Draco's Personality

[horridporrid03]

No: HPFGUIDX 165034

> >>Megan:
> I agree that no one is beyond redemption - the question with Draco, 
> however, is what he needs to be redeemed from.

Betsy Hp:
It's funny, but when I read this first sentence I thought you were 
going in an entirely different direction.  For a very long time Draco 
fans said something very similar, only they were more pointing out 
that for the school villain, Draco hadn't really done anything bad.  
IOWs, there wasn't anything Draco needed redemption for.

I do think HBP changed that.  Draco actually put his wand where his 
mouth was and did his best to help the Heir of Slytherin.  Only, it 
wasn't nearly as fun and fulfilling and glorifying as he'd always 
believed it to be.

> >>Megan:
> I don't think the wand lowering in HBP reflected a sudden          
> realization of his innate goodness as much as cowardice.

Betsy Hp:
And this is where I realized I'd pegged this post all wrong. <g>  
It's the old, "too cowardly to kill a sick and helpless old man" 
argument, that I've frankly never understood.  What's brave about 
killing an unarmed opponent?

I do agree though that Draco wasn't embracing his "innate goodness".  
I don't think he was accepting or taking anything, rather he was 
rejecting the "evilness", if you will, of the Death Eater 
philosophy.  Draco made a choice to *not* be a killer, but I don't 
think he made an active choice to become something else.  I think he 
left the Tower in the middle of his crises of faith.

> >>Megan:
> Throughout the books, he has demonstrated a lack of courage in any 
> situation where he was left to his own devices, without the threat 
> of his father's retribution to protect him, having to actually back 
> up his talk. 

Betsy Hp:
And see, what I've always liked about Draco was his tenacity.  I'm 
not sure I'd link it to bravery (I think it's more stubborness than 
anything), but I've never really linked Draco to out and out 
cowardice.  I wonder, were we (the readers) supposed to do so?

> >>Megan:
> *In SS/PS, he was terrified to be in the forest looking for the 
> unicorn killer with Harry, and ran off at the first sign of real 
> danger. (ch. 15)

Betsy Hp:
Hmm, but Harry was terrified when faced with the Unicorn killing 
creature too.  It's just each boy's terror manifested in different 
ways.  Draco fled and Harry froze.  So I'm not sure we were supposed 
to get from this scene that Draco was a horrible coward.

> >>Megan:
> *In CS, he is clearly afraid of having to compete on an even plane 
> in quidditch and popularity with Harry during the school year, as 
> evidenced by his repeated badgering of his father for a better     
> broom before school starts. (ch. 4)

Betsy Hp:
Huh.  Not how I read this scene at all.  Draco wants a racing broom, 
he'd like it to be the best.  And he certainly complaines about 
*famous* Harry Potter getting special treatment.

"Malfoy bent down to examine a shelf full of skulls."
"...everyone thinks he's so *smart*, wonderful *Potter* with his 
*scar* and his *broomstick*--" [SS scholastic paperback p.50]

It doesn't strike me that Malfoy is *afraid* of facing Harry on the 
pitch without a good broom.  It sounds more like he's bitching about 
the popular boy that only he, Malfoy, can see as not actually worthy 
of the attention.  Jealousy? Sure.  Fear?  I don't see it.

> >>Megan: 
> *According to Fred and George in PoA, Draco was just as afraid of 
> the dementors who came onto the train as Harry was, although he 
> panicked instead of fainting;

Betsy Hp:
Yes, and that certainly points to a measure of hypocrisy in Draco's 
mocking Harry for fainting.  But it doesn't point Draco out as an 
exceptional coward.

> >>Megan:
> and he certainly was afraid of Buckbeak after being scratched. (ch. 
> 6)

Betsy Hp:
Scratches usually don't leave "blood blossoming" over robes 
and "blood splattered" on the grass.  And they usually aren't 
described as a "long, deep gash". [PoA scholastic hardback p.118]

I do think there's supposed to be a bit of humor in Draco yelling 
that he's been killed.  But the entire CoMC class is left "shaken" 
and the entire CoMC class (expect for the Trio) distrust Hagrid's 
judgement after this.  Again, Draco wasn't the only one scared in 
this scene.  JKR makes sure he has an actual, bloody injury to yell 
about (yell, not shriek, interestingly enough).

> >>Megan:
> He also was scared by Harry's disembodied head in Hogsmeade (ch.    
> 14),...

Betsy Hp:
I reread this scene, and it's interesting because Crabbe and Goyle 
are the first ones described as scared, while Draco tries to figure 
out where the attack is coming from.  Yes, Draco shouts and runs when 
Harry's head pops into being, so I'll assume that at that point he's 
been scared.  But again, I don't think JKR is trying to set Draco up 
as a giant coward.  Otherwise, wouldn't she have Draco be the first 
to be frightened?

> >>Megan:
> ...and Hermione's slap across the face (ch. 15)

Betsy Hp:
Actually, he's not.  Draco is described physically ("Malfoy 
staggered.") when slapped, but he's not described as frightened or 
scared.  Harry, Ron, Crabbe and Goyle are described 
as "flabbergasted", and then Crabbe and Goyle are "bewildered" when 
Hermione raises her wand against Draco.  Once again, it's a physical 
description for Draco ("Malfoy stepped backward."), but we're not 
given an emotional descriptor for him.

So again we have a scene where if JKR wanted to point Draco out as a 
coward she could easily have done so.  But she chooses not to.  
(Actually, she's kind of ambiguous here.  Why doesn't Draco get an 
emotional descriptor?)

> >>Megan:
> *Throughout GoF and OOP, he continues to fear the creatures Hagrid 
> brings to class. 

Betsy Hp:
Considering the creatures Hagrid brings to class, I'd count that more 
towards Draco being intelligent rather than a coward. <g>

> >>Megan: 
> *In HBP, Draco is so terrified of his situation that he cries to 
> Moaning Myrtle.

Betsy Hp:
Draco was in a rather overwhelming position though, wouldn't you 
agree?  Kill the most powerful wizard in the world or your family 
gets it.  I'd be a tad weepy myself. <g>  And really, I think the 
tears weren't just fear-based.  I think it must have been very hard 
to start realizing that the person you'd always pretended to be is 
not who you really are.  Draco the junior Death Eater is realizing 
he's not really a Death Eater at heart.

> >>Megan:
> And, most tellingly, throught all of the books he repeatedly        
> accuses Harry of being afraid of various people, situations, etc. - 
> I have always taken this as an attempt to draw attention away from 
> his own fears. 

Betsy Hp:
Does he?  I don't recall this, do you have some scene you could 
share?  Draco certainly *challenges* Harry every chance he gets.  But 
I don't remember it as being always fear based.  Wasn't it 
usually, "I know something you don't know"?

> >>Megan:
> <snip> 
> So if Draco comes over to the Order's side in DH, it will be either 
> because of fear of LV and some belief that the order would offer    
> more protection than his family or the DEs (more likely in my       
> opinion since this isn't Draco's story and there's only one book    
> left), or because he is somehow able to overcome his fears and make 
> a fully realized decision on his own (which would take more time    
> than I think is left, given his state at the end of HBP)...but     
> either of those scenarios could also go the other way - staying    
> with the DEs out of fear or coming to the realization that he      
> really does want to be one of them.

Betsy Hp:
I don't think Draco is going to back-track.  JKR spent too much time 
getting Draco to a point where he realized what he *wasn't*, IMO.  So 
I doubt Draco will decide he really is a killer after all and that 
the Tower scene (and all of HBP for that matter) was some sort of 
stress glitch.

I do think JKR will give us a scene where Draco makes an active 
decision to *become* something else.  I'm not sure it will entail 
becoming a full fledged member of the Order, but I do think it will 
mean working towards the destruction of Voldemort.  And for that 
matter, most of the angst of making that sort of decision can occur 
off page.  What will interest Harry is active proof of change which I 
think would only take a scene or two to establish.

But I don't think the driving factor of Draco's personality is fear 
or cowardice. 

Betsy Hp