Respecting the Dursleys( was:Re: Hi everyone -- banning the books)

[pippin_999]

No: HPFGUIDX 159597

> 
> montims:
> see, I don't really understand this problem with the Dursleys at all.  Until
> Harry is thrown into the mix, they are a family whose members are happy and
> secure with each other, and "normal, thank you very much". 

Pippin:
They thought they were normal. But Dudley was "kicking his mother all
the way up the street, screaming for sweets" before Harry arrived. Petunia
was already unable to assert herself against her child's demands. My
"armchair psychologist"  opinion is that she subconsciously feared that
if she set limits for Dudley, her son would reject her the way her sister 
and parents did (in her perception.) 

As for Vernon, he considered it  normal to spend the morning 
shouting at his colleagues. He thinks bullying is normal. But my
guess is Dudley knows it isn't, because he's defensive about his
treatment of Mark Evans. 

Vernon and Petunia keep up a facade of contentment (though how 
quickly it crumbles under any threat) but when have we ever seen 
Dudley looking contented? Someday it's going to dawn on him 
that he's never really been happy, and since he's been taught that
his parents are responsible for the way he feels, Petunia's fear of 
rejection will become a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Annemehr:
I say "tempted to" because I think JKR does that on purpose -- she's
hoping to entice readers to one reaction but is planning to reverse
a lot of those impressions in book 7. Potentially, for a fair few
of the characters.

Pippin:
Exactly.  When have our sympathies ever been a reliable guide to
the nature of a Potterverse character? In the real world,
those who suffer are seldom made cute and cuddly by their ordeals. 
We forget that the sweet, resiliant Oliver Twist/Harry Potter types whose 
stories are told to sell novels and newspapers are not a representative 
sample and we  think we would automatically feel sympathy for any 
abused child. IMO, JKR means to show us how wrong we are.

Arguably, Dudley needs help far more than Harry does, but how
many of us have ever felt moved to hope that he gets it?

Pippin