Danger in designating an "Other" / Bad magic

[dumbledore11214]

No: HPFGUIDX 174154

> Magpie:

<SNIP>
. To quote Sydney's great metaphor, it's 
> > not like JKR's filming a documentary here and she just doesn't 
have 
> > the footage to give the impression she wants. The impression 
Harry 
> > has of the Slytherins is all we have, and I see no reason to 
think 
> > it's so skewed I as a reader don't have an accurate picture of 
> > Slytherin. 
> 
> Beatrice:  Pardon the cliche, but you hit the nail on the head "to 
> give us the impression she wants."  You assume two things 1. JKR's 
> impression is the same as Harry.  You may be correct, but it is not 
> really in keeping with contemporary practices of Literary Theory 
and 
> exegesis.  2. maybe it is an accurate picture, after all there are 
> people in the world of great ambition who will do anything and 
> anything to achieve their ends (this is from the sorting hat's 
> discription in PS.).  But it doesn't mean that it is the ONLY 
> accurate picture of Slyterin.
 <SNIP>


Alla:

The problem is that there is no **other** picture of Slytherin now, 
only what we saw since the canon is finished.

I mean, no wrong phrasing - it is not a problem for me, I am 
perfectly happy with baby steps she shows IMO in canon towards 
possibly healing the rift or NOT.

But I just do not see what is the support for your argument that this 
is not the ONLY accurate picture of Slytherin. If you mean that the 
reader is free to imagine the different picture other than what we 
had been given, then sure, we are.

I for example became extraordinary found of AU fanfics since Sirius 
was killed :).

But but Sirius being alive is not in the book, no? Just as Slytherins 
returning to fight is not in the book or any justifications for what 
Pansy did is not in the book. The POV we had been given stands, 
since we had been given nothing to contradict it, IMO.

JMO,

Alla