Remus Lupin: Good man doing nothing (long!)

[spotsgal]

No: HPFGUIDX 149244

> Betsy HP:
> Enough about Snape, let's tackle the real mystery man of the series, 
> Remus Lupin.  

Christina:

Woohoo!  Excellent timing, Betsy, as our favorite lycanthrope will be
celebrating his birthday in just a few days :)

> Betsy HP:  
> (Actually, as a friend of James, he's been ignoring Harry for ten 
> years.  We have nothing in canon suggesting Lupin asked about or 
> even cared what happened to James' orphaned son.)

Christina:

No proof of course, but I have a feeling that that may have something
to do with Dumbledore.  Just a thought.

> Betsy HP:
> So, nothing substantial until he arrives on the scene in PoA.  And 
> when we meet him he's sleeping.  Not merely napping, he is sleeping 
> *hard*.  

Christina:

I think it would be interesting to consider that Lupin might have been
awake the entire time.  He seems to have fast reflexes ordinarily (he
escapes injury in the MoM and catches his falling suitcase in PoA, for
a couple of examples), and although he doesn't DO much, he seems to be
observant.  I certainly thought he was faking when I first read PoA,
and since then I've treated that scene the same way I treat
Dumbledore's apparent willingness to stand back and let Harry try
things on his own, rather than step in immediately.  The threat of
Lupin sitting there is enough to deter Malfoy from doing anything, and
it keeps Harry from being seen as a teacher's favorite (at that point,
at least).

In any case, I see what you mean about that first impression of Lupin
being odd, in the symbolic sense.  I think that JKR wrote the scene
the way she did for narrative reasons.  She needed to introduce the
Dementors and the effects that they had on Harry, and so she needed to
delay Lupin's stepping in until then.

> Betsy HP:
> he's slow to tell Harry about his connections with his father [241]. 

Christina:

I find this hard to reconcile with the Lupin that we get in HBP, who
is happy to talk to Harry about James.  He actually seems to perk up a
bit once he's talked to Harry about it.  Again, I think that it's a
need of the narrative peeking through, but who knows?

> Betsy HP:
> He *never* steps forward to tell Dumbledore about Sirius being an 
> animagus, even after it looks like Sirius came frighteningly close 
> to killing Harry [265-268].

Christina:

This is probably the only case of Lupin-esque inaction that *really*
bothers me, because it really was dangerous.  Once more, it's a little
bit of narrative necessity, because we needed to have the surprise of
Sirius's animagus form in the end.  However, that certainly doesn't
excuse Lupin's behavior (and JKR does need a characterization reason
to make Lupin act this way) - people have mentioned before that they
think this is an example of Lupin being cowardly.  I agree.  Lupin is
very much a people-pleaser, and he's excellent at it.  He didn't want
to disappoint Dumbledore, and I think he just told himself that it
would all be OK, that Sirius's animagus form wouldn't matter (I think
he cites that as a reason himself).  

> Betsy HP:
> But then something changes.  In OotP, Lupin *gets involved*.  He 
> volunteers for [50] and actually appears to *lead* the mission to 
> collect Harry from the Dursleys.  He takes part in discussions [89-
> 97] to the point of taking control at times [90].  He's efficient, 
> decisive and forceful when he needs to be.  Had I been wrong?  Was 
> the Lupin of the past books an inaccurate view of the man?

Christina:

I don't think Lupin is lazy, he just has a number of other character
faults that tend to get in the way a lot (fear of losing the approval
of his friends, etc).  When Lupin needs to act, he does.

I've always said that JKR uses Lupin very well.  He's only ever around
when JKR needs something from him, and then he is delegated to the
background.  Lupin was needed in OP.  Somebody had to go get Harry,
and it had to be somebody that Harry trusted.  He only relaxes when he
hears Lupin's voice.  Lupin also knows Harry well enough that he can
ask him a "safety question."  He is still careful and thoughtful in OP
- he is generally a restraining force, which demonstrates the
passivity he's had all along.  He defuses the argument between Molly
and Sirius, he calms Molly down after the Boggart incident, he
restrains Sirius when the two men are talking to Harry in the fire, he
restrains Harry at the MoM.  I'm sure there are additional examples.

> Betsy HP:
> But get the boys out into the sunlight and our Lupin of past books 
> is quite apparent.  The bullying of Snape begins.  JKR pulls no 
> punches; she gives us no out.

Christina:

I think this is the passive!Lupin example that I cut him the most
slack for.  It's also the most easily explained incident, considering
it falls under the "he cuts [his friends] an awful amount of slack"
quote JKR has given us.  Is it right?  Of course not.  This incident
shows Lupin's lack of courage (as opposed to the way Neville bravely
stands up to his friends).  But I can certainly understand why
somebody like Lupin, who grows up having only three close friends (who
are extreme Type A's), is hesitant to step in and restrain them.  I
hate that Lupin didn't have the guts to get up and do something, but
seriously - nobody else did either.  The scene is filled with other
students that look on and laugh, and nobody (save Lily) does a single
thing.  Again, it's still wrong, but I think it shows an unsavory (but
all too common) human behavior.

> Betsy HP: 
> ...but he seems to take Sirius's excuse that Lupin did manage to 
> shame them from time to time as valid.  That disturbs me a bit.  
> Because Sirius gives Lupin a pass and Lupin seems to take it.  But 
> the thing is Lupin saw a wrong being committed and quietly let it 
> happen.  That's... not good.  And I'm not sure Lupin realizes this.

Christina:

It's important to note that Harry interrupts Sirius while he is giving
Lupin the pass.  Sirius says, "you made us feel ashamed of ourselves
sometimes...That was something..." and Harry "doggedly" cuts in to ask
about James impressing the girls.  The subject was abruptly changed,
so I don't really see an acceptance of the "out" on Lupin's part.

I do think that Lupin realizes that his standing by was wrong, because
he rejects Sirius's opinion that he was the only "good" one by
pointing out his passivity as a fault.  That's the thing about Lupin -
he knows he's doing wrong, he says so himself, and yet he still does
it.  The mark of cowardice, IMO.  He even says, "Did I ever **have the
guts** to tell you I thought you were out of order?" (emphasis mine).


> Betsy HP:
> 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?).

Christina:

Lupin *can't* send Harry letters though, because he's been with the
werewolves.  For all of his passivity in the past, this is completely
explainable.


> Betsy HP:
> And then there's his strange reaction when he's told of Dumbledore's
> death in HBP.  <snip the canon quote> 
> 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.

Christina:

I can totally see why Lupin has a stronger reaction than everybody
else - as you said, it IS one more thing piled on top of an already
heavy load.  It isn't that he feels responsible for Sirius's death
(although he might) - it's that Sirius died in the first place! 
Having a very close friend die is extremely traumatic.  Watching that
friend die only adds to the trauma.  

Then we have Tonks, who has been laying it on thick the entire year
(he's had to tell her no "a million times").  If we accept that Lupin
did have true feelings for Tonks, then he was going against both what
Tonks wanted AND denying himself as well.  Very difficult.  On top of
THAT, Lupin has been with the werewolves all year long, pretending to
be a loyal follower of the man who bit him in the first place! 
Werewolves live "on the margins" of society, which is probably
unpleasant and stressful.  He has tried to covertly win over some of
the werewolves, but it isn't worked - a frustration, to be sure.  Not
to mention the stress of hiding his true allegiance and the chances
that Fenrir might find him out.  

Now take all of that and dump on the fact that Dumbledore means more
to Lupin that to other characters.  Dumbledore is the one who allowed
Lupin to attend school in the first place, allowed him to lead
something of a normal life.  Also, the news of Dumbledore's death
comes in a bit of a vacuum.  When Sirius dies, I'd say Lupin has a
pretty strong reaction.  He has to tear his eyes away from the veil,
is pale-faced, and it seems as though "every word was causing him
pain."  Compared to the emotions we've seen Lupin exhibit in the past,
this is strong.  BUT, Lupin has responsibilities - make sure the kids
are OK, take control of the situation.  There are things to be done,
and so he can put his pain on hold to take care of those things. 
Also, Harry has other things on his mind besides Lupin's pain, and so
he doesn't notice the reaction as strongly.  In the hospital wing
after Dumbledore's death, everyone is just sitting around.  Even
though I didn't see Lupin's reaction to DD's death as much more
pronounced than his reaction to Sirius's death, it is enhanced by the
fact that there's nothing to distract Lupin from it.  Harry also has
nothing else to do, and so he is just standing and watching Lupin
break down.

> Betsy HP:
> 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.

I agree with every word of this.  Also, as much as I do fault Lupin
for his flaws, I think it puts things into perspective to compare him
to others in the books.  He doesn't contact Harry for all the years
that Harry is living with the Dursley's, but neither does Dumbledore.
 Lupin doesn't tell Harry much about his father, but nobody can match
the master of withheld information, Dumbledore.  Lupin only made his
friends feel ashamed of themselves (concerning their childhood
activities), but Sirius shows NO remorse over leading Snape to the
Shack ("he deserved it").  Lupin stood by and let James and Sirius
bully Snape, but it was James and Sirius that were doing the bullying,
and Peter that was having a grand laugh at the goings on.  The other
kids were laughing as well - at least Lupin looked concerned (his brow
creased).  

I also see him as in a lot of pain...JKR continually emphasizes just
how TIRED Lupin always looks, and I think that this is more than just
a physical tiredness, but an emotional one as well.  He has been
through so much in his life, and it seems as though nothing has
changed from when he was a child.  Voldemort is rising to power again.
 His friends keep dying.  It's like an endless, exhausting cycle. 
It's also a very sad and lonely thing to lose your childhood friends -
it's difficult to know that you're the only person alive who remembers
things that happened when you were younger.  No matter how many
friends Lupin makes as an adult, there will always be that hole.

I think the best way to summarize Lupin's behavior is the way you did
it in the subject line - a "good man doing nothing."  The fact that he
sometimes stands by and lets bad things happen shows weakness, but it
also makes him a lot like the rest of us, according to psychology
studies and historical examples.

Like you, I'm hoping that Lupin steps up to the plate in HP7, and I
think Harry's trip to Godric's Hollow in an ideal situation in which
that can happen.  Lupin and Harry are haunted by many of the same
ghosts, and I'd love to see them bond over that and put those ghosts
to rest together.

Thanks so much Betsy - an excellent post on one of my favorite characters!

Christina