Sadism or not ? McGonagall and her punishments

[a_svirn]

No: HPFGUIDX 186633

> Alla:
> 
> So you are saying that Snape would agree to let Draco, student whom he had protected and cherished go if he knew? I would think that at the very least he would have insisted to go with them. 

a_svirn:
Yeah, that's a fair point. Actually, neither interpretation looks entirely convincing. Now that I reread our arguments I think maybe I should exonerate McGonagall on that one. Perhaps, she simply never dreamed of Hagrid taking them to the Forest, Unicorns or no Unicorns. Probably both she and Snape assumed they would weed pumpkins or feed small unpleasant creatures to large unpleasant creatures or something. Of course, this interpretation too leaves a few questions open. I mean, even Hagrid should have known he couldn't pull a stunt like that with a son of the school governor and stay on the job. Then again, he did and he did. Which, by the way, goes a long way towards explaining why Lucius was so hell-bent on removing Dumbledore. He must have been totally beside himself as a parent and very concerned indeed as a governor. He probably felt he *had* to do it, any pleasure he derived from the exercise was entirely coincidental. 

 
> Alla:
> 
> Um, I am sure biggest sadists are sure that they are doing it for the greater good. I still do not know where in the books you see canon showing McGonagall as enjoying herself. 

a_svirn:
I see in the books McGonagall indulging in the same petty bullying as Snape and even singling out the same student for that purpose. A student who is having memory problems he can't help. I strongly believe that you can't tell a sadist from a non-sadist by the way he or she smirks. 

> Alla:
And I already addressed Snape and of course his tone with Harry often shows it.

a_svirn:
Of course Snape had issues with Harry. Any psychoanalyst would have a field day cataloguing them. He mortgaged his soul basically to keep Harry safe and hated him for that. And himself for getting Harry's mother killed. That's an ugly and explosive mix, but sadism? I don't think so. 

> Alla:
> I am not sure what your point is about mentioning other teachers though. That they are better? Of course they are, I totally agree with you.

a_svirn:
The point I was making was that "it was wrong of her, but she felt she had to do it" is a bad argument. The point is it was wrong, and if she felt so then she felt wrong. The difference between McGonagall and Umbridge not in their motivation but in how many lines they were willing to cross to achieve their objectives. 


> Alla: 
> I just rank McGonagall higher than Snape, that is all.

a_svirn:
Well, I don't. I think they are pretty much pot and kettle.