Slytherins: selfish, not evil + Ariana raped?

[JC/TsuKata]

No: HPFGUIDX 172734

Erin wrote:

> Ulterior motives are the hallmark of a Slytherin.
...
> given what we know now, we can see that selfishness is the greatest > sin in JKRs world.

You put your finger on something that I've been trying to figure out in my head for awhile.  I don't equate putting self first with evil, but it does seem like JKR/HPverse does.  Thus, while I don't view Snape as inherently good or pure in any way (and am horribly bothered when people do), I don't view him as evil either.  It feels like JKR could have written or implied positive qualities from the Slytherin house, but she made them all seem pathetic or worthless in the end, even Snape and Draco.  I guess maybe JKR thinks of herself as a Gryffindor, with all the prejudices therein.

Erin also wrote:
> On another note: did anyone else read the Muggle torture of Ariana
> as rape? Or do I just like my backstories as twisted as possible?

That's how I read it as well.  I assumed a group rape scene, but I think JKR was intentionally vague, to avoid an outcry over rape showing up in a "children's book."  I also speculated something similar going on with Hermione, although that was far more of my twisted imagination at work.

Full disclosure:  I'm in the camp that thinks shielding kids from the notion of rape (but showing them tons of murder and other violent crimes) makes rape seem so hush-hush that it leads to people being ashamed to admit victimhood.  I know not everyone is.

Still, even with my own views on such things, being a Slytherin at heart, I can't blame JKR for leaving it vague. Having a clear rape scene or even any more detail on Hermione's torture likely would have hurt sales, as bookstores would have had to deal with groups saying that it was inappropriate for the under-18 crowd.  It also would have shifted the focus of the book to this one relatively minor scene instead of to the whole.  IMO, it's ridiculous enough how much attention the word "bitch" has garnered, especially given that there was a song on the public radio for more than a year called "bitch", not to mention more than a few primetime shows tossing it in.  (One of my favorite scenes from The Simpsons is Bart saying "bitch" in the context of a female dog, and Marge hesitating as to whether that was okay.)  It's barely even a "bad word" at this point, but it has gotten far more focus than the line/scene deserves because some folks jump on it as inappropriate for kids.  Ah well.

--TsuKata
(first post!  newbie de-lurking!)