Identifying with Muggles in Potterverse

[zanooda2]

No: HPFGUIDX 158180

> Ken:

><SNIP>

> Hogwarts has no art classes, no music classes, no literature
classes. > Hogwarts is like the engineering student's dream school, no 
> humanities, just the "good stuff"."

>> BAW:

>> That we know of. Rowling  <SNIP>  doesn't try to tell us everything 
>> about her world, but only what is relevant to the plot. <SNIP>
>> As another successful fantasy author, Katherine Kurtz, remarked, 
>> "Absence of presence is not the same thing as presence of absence."


zanooda:

I read this post about JKR only showing "relevant" things and
remembered that no one in the HP books ever takes a shower or a bath.
<g> The only exceptions are Harry's night trip to the prefects
bathroom and Wood trying "to drown himself" in the shower after
loosing a Quidditch game. The rest of the time the kids (boys at
least) just go from the common room directly to bed, without even
brushing their teeth, or, if in the morning, just wake up, get dressed
and go to breakfast. We know that they do take baths (well, at least I
hope so!!!), but we are never shown this. It's irrelevant to the
plot,see? :-)

It's not the same with the subjects that are taught in Hogwarts
though. They are all described in such detail, and the kids do
homework in every chapter, and take exams; it's unrealistic to think
that there are other subjects, which are not shown. Maybe there is
more to the WW culture than we know, but this culture is definitely
not studied at Hogwarts.

However, sometimes it feels like something is missing from the story
when it comes to studies. Take languages, for example. I always
thought it was strange that they don't teach Latin in Hogwarts,
considering that most incantations are based on Latin. But, if you
think about it, wizards have to know it, at least the ones who are
talented enough to invent spells. If not at school, where do they
learn it? 

Snape needed to know at least the basics of Latin to think of
appropriate incantations for self-invented spells. He invented
"levicorpus/liberacorpus" and "sectumsempra" when he was what, 15-16?
How and where did he learn Latin? All by himself? Maybe, but maybe not.

Next, Hermione used "mobiliarbus" spell in PoA. Maybe she read about
it somewhere, but it seems like she created it right there on the spot
from two parts, "mobili" being part of many similar spells (Lupin used
Mobilicorpus later). If indeed she created it herself, she had to know
that "arbus " means "tree".

And what about Harry asking the Fat Lady "Quid agis?" OK, it may be a
well-known expression, but still, do you see many teenage boys going
around using Latin unless they were exposed to it somehow?
 
There is more to the HP books than it is written in them, and this is
one of the cases when it feels like some part of the story remains and
will remain untold.