Social Correlates of Hogwarts Houses

[houyhnhnm102]

No: HPFGUIDX 175046

Nita:

> 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.

houyhnhnm:

I like the idea of an aging, slipping, paranoid Salazar 
rather than an intolerant, hating one.  As the founder 
of the House of watery temperaments, paranoia *should* 
have been an affliction to which he was more suceptible 
than the other three.

The dearth of watery virtues in the series does not 
disturb me so much.  They are the virtues missing from 
the Wizarding World as a whole, because the House that 
should have supplied them has been corrupted by Voldemort (and 
possibly by crazy old Salazar himself).

What bothers me is their lack altogether.  We need to see 
some example of what Slytherin, purified of the influence 
of Voldemort, could become.  I'm not sure they are really 
missing, though, just a little thin on the ground.  We have 
to look hard to see them.

And define them.  Difficult to do because you can look 
at elemental archetypes as defined by various authorities 
on tarot or astrology, as well as Hippocrates and Galen, 
and they don't quite match up.  Still there is kind of a 
common thread that runs through all the descriptions.  I'm 
just going to use an arbitrary collection of words I found 
on two web sites.
http://www.llewellyn.com/free/mpq.php?tab=elements
http://www.asiya.org/watercorrespondences.html

I don't know that they can all be made to work, but some 
of them can.

courage to continue on a difficult path with no end in 
sight, compassion, tranquility, tenderness, forgiveness, 
modesty, fluidity in creativity, receptivity, influence, 
graciousness, sensitivity, empathy, kindness, sympathy, 
love, gentleness, sociability, nurturing, and intuition,

We do see a hint of compassion in Regulus's sparing of 
Kreacher.  In Snape, who is the best of the Slytherins 
IMO, we certainly see the courage to continue on a 
difficult path with no end in sight.  Fluidity in 
creativity has shown itself all along, but especially 
in HBP.  I believe there is latent, though stunted, 
capacity for nurturing as well.  We have seen it all 
along in his treatment of Draco.  We see it in DH in 
Snape's plan to lead Harry to the sword with his doe 
Patronus.  Snape's gentleness with Lily was something 
that struck me on the first read of "The Prince's Tale".

Snape is anything but gracious, though.  There are very 
few examples of graciousness in the WW.  DD had a veneer 
of graciousness, but it was covering up a lot of snarkiness 
underneath, it seemed to me. I think we have to look to 
the Delacours.

Delacour.  Of the court. Nature's nobility.  Surely Fleur 
is meant to be taken as a character with Slytherin 
synpathies.  I don't see how Rowling could have made it 
more obvious than to name her Phlegm. "An Excess of Phlegm" 
could have served as an alternative title for HBP awash 
as it was in Slytherin liquids.

When I read the description of Madame Delacour, "a 
beautiful blonde woman in long leaf-green robes", I 
immediately thought of Narcissa Malfoy.  She glides; 
she stoops. True, her husband does not look much like 
Lucius in his person, but like Lucius he is a dandy in his dress.

Arthur is clearly ill at ease with them.  His laughter 
is overloud, unusually high-pitched, even maniacal.  
Arthur is not a gauche person under normal circumstances, 
so surely these people are off-putting in some way, 
haughty, reserved.

But then we find out that "The Delacours, it soon 
transpired, were helpful, pleasant guests.  They were 
pleased with everything and keen to assist with the 
preparations for the wedding."  They were gracious.

I see the possibility of a future generation of 
Slytherins who may resemble the Delacours more than the Malfoys.

I'm finding that I am less and less bothered by the "plot 
holes" in the Harry Potter series.  I anticipate much future 
enjoyment filling them in with my own imagination.  And 
nobody has to agree with me.