fathers (was Re: A message?

[potioncat]

No: HPFGUIDX 178924


> Mus wrote:
> Here's a new topic, though, and I don't think I've seen it discussed
> on the list before: the notion of father in the heptateuch. 
> 
> There are a number of fathers in canon: Vernon (if Muggles count),
> Arthur, Lucius, Xenophilous, Riddle Snr, Marvolo Gaunt, Amos 
Diggory,
> and James, of course.  But fathers in the main seem either curiously
> absent, or, when present, unsatisfactory in various ways. 

Potioncat:
Here's a JKR quote that I found at 2005 AccioQuote.

>>>Much of Rowling's understanding of the origins of evil has to do 
with the role of the father in family life. "As I look back over the 
five published books," she says, "I realize that it's kind of a 
litany of bad fathers. That's where evil seems to flourish, in places 
where people didn't get good fathering." Some of that must surely 
flow from her own experiences: her relationship with her father has 
been uneven, and the father of her oldest daughter is no longer part 
of Rowling's life.<<<<

Potioncat:
We also have Tobias who didn't seem to be much of a father, though I 
think Severus turned out to be a lot like him. "I don't think he 
likes anything," was Sev's comment. (IIRC)

I read an article about JKR's father selling a signed copy of one of 
her books. I read it awhile ago and it seems his name is Peter. Now, 
I can't be certain of it, but I remember thinking "She named the rat 
after her father?"


>Mus 
> You know, I haven't been quite able to get out of my head the fact
> that right through the series runs a cry of "DADA", the cursed
> position.  There's something a little chilling to my ear about that.


Potioncat: 
We have MoM and DADA. Neither one very good. Well, it'd be 
interesting if we found out JKR had something of that in mind. But 
off hand, I doubt it. I think DADA is  only found on lists---or did 
it make into HBP? Although, the more I think about it....

Back to canon fathers. I'm glad JKR didn't kill off Arthur, and I 
wonder if it was after she realised how many bad/absent fathers there 
were in her books that she decided to spare him. 

Amos and Arthur are the only two positive fathers we really see. 
Although some will disagree with how Arthur treated Percy.