Molly's "revenge" Re: Requiescat in Pace: Unforgivables

[guzuguzu]

No: HPFGUIDX 174853

guzu wrote: 

> > Regarding the Bellatrix - Molly duel: 
> >  
> I found this scene to be completely
> > ridiculous, actually. I'm leaving aside any moral issues, as I find
> > them so muddy in DH anyway. We have a notoriously violent serial
> > killer, who has taken down aurors and other veteran warriors, 
> >versus a housewife, who we have no reason to believe has any 
> >experience or particular skill as a warrior. Yet, *hundreds* of 
> >people stand and watch the fight and do NOTHING? Yes, I know a few 
> >girls try to help and Molly shoos them off...  No stunning spells 
> >from the crowd? No Expelliarmus even? Not even from Ginny, who we 
> >were told repeatedly in HBP was very magically strong? It made no 
> >logical sense for Molly to win that fight, nor for everyone else to 
> >stand around enjoying the show. I agree that it did fit in with the 
> >larger message of DH, which was that apparently what you really need 
> >to defeat evil is dumb luck.

 
> va32h:

 
> Putting aside the highly offensive suggestion that "housewives" are 
> inherently incapable of any particular skill...

guzu: 

It's not "any particular skill"-- it's battling a violently insane
murderer. I don't believe it is offensive to assume a housewife does
not have the skills of a trained warrior or assassin; nor offensive to
assume Molly in particular has no experience dueling or using real
violence at all. 

> va32h:

> The Molly-Bellatrix duel seems to me to be clearly symbolic: Mother 
> Molly takes down Barren Bella.
> 
(snip)
> 
> When Molly says "you will never hurt our children again" she's not 
> referring to the Weasleys - she's referring to all children. The 
> hateful regime of Voldemort, as represented in that moment by 
> Bellatrix, will never hurt the future of the wizarding world again. 
 Mother love is a huge motif in the series. 

guzu again: 

Yes, I realize this this is Rowling's point-- mother love conquers all
(except when it doesn't-- See Tonks and the Albanian woman who
Voldemort killed while she was shielding her children). It still
doesn't excuse the scene for me-- there were ways Molly could have
taken out Bellatrix that would have been more realistic and in
character, and less (as someone else mentioned upthread) like an
action movie scene. For me it's not the concept that's wrong, it's the
execution (no pun intended!) of the scene.