Harry's "friend," the HBP (Was: Freud and JKR / Id vs. Superego )

[horridporrid03]

No: HPFGUIDX 165288

> >>Betsy Hp:
> > <snip> 
> > The Prince, IMO, is all about animal need (or the id) at the point
> > he invented that spell.  This is a boy on his way to becoming a   
> > Death Eater, after all.
> > <snip>

> >>Carol:
> From my point ov view, Sectumsempra is about a boy on his way to
> becoming a Death Eater. "For Enemies" more than suggests that he has
> revenge on his mind. But Muffliato is just a charm to allow a kid to
> talk with his friends without being overheard.
> <snip>

Betsy Hp:
Exactly.  I think the Prince started out as basically a good kid.  He 
had a slightly dark sense of humor (like Harry), but wasn't seething 
with anger.  But that changed, and I think Harry, going through 
similar emotions (it's interesting to track his evolving view of 
Snape through the books), easily follows the Prince's slide.  So when 
Harry is in a place where he *wants* to strike out in anger at 
someone, the Prince hands him the perfect weapon.

> >>Carol:
> Teen!Snape sounds like he's on his way to becoming a Healer or
> researcher to me. Too bad Lucius Malfoy or the Slytherin gang or
> whoever recruited him took advantage of the anger provoked by
> Severus's Hogwarts enemies in his "worst memory" and the so-called
> Prank, and of Severus's hunger for recognition (still evident as an
> adult if the Order of Merlin is any indication) and directed him
> toward Voldemort.

Betsy Hp:
Hmmm...  Well, first off I utterly refuse to see Snape as someone 
hungry for recognition (of the public kind anyway).  The Order of 
Merlin thing is Lupin's bugaboo, and Lupin lies too easily for me to 
take *only* his word (especially his angry word) on something.  I 
think Snape likes to be *right*, but that's a very seperate thing 
from recognition.

But second, I don't like putting Snape's choice to become a Death 
Eater onto other people's shoulders so much.  I don't see this as 
poor innocent lamb Snape getting sucked in by the Death Eater wolves 
(like Pinocchio going off to "bad boy" land or whatever it was).  I 
think Snape does have some responsibility for choosing to believe 
whatever story was fed him.  And for letting his anger and resentment 
play such a role in his choosing.

> >>Carol:
> As for Harry, I agree that he's in danger of letting the desire for
> revenge control him,... <snip>
> But that's not what Harry identifies with in the HBP's Potions book 
> as far as I can tell. He's interested in the Prince's creativity    
> and, sad to say, in getting credit for the Prince's work.

Betsy Hp:
See, I really think Harry's connection to the Prince went much deeper 
than that.  Harry reads through the book whenever he has the spare 
time; he reads the book at night; he defends the book (or the Prince) 
to his friends; he protects the book (or the Prince) from his 
enemies.  I really got the sense that this wasn't just a neat 
instruction book Harry stumbled across, this was someone who Harry 
was able to personally relate to.  Which is why he was so painfully 
eager for the Prince to actually be his father.

> >>Carol:
> (He can tell that the Prince is a boy, probably because more boys   
> than girls are interested in hexes...

Betsy Hp:
I seriously doubt Harry's understanding that the Prince was a boy was 
based on such reasoning.  He does know Ginny after all. <g>

> >>Carol:
> ...and because of the tone of the Bezoar remark, but I'm not sure   
> that the Prince provides any personal information for Harry to      
> identify with except on this general level. Harry can't even tell   
> that the Prince is a Slytherin.)

Betsy Hp:
I strongly disagree.  There was enough there for Harry to personally 
identify with the Prince.  The book was not just an instruction 
manual.  (And of course Harry doesn't identify the Prince as 
Slytherin!  Harry's got too much invested in denying his own 
Slytherin traits. <g>)

> >>Carol, who wonders if the HBP's teachers realized what a genius   
> he was and guesses that Slughorn did but McGonagall didn't

Betsy Hp:
Slughorn, definitely.  Snape didn't get into the Slug Club based on 
breeding or charm. <g>  I'd bet that McGonagall recognized his 
talents though.  It wouldn't surprise me if most of the staff didn't 
see Snape as someone to watch.  And really, as far as that goes Snape 
proved them all right.  Potions Master *and* Head of House at his 
age?  Pretty well done, I think. <g>

Betsy Hp