Let's talk about Lupin

[kiricat4001]

No: HPFGUIDX 146094

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Jen Reese" <stevejjen at e...> 
wrote:

Lupin seemed off to me too, or rather, his negative traits of 
> passivity and not wanting to take a stand seemed exaggerated. His 
> situation reminded me a little too much of Sirius at Grimmauld. 
> Lupin's mission forced him to temporarily leave behind a life 
which 
> was somewhat happier and certainly offered more freedom. Being 
> trapped in the werewolf subculture with mostly hostile companions 
> was having a life-draining effect on him just as Grimmauld did for 
> Sirius. It made me nervous that JKR was writing him into a corner 
> just as she did with Sirius, where the only real option was death. 
> But then after the tower sequence and the Lupin/Tonks reveal, it 
> seemed more likely Snape was probabaly the one being set up for 
the 
> death sequence, the one being stripped of options other than death.

Marianne:
Well, given a choice for who to bump off, Remus or Snape, I'd 
happily vote for Snape ;-). 
 
> Marianne: 
> > 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.  
> 
> Jen: I couldn't decide, either, until the hand-holding and 
bubblegum 
> pink hair at the funeral. Is it possible one Marauder will get to 
> live happily ever after?!? I figured that scene was a 'case-
closed' 
> moment and unless one dies, they will be a couple.

Marianne:
It probably is meant as a signal that all is right with R/N, but it 
still feels unsatisfactory to me.  It's funny though - people have 
posted that one reason that we see no obvious interaction 
foreshadowing this pairing is that we see things through Harry's 
eyes. Granted that means that we don't see a lot of whatever might 
have happened between these two because it doesn't take place in 
Harry's presence.  Yet, even when they have been together there has 
not been evidence to me (thinking OoP) that there was an 
attraction.  And here in HBP Harry *thinks* that they might be 
holding hands, and, of course, everyone assumes he must be right.
 
> Marianne:
> > 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.  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?" 
> 
> Jen: Haha! That's good. I actually liked that scene, figured with 
so 
> much heartache going on and the inevitability of Order members 
being 
> targeted after Dumbledore's death, Tonks was spurred on to make 
one 
> last desperate plea. And without that scene, one of my all-time 
> favorite poignant moments would be lost: 'But she wants you,' said 
> Mr. Weasley with a small smile. 'And after all, Remus, young and 
> whole men do not necessarily remain so.' He gestured sadly at his 
> son, lying between them.

Marianne:
I'm going to come off as completely unfeeling here. But, that line, 
while very understanding of Arthur with regards to Bill and to 
Fleur's evidently undiminished love for her man, is a bit 
condescending to Remus.  After all, Remus spent a good part of the 
previous year living in Grimmauld Place with a friend, Sirius, who 
had once been very handsome and who was now anything but handsome 
and whole. I think Remus was already well aware of what can happen 
to young men when caught up in a war.


> Jen: Obsession was a major theme for more than just romantic 
> pairings. Harry was certainly obsessed with Draco and I believe 
> Dumbledore had an obsessive air about him with the horcrux hunt 
that 
> could have further implications for the story. 
> 
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/146041 
> 
> kchulpis writes in the post above about the healthy love going on, 
> and that perhaps the shipping has a deeper meaning connected to 
the 
> love theme than simply being light romance to break up the story. 
> Tonks and Lupin appeared more on par with Ginny/Harry and 
> Ron/Hermione to me, as couples with barriers to overcome before 
> getting together.

Marianne:
Maybe it does.  But, does that mean the love theme requires all 
unattached people to become attached to someone before the series 
ends? Maybe the barometer for whether or not characters are killed 
off shouldn't be based on if their birthdays are celebrated on JKR's 
website.  Maybe the real key is that, if you're an adult, and you're 
not paired off, you're dead.  Doesn't look good for Snape or Peter, 
does it? ;-)

I'm undoubtedly making too much of this. I accept everyone's counter 
opinions that Remus and Tonks are a real couple, are really in love, 
etc. But my reactions are colored by the way the scene felt when I 
first read it, and it didn't come off to me as a particularly 
convincing.

Marianne, way too cynical for her own good.