Fear of Magic (was why do people dislike this scene)

[elfundeb]

No: HPFGUIDX 158131

Tonks wrote:
>
>    I am an "older" person. (50's) and I have always seen the Dursleys
> as fearful. As least Vernon and Petunia. Much of their actions, IMO,
> stem from fear. They hide Harry under the stairs where you would
> put something scary that you didn't want to remember was in your
> home. It is where you would put something you wanted to control, but
> knew in your heart of hearts that you could not control. (And add
> the whole thing of the worst kind of Wizards gunning for the kid,
> and you have a very scary situation indeed.)
>

Debbie:
I read Petunia and Vernon as terrified of the WW from the very first chapter
of PS/SS, Vernon in particular.  JKR uses Vernon to introduce us to the WW
from the perspective of a Muggle observing a paranormal phenomenon.  And
although JKR presents Vernon as a bigoted bully whose reactions tell us that
we should not adopt his views, it seems clear by the time they get to the
Hut on the Rock that their veneer of 'normalcy' hides a pervasive fear of
the WW.  While they seem mainly afraid that the neighbors will find out, I
read that to mean they are terrified the neighbors will discover the
existence of a phenomenon they cannot understand or explain.

Tonks:
 think that Petunia might
not be as afraid as Vernon is. She at least has been exposed to the
magical world. Vernon on the other hand is more than just scared,
he is terrified. I am surprised the poor man hasn't had a heart
attack over it.

It is Vernon who is the most abusive and this is in direct
proportion to his sense of terror. He absolutely loses it at times
and goes right off the deep end. Poor man.

Debbie:
Vernon evidently has had little exposure to the WW.  In ch. 1 he does not
recognize the reference to "You-Know-Who" or understand why he has been
called a Muggle.  His is a fear of the unknown -- and that's before he
learns that Voldemort has killed the Potters.  But the text suggests that
Vernon was an abusive bully well before he met Petunia or learned about the
WW; his enthusiasm for Smeltings and its whacking stick tells us that.

Petunia's situation is different, of course.  She knows plenty about the
WW, perhaps even that a megalomaniac wizard is trying to take over
everywhere.  Evidence of wizards in the vicinity can never have been a good
sign.  Her terror level may be lower but it's balanced by a deeper sense of
pain.

In addition to her very legitimate fear of the WW, she has Vernon to deal
with.  However, un-magical Petunia is, she is the one with the magical
relatives.  Those magical relatives are a burden that *she* has brought to
the marriage and while they could manage rather well back when the could
pretend the Potters did not exist, they cannot do that with Harry in the
house regrowing his hair and shrinking ugly clothes (for which he was not
punished).  I get the idea that Vernon is the force behind Harry's
punishments.

Pippin wrote:
My point is the Dursleys aren't 'civilized human beings'. They're
holding it together by the skin of their teeth, disturbed enough to
abuse the son they love deeply. They are not people who could be
straightened out with few counseling sessions. They are seriously
messed up. And if the DE's realize that, they can easily use that as
a lever to have Harry taken away.

Debbie:
Do you think Petunia would have been so close to the edge if magic had never
been a part of her life?  Some kids never get over the realization that they
are 'ordinary' while a sibling has a talent that is prized and nurtured by
their parents.  It makes them angry and resentful, and changes how they
interact with others.  Petunia's abuse of Dudley cannot be condoned, but it
seems to derive (from a desire to glorify their very normal child as if he
were a child-king. Add this to Vernon's bullying ways, and you get a deeply
disturbed child.

I've often wondered if Vernon's attractiveness to Petunia lay in the fact
that he prized her 'normalcy', something she found so reassuring that she
tried to follow his lead.  Petunia is presented as someone who uses the
neighbors as a yardstick to determine whether she is traveling the right
path, as though her self-image is too poor to make choices for herself.  I
think she has done the same with Vernon, even though subconsciously she
realizes it's not right.

Tonks:

As to Petunia. I think that she should get a little credit. After
all she did do what was right over what was easy, when it came to
taking Harry in and also when she insisted that he must stay. I
don't think that was all because of her fear of DD either. I think
she did it out of duty to her sister, her blood. And she did it at
great cost and risk to herself and to her husband and her "only
son".

Debbie:
Petunia is in a very difficult position.   In addition to her very
legitimate fear of the WW, she has Vernon to deal with.  She has an
irrational bully for a husband who has a very rational fear of the WW, and
an equally irrational conviction of the brilliance of his son.  She has
magical relatives who terrify her, but she is the only hope of survival for
a child with magical powers that, in her mind, could be used to abuse her
and her family (just imagine if Harry was like Tom Riddle). Those magical
relatives are a burden that *she* has brought to the marriage; thus it
is primarily her responsibility to protect her family from magical
catastrophe. While they could manage rather well back when the catastrophe
was the embarrassment caused by freaky relatives, which they could generally
avoid by pretending the Potters did not exist, wizards pursuing a witch hunt
against an infant in their care is another matter.

Petunia's treatment of Harry begins to make more sense, viewed in this
light.  She tries to do her duty to Vernon and Dudley as well as Harry (to
the extent she can consistent with her resentment of Lily), but their needs
are just too different, and her own fears come into play, too.  (In PS/SS,
Petunia is unwilling to leave Harry home alone for fear that her house will
be blown up -- with Harry in it.)

We can see that Petunia should stand up to her husband and treat Harry as a
true family member.  But I can appreciate why she can't.

And to make a brief comment on the topic that started it all (old-timers on
this list already know my views)Dumbledore's actions in HBP with the
wineglasses played to the Dursleys' fears.  Even if they know in their heart
of hearts that Dumbledore isn't trying to poison them, they must feel
humiliated.  Someone on that thread mentioned that Dumbledore is sometimes
childish.  But this is not childish playfulness, as in
"Nitwit!Blubber!Oddment!Tweak"; he means it to have a message.

And further deponent saith not.

Debbie


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