The Too Unreliable Narrator (was: What really happened on the tower)

[wynnleaf]

No: HPFGUIDX 155923


> 
> > Pippin:
> > No character has been  revealed to be innocent in a plot twist 
> > whose character was not previously vouched for. (Hagrid vouched 
> > for Snape in PS/SS, Madame Rosmerta vouched for Sirius in PoA.)
> > 
> 
> Neri:
> Hmm. Who vouched for Dobby in CoS? Well, you certainly can say that 
> he vouched for himself, but that's kind of stretching it, isn't it?

> Neri:
> Who challenged Ginny in CoS?

wynnleaf

While I'm not *certain* what Pippin meant, based on the way I
understand this argument, I don't think we'd expect to see a character
vouching for Dobby or Ginny to prove this argument.  The reader is not
first presented with ESEDobby with whom we later have to reconcile
with a surprise of good-Dobby.  Dobby claims he's on Harry's side
right from the start and is pretty up-front that he's a house-elf for
someone who wishes Harry ill.  He's trying to keep Harry from
Hogwarts, but we're never really led to believe he's evil.

Ginny is always presented as good-Ginny, and we are never surprised
into an ESEGinny situation.  Yes, we find out she was used by Tom to
carry out his plans, but her character is never really in question. 
We never think her evil or are surprised to find her good, or think
her good only to be surprised she's evil.  The only surprise is that
she was used by Tom -- the good/evil aspect of her character really
isn't in question.

As I understand it, the idea is that we don't have any examples of a
character who we thought good, but turns out to be evil, or vice
versa, without another character challenging that perspective first. 
So we are always presented with the notion that the character *might*
not be good, or evil (depending), before we find out that *surprise!*
they aren't the good or evil person we originally thought.

So since we've never seen these reversals for Ron, Hermione, most of
the regular teachers, or many other characters, we wouldn't expect to
see another character having made these sorts of character challenges
or comments of support.

Further, since we're talking about characters for whom other
characters have spoken in support or challenge, it couldn't possibly
apply to the narrator specifically.  However, an unreliable narrator
may be leading the reader to believe a particular character is good or
evil when in fact they turn out later to be the opposite -- but not
without first another character giving either comments of challenge or
support.

This makes the event of another character challenging the loyalty of a
presumed good character, or supporting the loyalty of a presumed bad
character, as a *possible* tip-off that we are elsewhere being lead by
an unreliable narrator to believe something that will turn out to not
be true.  Of course, in the case of Snape, you've got dueling
character challenges and support -- but whichever way that turns out
there's no real surprise.  Everyone knows that his loyalties are up
for revelations in Book 7.  

The real question to me is *who else*???  JKR has had so many
character refersals, I am very suspicious that she'll do at least one
more, and that it will be a *real* surprise, not one for which we're
already waiting to see the answer.  Are there any characters who we
currently mostly *all* assume are evil who have gotten character
support??  I can't think of any.  Are there any characters who we
mostly *all* assume to be good, who's loyalties have received
character challenges?  I can only think of two -- Lupin and possibly
Percy.

And I really like Lupin, in spite of thinking he's weak and really
disliking his choices in POA.  If Percy were more of a shock, I'd
guess it could be him -- but we're being lead to believe he's a prat
and betraying his family.  I'm almost wondering if he turns out to be
good in the end, just to surprise us. 

wynnleaf