Cabinet FIRST!

[Sydney]

No: HPFGUIDX 158066


> >Magpie:
> >Before that it's been all bad faith.
> 
> Orna:
> I would hardly call two murder attempts just "bad faith", 

Sydney:

Magpie's pointed out what 'bad faith' means in this context, but you
should read the whole essay-- "Draco Malfoy and the Dragon of Bad
Faith" here: http://community.livejournal.com/hp_essays/86380.html


Excerpt:

 "But more importantly, "bad faith" (or mauvaise foi in modern French)
has a very specific meaning in the existentialist philosophy of
Jean-Paul Sartre. Bad faith is a form of self-deception. To live in
bad faith is to live as if you have no choice in the way you behave;
it is to adopt a role and live your life according to that role
regardless of your own feelings or desires.[...] Sound familiar? Let
me refresh your memory:

"I haven't got any options!" said Malfoy, and he was suddenly as white
as Dumbledore. "I've got to do it! [...] I've got no choice!" (HBP, p552)"


That essay just knocked my socks off!  As JKR's degree is in French
and Classics, I believe, she's certain to be aware of the implications
of calling someone 'bad faith'. 

This angle reinforces the overwhelming impression that I've already
had from what's in the book:  that is, that *when* Draco started
making independent choices is crucial to how his story plays out, and
that if he'd made any sort of active start into joining Voldemort,
instead of just drifting passively into it, it would most certainly be
mentioned in the book.

-- Sydney