in the Dursleys' case. It  wouldn't increase their feeble
> parenting skills or force them to bond with Harry.
>
> A number of risk factors would be with Harry where ever
> he went. He's an orphan, the victim of a violent crime, a
> walking war zone, and his abilities are freakish even from
> a wizard's point of view. Those things would put a
> strain on any family, and punishments wouldn't change them
> either.


Magpie:
Logical from a real life standpoint, but JKR still seems to quite happily 
use Wizard interference for happy endings when she wants to--and they often 
work. The Dursleys more ignore Harry than anything as the years go by. I 
can't for the life of me remember everything about the beginning of CoS, but 
isn't that punishment for Wizard trickery rather than Wizards making the 
Dursleys stay in line? Harry's happy to threaten them with Sirius, the Order 
shows up to put the fear of God into them at the end of OotP--if those 
things make for happy endings (of a sort) in those books.

Ironically Petunia's throwing Harry out, which Amiabledorsai brought up, was 
not the result of Wizard interference but Petunia's reaction to an outside 
magical threat brought to the house by Harry. It was averted by Wizard 
Interference--Dumbledore's threatening letter.

Which is why, as I originally said, I have a hard time buying that 
Dumbledore's letter included any sort of promise to not interfere. You've 
given defenses as to why maybe it was better for him not to, but that in 
itself seems to suggest that he could if he wanted to do it.

-m