JKR, the female and facism (wasRe: WAS Slytherin as villains...

[horridporrid03]

No: HPFGUIDX 179088

> >>Betsy Hp:
> > My thinking on JKR and her views on woman have to do with
> > the utter fear with which female sensuality is dealt with
> > in the text, the disdain expressed towards girls acting like
> > girls, the way making a boy seem girly was the ultimate put-
> > down, and the rather old-fashioned way various tasks were
> > assigned. <snip>

> >>Susan:
> Well, clearly in the Weasley household, the old-fashioned way
> of assigning tasks prevailed...but we don't know if that was
> the rule...
> 
> What we do know is that JKR prized domesticity, parenting, and
> family above professional success....whether for men OR women...

Betsy Hp:
As far as assigning tasks go, I was thinking of how Hermione did the 
cooking and foraging while the Trio hung out in the woods.  It seemed 
very out of character to me.  (Well, to an extent: Hermione always 
did relish playing "mother" to her two boys.)  Both Ron and Harry had 
more practical experience in the kitchen per canon.  And as the lone 
country boy, Ron would have made more sense doing the mushroom 
hunting than suburban Hermione.

JKR does seem to put the domestic above anything else, but at the 
same time she paints it as a rather dead-end life of quiet 
desperation.  It was his fear of being trapped caring for his brother 
and sister that left Dumbledore open for the beautiful Grindelwald to 
tempt.  And the romance seems quite dead between Arthur and Molly. 

Actually, I'd say romance was quite dead within the series.  But I 
think that has to do with the fear of female sensuality.  It's hard 
to get romantic with something you think is out to kill you. <g>

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/179021
> >>lizzyben:
> And connecting this w/the disdain the wizarding world in general has
> for "girly-girl" traits like crying & empathy, and the total
> valuation of "masculine" traits like courage, strength, & power.
> This also reminds me of a fascist society. Historians disagree on
> their definitions of fascism, but almost all include "disdain for
> femininity" as a common element.
> <snip>
> But Eco mentioned one other element that just made my jaw drop: in 
> fascist societies, people are trained to become "heroes", and      
> choosing death is seen as the most heroic act of all.
> <snip>

Betsy Hp:
This was a fascinating post, lizzyben.  And I think it ties into what 
I found to be one of the oddest juxtaposes of the series.  In HBP, 
when I thought JKR was telling a completely different story, we have 
two women appear at Snape's house.  Both claim a certain motherly 
interest in Draco.  One has come to try and save Draco's life by 
having Snape swear to protect him.  The other states, rather grandly, 
that Draco should be proud to die for his cause.

At the time, I thought the "good mother" choice rather obvious.  The 
woman trying to save her son was the better woman.  But then, in DH, 
Lily, the perfect mother, and as far as I can tell, proves me wrong.

"Lily's smile was the widest of all.  She pushed her long hair back 
as she drew close to him, and her green eyes, so like his, searched 
his face hungrily, as though she would never be able to look at him 
enough."
"You've been so brave."  [DH scholastic ed. p.699]

And so a mother sends her son off to certain death.  And is she ever 
proud that he's willing to die for his cause.  That Lily is herself 
dead is probably a help.  I mean, the sooner Harry dies, the sooner 
Lily will see him again.  But it's an odd position for a mother to 
take.

But I think it means that Narcissa's "coddling" of her son weakens 
him.  The way Harry chuckles over Draco using his mother's wand:  I 
think we're supposed to see Draco as a chick who's too timid to leave 
the nest, and Narcissa as the too involved mother who keeps him 
there.  Lily, by being proud that Harry's heading off to die, is the 
better mother.  Which, yeah, I find a bit odd and not a little 
perverse. 

Betsy Hp