Remus Lupin: Good man doing nothing (long!)

[susanbones2003]

No: HPFGUIDX 149227

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "susanbones2003" <rkdas at ...> 
wrote:
>
> --- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "horridporrid03" 
> <horridporrid03@> wrote:
> >
> >." 
>  SNIPPED
> 
> > By HBP Lupin seems to be fully back to old tricks.  We neither 
see 
> > nor hear from Lupin until Christmas.  (Not like Harry would have 
> > appreciated a note or anything, right, Lupin?).  At our first 
> > glimpse of him he's lost in a daze, staring into the fire 
[330].  
> 
> Jen Interjects:
> Dear Betsy,
> A very thorough job, analyzing Lupin. He is a bundle of moral 
> contradictions, I'd go so far as to say. I don't much like how it 
> all adds up. Just one thing I think you'd benefit by re-thinking. 
> No, Lupin didn't contact Harry after the confrontation with the 
> Dursleys at the end of OOTP, but he does have a reasonable 
> explanation at Christmastime: spying on the werewolves seems to 
> preclude correspondence with "The Chosen One."
> SNIPPED AGAIN
> He 
> > perks up when Harry shares his suspicions regarding Snape and 
> Draco 
> > with Arthur, but then he takes a strange turn.
> > 
> > Lupin launches into a speech about the need to blindly and 
> > unquestionably trust Dumbledore [332].  Where does this come 
> from?  
> > He didn't trust Dumbledore blindly before.  Throughout PoA Lupin 
> > rarely if ever turned to Dumbledore for help or advice. (We 
*know* 
> > he shared no information with Dumbledore.)  And now suddenly 
it's 
> > like he's joined a cult.  Must not question Dumbledore, must not 
> > dislike Snape.
> 
> Jen again:
> This too, puzzled me more than anything about Lupin, a blind 
trust. 
> I believe this little bit of "rah-rah" was to convince himself 
more 
> than anything. As Pippin has pointed out, he's face-to-face with 
> creatures who have been badly treated by the WW, he's more ragged 
> than ever, obviously suffering too. It would be only natural to be 
> bitter but then to change tack so completely, it just doesn't add 
up 
> and it's got to be more for his own benefit than Harry's, a boy 
> who's never fully understood how certain decisions made by DD have 
> affected his life. 
> 
> SNIPPED again!
> 
> 
> snipped


> > I suspect there's a tie into Dumbledore somewhere in there.  
> Mainly 
> > because of Lupin's weird take on Dumbledore as his (and 
> everyone's) 
> > personal moral compass.  And then there's his strange reaction 
> when 
> > he's told of Dumbledore's death in HBP.
> > 
> > "No!" Lupin looked wildly from Ginny to Harry, as though hoping 
> the 
> > latter might contradict her, but when Harry did not, Lupin 
> collapsed 
> > into a chair beside Bill's bed, his hands over his face.  Harry 
> had 
> > never seen Lupin lose control before; he felt as though he was 
> > intruding upon something private, indecent." [614]		
> > 
> > Lupin is having a rather noticeable breakdown.  Why?  Why Lupin 
> more 
> > than any other character?  It's like Dumbledore's death is one 
> more 
> > thing piled on top of an already heavy load.  But what is that 
> heavy 
> > load?  Does Lupin feel somewhat responsible for Sirius's death?  
> > Does he feel that he acted too slowly in PoA, or should have 
acted 
> > when the Occlumency lessons stopped in OotP?  Or did he have 
some 
> > information on Snape that he chose not to share?
> > 
> > Honestly, I have no idea.  Lupin is a bundle of contradictions.  
> > It's easy to see how his behavior can seem suspicious enough to 
> > grant him the ESE moniker.  It's also easy to see why he's 
> > considered such a wonderful person.  Frankly, I think Lupin 
lacks 
> > the sort of initiative required to become ESE.  And I also 
believe 
> > his pleasant passivity hides a wealth of pain.  Snape referred 
to 
> > him as weak, and he is.  (As he'd admit to you, himself.)  But 
he 
> > doesn't have to be.  We've seen Lupin take action and he's good 
at 
> > it, a natural leader.  He is a good man.  Now if only he'd *do* 
> > something.
> > 
> > [All page numbers refer to Scholastic hardback editions of the 
> > books.]
> > 
> > Betsy Hp, sooo glad to be done with this!
> 
> Jen here, finally,
> You've done a fine job of fence-sitting but you seem to swing, 
> unconciously maybe, towards a Pippinesque scenario. A good man who 
> does nothing is not a good man. I began to feel Lupin was not what 
I 
> wanted him to be when he sat by and watched James and Sirius 
torment 
> Snape. His dismissal, when talking to Harry, of the use of 
Levicorpus 
> seemed in keeping with his unfortunate ability to gloss over the 
> failings of others and himself. He even smiled, thinking of it. 
> Never wanted to be too hard on James. Not much of a friend, what? 
> Thanks for your hard work putting it all together. 
> Jen D.
> >
>