Maligning Lupin

[pippin_999]

No: HPFGUIDX 149712

> 
> Renee:
> ?? I thought I was talking about zero evidence, actually. If every
> sheep anyone had ever seen in the world was black, would we have
> reason to believe in the existence of white sheep?  
> 
 Pippin:

We haven't heard from everyone in the wizarding world.
We've heard from Lupin saying nearly all the werewolves are on 
Voldemort's side because they think they'd be better off under his
rule than under the ministry. He says they're out for blood. It sounds 
monstrous.

But...

Hermione  was out for Umbridge's blood, so is she a monster too?

One could also say that nearly all wizards are on Umbridge's side 
because they think they'd be better off under the Ministry than 
under Voldemort. Was Dumbledore abetting evil when he rescued
Umbridge from the centaurs? 

We might, if we knew something about animals but not much about 
sheep, remind ourselves that animals come in all colors, and be 
suspicious of the motives of anyone trying to convince us that sheep 
are different by virtue of being sheep.


Pippin:
 > I firmly believe that JKR will show us that ESE!Lupin's efforts to
> be good weren't  futile because  he was a werewolf. They were 
 futile because he never had the courage to make himself accountable 
 for what he'd done.
> >
> 
> Renee:
> It looks as if you're wielding your own theory as an argument again.
> Lupin has held himself accountable for the things we've seen him do,
> or rather, omit in canon. The rest is speculation. 

Pippin:
Nope, not speculating. When did he tell Snape that he was sorry he'd
performed so miserably as a prefect? When did he apologize to  Harry
for letting Pettigrew escape? When did he apologize to Dumbledore 
for failing to tell him about Sirius or the Marauder's Map? Resigning 
his job doesn't count since he'd have lost it anyway. 


 He let Harry think he'd be available at the end of OOP when he knew 
he was going on  secret missions (OOP ch 6 p 118-US) and 
might not be around. 

When has he said, "Hey, I let you down and I'd like to make amends."


Renee:
> Also, if your ESE!Lupin's failure to be good was not caused or
> influenced by his lycanthropy, then neither was his turning evil. Yet
> you do relate his fall to his rejection by society, if I recall
> correctly. And his rejection by society has everything to do with his
> being a werewolf. I also seem to recall it had something to do with
> being sent to spy on the werewolves during the first Voldemort War,
> and identifying with them to such a degree that he turned against the
> Wizarding World. 

Pippin:
::sigh:: Why does it have to be either or? 

I've said many times that I can't prove ESE!Lupin. I can only show that
if you read the books that way it all works. It passes the Magpie Test
with flying colors. The rationale for Lupin joining Voldemort can be 
foreseen in the Marauder outings and in his failure to report what he 
knew about Sirius:

a)  society presented him with a forbidden, guilt-inducing opportunity
 that was more attractive than doing what he felt was right
and
b) Lupin chose to pursue it

It's true that all the characters have flaws. There are times when
the reader thinks a character's conscience ought to kick in and it doesn't:
Harry's lying, Dumbledore's detachment, Hermione's meddling, Ron's
chauvinism and general cluelessness. 

But when Harry does feel remorseful about something, he changes his 
ways. Most of the other good characters do too: the only one I can 
think of who didn't is Hagrid, whose promise in PS/SS to give up 
drinking bore no fruit. 

But that only happens once. Lupin does the same thing,
he tells us, over and over again. He argues his conscience into
submission or he forgets his guilty feelings. Again and again
and again. Harry doesn't do that.


Sherry:
Since JKR has said that lupine represents disability or illness, ESE lupine
is an outcome I just can't accept, and it would probably be the worst
possible scenario for me of any possible outcomes. 

Pippin:
Erm, no. If we're thinking of the same quote, she said that Lupin is
a metaphor for the *attitudes* of people toward illness and disability.
Not the same thing at all. He's a vehicle for showing how other 
people react. If he disillusions us and we say, you know, I'm usually
against prejudice, but in this case the wizards have a point, what does 
that say about us? That we're only against prejudice as long as we're
sure that the only victims we'll have to deal with are sweet old
Uncle Toms? Bleh!


JKR really upped the stakes by introducing Fenrir. It made anti-werewolf
bias a lot more understandable but no less wrong. If Lupin is bad
it will be even more understandable. And it will still be wrong. I trust
JKR to be able to get that across. 

Christina:

This is why ESE!Lupin is so paradoxical to me...Lupin is "too
cowardly" to admit to his mentor that he betrayed his trust, but he
has the guts to kill his supposed best friend with DD standing in the
same room? 

Pippin:
He's more afraid of being found out than of killing. Again this is
not speculation: we see it in the Shrieking Shack. If you're asking
me why some people are like this, I don't know, but it seems the
same as the guy who'd kill his wife rather than be caught cheating
on her. I'd guess it's a control thing, which would tie it to the
theme of power vs love. 

Pippin