[HPforGrownups] Re: Slytherins: selfish, not evil + Ariana raped?

[Bart Lidofsky]

No: HPFGUIDX 173780

From: johanarincones <johana at lge.ibi.unicamp.br>
>Finally!
>I was getting scared at the amount of people that read that scene as 
>rape. It was creeping me out!
>The girl was only 6 years old, at that age a bad beating/humiliation 
>associated to her ability to do magic would be more than enough to 
>create a block, or at least a huge feeling of guilt from being able 
>to perform magic. Weren't any of you bullied at a young age?  Just a 
>push and a few laughs can get you down for a while. No rape necessary 
>to make a lasting impression!

Bart: 
It was more than a mental block; it was an extremely deep psychological wounding. Now, my opinion may be colored having spent a number of years working with abused children, but I can tell you that a simple beating, even a bad one, would not have this effect, unless there was brain injury involved (with most of the children with whom I worked, brain injury WAS involved). However, one factor I had not considered until now was that this took place in the mid-19th century; in another group, we were discussing the case of Bridget Cleary, whose husband and a number of his friends burned her as a changeling in 1895 (and she is referred to as the last witch burned in Ireland; the perpetrators were convicted, with her husband serving 15 years in jail for manslaughter). 

Therefore, especially since this was a more rural area, the boys MIGHT have thought that they were dealing with a witch, and overpowered her and tried to burn her at the stake. 

The point is that a simple beating should not have had the level of consequence that were shown/hinted at; there really had to be some level of torture as well. Now, having my experiences in urban 20th century America, I thought rape; it IS, psychologically speaking, a much deeper violation than a simple beating (or even a stabbing), and, due to the speed with which it takes place, I still make a high likelihood. However, I would not discount some other form of torture, especially if it were the type of torture typically done on accused witches.

However, I think JKR described it exactly right, as our imaginations could come up with far worse than she could write about in a PG level book.

Now, speaking of PG level, how many people think that if Ron hadn't interrupted Harry and Ginny, Ginny would have become a woman a year early?

Bart