Vernon's odd behavior

[sistermagpie]

No: HPFGUIDX 160209

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "thekrenz" <thekrenz at ...> wrote:
Why does Vernon so viciously try to keep Harry from going 
> back to Hogwarts?  One would assume Vernon would be quite pleased to 
be 
> rid of Harry, so why does he exert so much effort to keep Harry at 
> Privet Drive?  Dare I say the most money Vernon has every invested 
in 
> Harry (consciouly or not) is paying someone to install bars at his 
> window.  Vernon is certainly a control-freak, could that explain his 
> actions?  Or, could it be that he wants to make Harry miserable?  
What 
> do my fellow list members think?

Magpie:
I think one of the "keys" to the Dursleys is that for all they are 
supposed to hate Harry their behavior is modeled more along the lines 
of pain-in-the-butt parents than actual neglectful parents.  For 
instance, in PS/SS they feel they must take Harry to the zoo when the 
babysitter is unavailable.  Harry wants to stay home alone and watch 
TV, so they won't let him do that.  Their reasons are all stated in 
ways that are negative--they think he'll destroy the house, he can't 
sit in the car or he'll ruin that, etc., but we we end up with is the 
way real parents would act: No, you can't stay home alone by yourself, 
you must be properly supervised by an adult.  

In situations like that and with CoS I think the Dursleys are easier 
for kids to relate to because their job is basically to always keep 
Harry from having fun--as many normal kids probably feel their parents 
do.  If it were a realistic story you're right, Vernon would probably 
be glad to be rid of Harry.  But really he's more a nightmare version 
of all the bad things about parents--always saying no, always keeping 
Harry from doing what he wants to do etc.  For all the talk of of not 
wanting Harry in the family and leaving him out of pictures and 
keeping him out of sight, he's also almost reassuringly trapped within 
by the same family. On some level this may make sense to a kid reading 
it.

-m