CHAPDISC: DH13, The Muggle-born Registration Commission

[Carol]

No: HPFGUIDX 181329


> Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
> CHAPDISC: Chapter 13, The Muggle-born Registration
> Commission
> 
Carol:

Thanks for a very thorough summary, lizzyben. You forgot one detail,
though--Hermione's taking the locket Horcrux and making a fake on
using a spell we haven't seen before, Geminio. 

> 1. What do you think of the Trio's plan to infiltrate the Ministry?
Was it well-planned, or could they have approached things a different way?

Carol:
Evidently, the Puking Pastilles caused another problem besides the
mess--the symptoms were cleared up by the St. Mungo's Healers and the
real Reg Cattermole showed up. Good thing it wasn't the real Runcorn!
That aside, they had no idea who the people they had Stunned and
otherwise attacked were. (Harry should have remembered that Mafalda
Hopkirk sent him his notice of expulsion in OoP and the warning about
the Hover Charm in CoS, which would have given them some idea what her
job was, especially after Hermione read on the card that she worked in
the Improper Use of Magic Office. Also, they should have gone over the
kinds of spells that a Magical Maintenance worker would be expected to
know so that Ron could have been better prepared.) They should have
had a specific third person in mind rather than picking the next
person who Apparated in. They knew nothing about Runcorn, who, in any
case, was too conspicuous to be a good choice. Also, obviously, a
"bloke" from Magical Maintenance wouldn't be hanging around the MoM
with people from other Departments. They concentrated on getting
inside but had no idea what to do once they got there.
> 
> 2. Numerous characters mention that Yaxley's office has been jinxed
to create a downpour. Could this be a sign of low-level sabotage
against Death Eaters within the Ministry?

Carol:
I don't think that a jinx is specifically noted, only that it's
raining in Yaxley's office, unless you count the spell that Mr.
Weasley gives "Reg," Meteolojinx Repelo. However, my impression is
that someone is trying to undermine the DEs and their associates (not
only Yaxley but " a lot of people," according to Mr. Weasley,
including someone named Bletchley--wasn't there a Slytherin Quidditch
player named Miles Bletchley in one of the earlier books?) by jinxing
their offices. Maybe it's someone from the department mentioned by Mr.
Weasley in OoP that decides what kind of weather will be viewed
through the underground windows of the MoM. At any rate, I doubt that
it's leaky pipes or some Muggle-style minor emergency. It looks like
magical sabotage to me (like Lee Jordan sneaking Nifflers into
Umbridge's office but more sophisticated).
> 
> 3. Harry impersonates Albert Runcorn, a character whom we never
actually meet. Based on other character's reactions to him, what kind
of person do you believe Runcorn is? Do you believe he is a Death Eater? 

Carol:
I think that if he were a Death Eater, we'd have heard of him. He'd be
pretty conspicuous given his height even in DE robes (like Thorfinn
Rowle, the huge, blond DE). However, he's obviously a bully who both
informs on and threatens other people. If he's representative of a
certain group or category or MoM employees, the DEs would have had a
fairly easy job of taking over the MoM. Recruit people like him and
Umbridge, give them scope for their bullying, so that they intimidate
or drive out anyone who's unhappy with the new party line. Evidently,
the DEs didn't need to Imperio him like they did Pius Thickness; just
put him to use as is. (We also see a representative of another group,
the little man who congratulates Runcorn on ratting out Dirk
Cresswell, hoping that he'll be promoted to Cresswell's old job; he
evidently buddies up to the bullies and takes advantage of their
tactics rather than using them himself.)
> 
> 4. Ron impersonates a Ministry official with a Muggle-born wife,
Hermione a woman who assists Umbridge in the interrogation of
Muggle-borns, and Harry a high-ranking Ministry official. Is there any
thematic or character significance to the identities that they take on? 

Carol responds:
I'm not sure that you've characterized Mafalda Hopkirk fairly. True,
she sent Harry the warning and expulsion notice in previous books, but
she's just doing her job, first under Fudge and now under Thicknesse
(in theory). We have no idea whether she actually wanted to be at that
hearing. Her job, as we see from Hermione, was to take notes. I think
it's important that her Polyjuice Potion was "a pleasant Heliotrope
color," suggesting that she's actually a nice person. (Reg Cattermole
wishes her good morning and tries to confide his troubles to her,
which he would hardly do to an Umbridge associate.) Nor do I think
it's any reflection on Hermione; she's simply "that odd little witch"
(IIRC) who shows up at the same time every morning. And since she
belongs to the Improper Use of Magic Office, naturally, she'd be
involved, willynilly, in the trials of Muggle-borns accused of
stealing magic, just as she was involved in Harry's alleged violations
of the Statute of Secrecy and the Underage Magic Statute. 

Ron's love for Muggle-born Hermione might make him feel more sympathy
for Reg Cattermole's Muggle-born wife, but I don't see any other
connection to Ron as a character, except for his comic bewilderment in
being faced with a raining office (at least it would be comic in
another context). And, of course, JKR has set it up so that he gets
advice from his own father without the father knowing it, a nice bit
of dramatic irony (the reader has information not available to a
character).

I'm not sure, either, that Runcorn is a high-ranking Ministry
official. I thought that Runcorn was on something like Arthur
Weasley's level, a mid-level Ministry employee willing to use
unscrupulous means on his way up the ladder. Although posing as
Runcorn enables Harry to get onto the floor where Umbridge's office
is, that wasn't part of the plan; they don't know who Runcorn is. Nor
do I think that Runcorn necessarily outranks Mafalda, though it's hard
to say (Harry doesn't know how important Runcorn is, 256). Mafalda
seems to be a kind of glorified secretary or junior assistant, with a
position similar to Percy's but in a different department. Runcorn's
duties and department are unspecified. What's important, IMO, is that
he's a DE sympathizer, which puts Harry in an awkward position when he
encounters Arthur Weasley, but also enables him to hear comments that
would not have been made to Mr. Weasley (or to a maintenance worker
like Reg Cattermole).
> 
> 5. How in the world did Dolores Umbridge get Moody's eye?

Carol:
Ah. My very grim theory. I've stated it before, but I might as well do
it again. Umbridge claims to be related to the pure-blood Selwyns. We
also encounter a DE named Selwyn in the Seven Potters and Three
Brothers chapters. It can't be coincidence; Umbridge must have
requested the eye from her DE relative (cousin?) when she learned that
Mad-Eye had been killed. Probably, he was happy to obtain it for her.
If not, her important position would have convinced him.
(Alternatively, she works with the likes of Yaxley and Travers, so
she's not short on DE connections. Still, I like the Selwyn theory.
Why name him twice, and why have her give the name Selwyn as opposed
to some other family name starting with S, if he's not her source for
the magical eyeball?)
> 
> 6. Harry takes a number of impulsive actions in this chapter: taking
Moody's eye, stupefying Umbridge, and helping the group of
Muggle-borns to escape. These actions create both negative
consequences (tipping off the Ministry), and also positive
consequences (freeing the Muggle-born wizards). Do you believe that
Harry's actions were rash, or were his actions justified? 

Carol:
Taking the eyeball was rash (though I understand the feelings that
prompted it). Stunning Umbridge and Yaxley was necessary, not only so
that they could escape, but so that they could steal the Horcrux. And
, rash or not, helping the Muggle-borns escape was the humane thing to
do. It would have been wrong to leave them. ("How many people have you
watched being sent to Azkaban for no crime, Harry?" "Lately, only
those whom I could not save.")   
> 
> 7. The Ministry is producing propaganda pamphlets against
Muggle-borns, registering all wizards with Muggle-born blood,
interrogating Muggle-born wizards, and imprisoning Muggle-borns in
Azkaban. Do you  believe that this is meant to be an analogy to the
treatment of Jews in Nazi Germany? Or is it a general analogy to
bigotry and prejudice against minority groups?

Carol responds:
I'm no expert, so I won't answer in detail, but the pamphlet that the
Ministry workers were assembling, with its trumped-up charges against
Muggle-borns, made me think of similarly trumped-up charges against
the Jews in Germany. And, of course, JKR has said that she was
startled by the way that "Jewish blood" was determined in Nazi
Germany, so she's certainly aware of the parallels. "Magic Is Might"
may parallel certain Nazi slogans (the only one I know is "Arbeit
Macht Frei," which isn't very close). Grindelwald's prison may be a
more direct link to the Nazi prison camps than sending Muggle-borns to
Azkaban, but I'll leave that discussion to others.
>  
> 8. Umbridge accuses Mrs. Cattermole of taking another wizard's wand,
and the Ministry propaganda accuses Muggle-borns of "stealing" magic
from pure-blood wizards. What does this mean? Does the Ministry 
believe that Muggle-borns are literally stealing wands; or that
Muggle-borns steal magic by their very existence in the wizarding world?

Carol responds:
It's nonsense, and everyone in the WW knows it. If Muggle-borns wern't
magical to begin with, what would be the point of their stealing a
wand they couldn't use? And if Ollivander's records haven't been
destroyed, it would be fairly easy to check when and to whom each one
was sold. (If they believed their own charges, all they'd need to do
is to bring in Ollivander himself to testify, but, of course, he's
being held prisoner for other reasons.) I don't know what you mean by
the second question, but I do think that they regard Muggle-borns as
interlopers who don't belong in the WW, magical or not. And I wouldn't
be surprised if they're also circulating propaganda about the
consequences of marrying "Muggles" (Muggle-borns) being a higher
chance of Squib offspring because the Muggle-born's "blood" is not
magical (even the narrator speaks of the Dursleys as not having a drop
of magical blood in their veins).

> How could this propaganda succeed when all wizards had seen
Muggle-born wizards perform magic on their own at Hogwarts? Do you
believe that the Ministry propaganda has convinced the wizards, or are
they simply too intimidated to contradict the Ministry? 

Carol:
I don't think anyone believes it, not even Umbridge herself. But
people who want to succeed at the expense of the arrested Muggle-borns
or be rewarded for informing on them will pretend to believe it, as do
the DEs themselves, and no doubt other Ministry employees are afraid
of having their own families investigatd or being sent to Azkabans as
"blood traitors," and so they keep their mouths shut. (Reg Cattermole
probably kept as quiet as possible before his wife was arrested for
fear of calling attention to her.) At least some of the pure-bloods,
mostly Slytherins, *do* see Muggle-borns as innately and culturally
inferior (the name "Mud-Bloods" emphasizes that supposed inborn
"filth," to use Mrs. Black's word). Pure-Bloods are "pure";
"Mud-Bloods" are scum. Just ask Draco in HBP or earlier. But the
specific charge of "stealing" magic is just absurd, and they would
have to be stupid or incredibly gullible to believe it.
> 
> 9. In this chapter, the Ministry's "courtrooms" are used to
terrorize and intimidate the powerless. What is the novel's view of
the legal system? What does JKR seem to be saying about law versus
instinct as a basis for morality?

Carol responds:
Well, we've seen the WW go from persecuting people supposedly
associated with Dark Magic and sending them to prison without a trial
(e.g., Sirius Black) to a more relaxed but still corrupt system, with
cruel prison conditions, bribery, and an inept Minister for Magic, to
a coup resulting in tyranny and the triumph of evil. How the WW
relates to JKR's view of RL politics, I'm not prepared to say. She
does seem to have a soft spot for rule-breaking (by Gryffindors), not
always for good reason, she also seems to admire efficiency (teachers
who know what they're doing), so I don't think she's an advocate of
anarchy. Following your heart or instincts doesn't really substitute
for clear thinking, either, as we see with Harry's ill-fated attempt
to rescue his godfather. I'd like to believe that JKR is advocating
moderation and common sense in government as in child-rearing (too
lenient and you get a Dudley; too harsh, and you get a Severus). I
honestly don't see a connection between her moral philosophy and
whatever statement she's making about politics, but heaven help the
government that acts on its instincts as Harry did in his ill-fated
attempt to rescue Sirius Black.

Carol, who fears that she's badly muddled that last question