Traitors, friends, loyalty and betrayal (was Evil Hermione) long

puduhepa98 at aol.com puduhepa98 at aol.com
Sun Jul 9 15:30:08 UTC 2006


No: HPFGUIDX 155115


Lanval:

See, I thought that the concept of betrayal is a huge  one in the 
book, and it seems to be important in a personal sense to the  author.
Marietta as a character was not of exceptional importance; the  
concept of betrayal was.

Of course this opens up so many other  questions, some of which have 
already been brought up. What about Peter's  betrayal? What about 
Snape betraying LV (or DD?), what about  R.A.B.?
<big big snip>
Nikkalmati:
Lanval touched on the central question regarding Marietta and  Hermione.  Two 
virtues appear to be paramount in Potterverse: courage and  loyalty.  The 
Marietta incident is just one example of betrayal found  throughout the books and 
I think it has to be seen in conjunction with all the  other incidents.
The books begin with a huge act of betrayal by Pettigrew for the base  motive 
of saving his own skin, thus, an act against both courage and  loyalty.  
Sirius is the opposite character in this scenario, displaying  both courage and 
loyalty ( he advised Pettigrew he would have died rather than  betray the 
Potters and he broke out of Azkaban when he realized Harry was in  danger, for 
example).
In the WW one's word or the signing of a contract is a significant act  often 
with serious and unforeseen consequences.  Characters are bound,  sometimes 
unwittingly, but they are expected to be faithful, nevertheless. Think  of the 
Unbreakable Vow, the DADA curse, the life debt, for example.   Commitment to 
LV is shown by a permanent mark.  The characters are tied  together by various 
binds of honor and tradition.  There is family loyalty,  broken by Percy and 
dishonored by Petunia (both of whom IMHO will return to the  fold eventually 
and honor their commitments).  There is also Draco's family  loyalty and the 
Weasleys strong ties.  There is loyalty to the school and  more narrowly to one's 
House.    (In the end the students and  faculty will have to come together as 
per the Sorting Hat to defeat LV.)   The house elves are loyal to the family 
they are bound to (Winkey); Dobby has to  punish himself for every act of 
disloyalty to the Malfoys and displays strong  loyalty to Harry, even after he is 
free.  There is Snape in the middle -  either deeply loyal or completely 
without any commitment, except to  himself.  Oh yes, all Snapes appear to be loyal 
to the Malfoys.   DD would trust Hagrid with his life.   There is Harry's 
loyalty to DD,  acknowledged by Fawks in COS and by Harry himself to Scrimegore in 
HBP.   Someone said (and I tried to find who, I think I know but I don't want 
to be  wrong) that it would be better for Harry to be his own man, to say I 
am loyal to  DD, but I am my own man.  I think that statement would be contrary 
to the  themes we see in the books.  The aim of the good person is not  
independence, but honoring one's connections, working with others, and remaining  
faithful.
 
I also believe that it is made obvious which is the good side and that it  
truly matters which side one is on.  Thus, when Dobby betrays the Malfoys  it 
matters that he wants to help Harry (it is not to promote elf rights).   When 
Kreatcher betrays Harry, to whom he is bound, it matters that he is on the  
wrong side.  Firenze betrays the customs of his people, when he insists on  
helping Harry and teaching at the school.  (Showing that sometimes it is  just as 
wrong to sit on the sidelines).  Some acts are inherently evil and  cannot be 
done in the pursuit of good.  However, treachery has to be  evaluated in its 
context. 
 
 That said, in the Potterverse, treachery of any kind appears to be  
punished, sometimes severely, regardless how the commitment was  formed. Youth, 
ignorance of the consequences or trickery do not seem to  matter. RAB was punished.  
Snape may yet be punished, not so much for being  a surly SOB, but for making 
a commitment to LV, which he broke or through  breaking the UV (after all a 
situation could arise in which he is forced to  kill Draco himself) ?
 
Marietta is a traitor. Canon does not give us any good reason for her  
betrayal and no one on the list has stated any reason why she did the right  thing, 
only that she "must have thought she was doing right."  Since when  is that a 
good excuse?     In Potterverse she should have  known she was bound (even if 
she did not know the exact consequences); she  should have known that the 
result of her act would be very serious for a group  of students she knew (even if 
she did not know the exact consequences);   she did not take any intermediate 
steps to solve her problem (if she had  one).  I do not think we are intended 
to have any sympathy  for her.  The marks on her face are an example of 
karmic  justice.  In other words, she did it to herself.  I doubt Hermione  feels 
any responsibility.  I also doubt the marks are permanent and  they may go away 
when Marietta shows she has learned her lesson. (Yes, I  think Cho must have 
told her what happened).  
 
Nikkalmati (Please, understand these comments are meant for the context of  
the books and do not necessarily represent my RL position).   


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]





More information about the HPforGrownups archive