Wanted! Complex Female Adult Character: (was:Re: ESE!McGonagall...

[sistermagpie]

No: HPFGUIDX 164694

Lupinlore: 
> Rather literally, in fact.  Someone who would let an attempted 
> murderer run around in his school is certainly a good example of the 
> Zen values some ascribe to the headmaster.  That is, he has achieved 
> the state of Oneness with Idiotic Incompetence.  Of course we have 
> authorial meddling here as well.  She needed Draco free for the 
> endgame, and the only way she could achieve that was to have DD be 
an 
> absolutely irresponsible idiot.  So much for our "very wise man."


Magpie:
I think that's a bit of a distortion in this case. Authorial meddling 
suggests that she's stepped in to keep the logical result of her own 
plot from happening. For example, the way Quidditch outcomes never 
seem predictable based on anything besides how JKR wants the 
Gryffindors to win this time. What you're describing makes it seem 
like Draco's free because Rowling stepped in to make DD unable to 
catch him, so he can't be very wise.

But I think it's obvious Dumbledore's choice to keep Draco free is 
supposed to be wisdom. One can certainly argue with the idea, but it's 
not authorial meddling that makes that happen, it's a choice by 
Dumbledore that we're supposed to presumably eventually come to see 
the wisdom of--the very essence of his character and wisdom. It's no 
more authorial meddling that it was to have Sirius mastermind The 
Prank. It's what this character is all about.

-m