Remus, Sirius and Harry's desires for revenge--A hope about Lupin
Lia
newbrigid at yahoo.com
Fri Jan 20 18:02:56 UTC 2006
No: HPFGUIDX 146766
susanbones2003 wrote:
Pippin,
This is a reverse question but some previous posters seem to think
that Lupin can not be the spy because JKR has gone out of her way to
portray his problems with sympathy. And that somehow it would betray
her stance by indeed making the "messed-up" guy the villain. I am
condensing this argument but I think I have the gist of it. Isn't it
a condescension on our part if we say that the guy with
the "disability" can't be the bad guy? JKR's handiest tool is
misdirection and in the paragraphs above you navigate in a chilling
way through the reasoning necessary to see that indeed, Lupin is
capable of killing. It seems somehow we have to reconcile the Lupin
that we want to care for because of all his difficulties with the
Lupin you reveal to us by simply reading the text with a clear eye.
Jen D.
Lia says:
I haven't joined in the Lupin debate at all. I do have just one little thought on the topic, though.
I hope to God that Lupin is not, in fact, evil and/or a supporter of Voldemort.
First of all, it would break my heart if he were; I like him tremendously as a character.
Aside from that, though, and more importantly: if he were, then that would give credence to all the twisted philosophies and ideas of the likes of Dolores Umbridge, various and sundry Death Eaters, and Voldemort himself.
True, Greyback is awful, and lives up to stereotype...but there's bound to be a bad apple in every bunch, of course. JKR, by setting up "half-breed" or "tainted" characters that go AGAINST the alleged grain of their natures--e.g. Lupin, Hagrid & Madame Maxime, Firenze, etc.--shows that true savagery lies in having cold prejudice and (oft-unfounded) hatred.
Hence, therefore, ergo, I fervently wish that the sympathy I feel for Lupin, brought on in part by how JKR has portrayed his problems, is well-founded. To me, it might mean that the truly bad guys are right otherwise.
Lia, who can't bring herself to believe in an ESE! Lupin
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