Let's talk about Lupin

[kiricat4001]

No: HPFGUIDX 146051

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "lindseyharrisst" 
<lindseyharrisst at h...> wrote:
>
> I did ask this when the book had only just come out an ddidn't get 
> much response (I imagine because the death issue and snape's 
loyalty 
> were the most striking points) - What does the group think of the 
> Lupin shipping in HBP? I contend that it is... 
> a. not foreshadowed or calculable, even in retrospect, contrary to 
> most things in the books, esp. shipping
> b. because it is a narrative afterthought it was not well thought 
out, 
> what good could Lupin and Tonks see in each other (over being with 
> someone else, or alone)?
> c. does it seem in chracter for Lupin to fall in love (and with 
Tonks)?
> d. Do you think it's authentic love on his or her part?
> I confess to having a belief he should be with another, but that 
> aside, I just don't see the point. 

Marianne:

Well, yes, I don't see why Lupin couldn't fall in love, and I don't 
necessarily think that Lupin and Tonks couldn't be a perfectly 
happpy couple. But, this pairing didn't work at all for me as 
written. So, for the purposes of this discussion I guess you and I 
are on the same page.

Lupin struck me as "off" in HBP, compared to the way he felt to me 
from previous books.  That whole speech at the Burrow at Christmas 
about how he neither likes nor dislikes Snape, his outing as a 
werewolf would have happened anyway - why blame Snape, he (Lupin) 
must be grateful for any crumbs that fall his way, etc.  It was as 
if he was chanting these things in his head to convince himself they 
were true. His whole manner of speech struck me as overly formal, 
almost stilted. 

But, to get to the Tonks thing, I agree, I felt it came out of left 
field. It felt tacked on to me, as if JKR suddenly decided not only 
to pair these two off, but to use this as another facet of the theme 
of obsessive love, but an obsessive love that turns out okay.  

Tonks appears perfectly fine when Harry arrives at the station at 
the end of OoP, and then, a fortnight later when he sees her upon 
arriving at the Burrow, she's in her full-blown funk, including the 
loss of her Metamorphagus powers. She remains colorless, distracted, 
almost listless every time we see her after that. 

The denoument of Tonks' problem as it was revealed in the Hospital 
scene was as jarring to me as someone suddenly dropping an armload 
of pots and pans on the floor. I thought her timing was horrendous. 
Here she is, browbeating the man she is supposedly in love with, who 
is currently reeling from the death of the person who gave him more 
opportunities to succeed in life, despite being a werewolf, than 
anyone else. She tries to force him to address their relationship, 
or lack of it, at this very emotional moment, in front of a bunch of 
other people.  Now, maybe we're supposed to read this as Tonks 
desperately making a final, heartfelt plea to Remus to make his see 
she truly loves him. My reaction to her was "What part of "no" don't 
you understand?" 

Whether this is indeed true love on the part of Tonks has also not 
been proved to me.  This gets back to the concept of obsessive love. 
We had examples of others suffering an unhealthy sort of love or 
infatuation, and acting on it (Merope). We had the description of 
the amortentia potion.  We had the twins selling some sort of love 
potion.  We had Romilda, the fan-girl, trying to slip something to 
Harry, and inadvertently affecting Ron.  Is Tonks' affection for 
Remus real, or another example of infatuation? Or is it an example 
of love that may appear obsessive to some readers, but really 
isn't?  The jury is still out for me.

Finally, Remus never struck me as being in love with Tonks.  Yes, 
he's reticent and closed-off, and had he dropped to one knee in the 
Hospital wing and asked Tonks to marry him, I'd have gone blind from 
terminal eye-rolling.  However, we also know that Remus has the 
weakness of wanting people to like him.  Once everyone sort of 
ganged up on him in the Hospital, I got the feeling that it was 
easier for him to just surrender than to insist in front of all his 
colleagues that he really wasn't in love with Tonks.  So, the 
authenticity of his affection for her is also an open question, IMO.

The fact that they appeared to be holding hands at DD's funeral did 
not send signals of a happy couple in love to me, either.  However, 
as Tonks had apparently regained her Metamorphagus ability, I think 
we're supposed to believe that she and Remus are now officially a 
couple. Permit me to roll my eyes a bit...

Marianne