Social Correlates of Hogwarts Houses

[nitalynx]

No: HPFGUIDX 174976

Quick_Silver wrote:

> But can we really dismiss the blood purity part of the Sorting Hat's 
> song that easily? I mean none of the other houses seem to have a 
> selection citeria like Slytherin's "purest ancestry". So right at 
> it's very foundation Slytherin seems to set itself up as 
> the "different" house...and it doesn't seem to have turned out to 
> well for them. 


Nita:

Well, I have three theories about this criterion. Two are
Author-friendly, the third - not quite ;)

The first (I didn't come up with it myself):

Valuing blood purity is an extension of loyalty to family. Consider
Hermione's gradual, seemingly inevitable alienation from her parents,
or the Lily/Petunia situation. When Muggleborns join the WW, they
practically have to abandon their families. From a family-centric
point of view, how can someone who does that be trusted? On the other
hand, if they stay loyal to their Muggle families, it does introduce
an additional security risk into the fragile relationship between
Wizards and Muggles. If things go bad and there's a confrontation,
whom will they support?
And then Voldie comes along and twists the idea...

The second:

Same as above, but it's been taken to unreasonable lengths right from
the start thanks to Salazar's ageing, slipping, paranoid mind. He was
described as "ancient", wasn't he? Hence the over-the-top Chamber of
Secrets.

The third:

JKR threw blood purity into the Slytherin list of requirements because
she decided that the cunning, ambitious folk will be the Bad Guys, so
they also must be merciless bigots (otherwise they might be too easy
to sympathize with, for instance).

Personally, I believe that genocidal oppressive regimes, just like
enlightened progressive democracies, are maintained by a group effort
that "takes all kinds". So her choice to tie the Evil to a specific
personality type makes me rather uncomfortable.


Nita