Characters inconsistencies (mostly Snape's) WAS :Re:What did you like

[sistermagpie]

No: HPFGUIDX 183840

> > Magpie:
> > For you to see it yourself, as in agree with it? Or hard for you 
to 
> > understand the distinctions that somebody else is making?
> 
> Alla:
> 
> Actually, I guess it is the mixture of two parts that you wrote. I 
> cannot **agree** with the distinctions that somebody else is 
making, 
> I understand them, but I disagree with it.

Magpie:
Right--that's all I was saying to Winterfell originally, was that 
people judge the different situations as they see them, and explain 
why they judge them the way they do. 

 
> Magpie:
> <SNIP>
> > But you've already gone far beyond the idea that they're both 
> > Unforgivables and so that's all that matters. Molly kills 
somebody 
> > too, but I'd judge that act differently than Snape's too.
> 
> Alla:
> 
> LOL, it is actually a little bit backwards. I was talking about POV 
> that argues a) Harry performed Unforgiveable and that is all that 
> matters, so it is horrible and and JKR was developing a theme that 
> Unforgiveables are just bad, period, so she destroyed that theme by 
> Harry performing Crucio and not making him agonising over it, etc.
> 
> So, if you or anybody else says that JKR destroyed that theme that 
> all unforgiveables are bad by making Harry do crucio and not have 
him 
> suffer and suffer over it, don't you think that Snape's 
unforgiveable 
> deserves to be judged same way?

Magpie:
Right, they're two different discussions. If Unforgivables are bad in 
themselves and we expect good guys never to use them (at least 
without bad consequences or worry etc) we're confused when the good 
guys use them.

But clearly that isn't true. Unforgivables aren't off limits to good 
guys. So once we know that sure we can not like that or feel confused 
or whatever--some readers really were dismayed by that. But we're 
still left with how we're going to judge the act in itself 
independently of the word "unforgivable." It seems like people are 
doing that too. That's why Harry's Crucio gets more criticism than 
his Imperio. Not just because they're both unforgivables, but because 
of what they do.

Alla: 
> I mean, it is absolutely my view that there was no such a theme, I 
> mean, I certainly thought that it was, I won't lie, but she showed 
to 
> me in book 7 that indeed Unforgiveables should be judged based on 
all 
> the totality of circumstances IMO. I have sero problem with it, 
> really.

Magpie:
Exactly. I think most people make that same distinction. My own 
impression of a lot of the discussions is that when people talk about 
Unforgivables being bad in themselves it's more part of a discussion 
of "What is Dark Magic?" discussion, since Dark Magic is more than 
once mentioned as a sign that somebody has a bad character.

Alla: 
> But if person says that Harry's unforgiveable is out of theme or 
> whatever, it strikes me as inconsistent to say that Snape's AK is 
> just fine.

Magpie:
I agree. Although, of course, somebody might say that it's bad in 
both cases but consider Snape bad anyway. So it's not like they're 
saying it's okay for Snape or Bella to Crucio and not Harry, but that 
they just expect it more from the first two.

-m