CHAPTER DISCUSSION: Prisoner of Azkaban Chapter 2: Aunt Marge's Big Mistake

Sun Jul 4 02:32:04 UTC 2010

No: HPFGUIDX 189408

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "pippin_999" <foxmoth at ...> wrote:
Questions:

1. Seriously - what is wrong with Aunt Marge? What kind of person hits a 5-year old in the shins?

Pippin:
 The same sort of person she is as a dog-fancier who drowns puppies. Childhood, to Marge, is not a protective cocoon -- it's a Darwinian contest from birth. Resources should not be wasted on the unfit, ie anybody who might take them away from her Dudders.

Marianne:

This is a sad to write, and I would think Marge would never go this far.  But in the real world, what kind of person beats their child to death.   Throws babies against walls.  And other upspeakable acts. Child abuse happens all over to some degree or another.  By this observation perhaps I've blown Marge's character out of proportion.  Problem is that the Dursleys thinks it's fine to treat Harry that way.  Dudley is never treated physically or emotionally treated that way.  But in HBP Dumbledore said that Harry had escaped far worse damage than what the Dursleys had infliced upon Dudley.  And DD is right.  In the end, Harry got the better deal. It made him more of an adult that Dudley will ever be.

Megan: 
2. Given the little glimpse of Harry's life with the Dursleys that we see at the beginning of each book, what do you think the Dursleys' neighbors believe to be the reason that Harry attends St. Brutus's Secure Center for Incurably Criminal Boys? And do you think they are concerned that he is allowed to come home every summer?

Pippin:
I doubt they believe the St Brutus story and I'm sure they know Dudley is a bully. But they probably think there's something odd and possibly very wrong about Harry too. Their kids will  be aware of the weird stuff that happens when Harry's around. Best not to get involved. It isn't all wizard concealment that allows the WW its clandestine existence. There's a great deal of Muggle denial involved as well.

Marianne:

Harry is in public school.  The other kids knows he's at school.  Short of the parents being totally blind to their kids conversations about the strange things that happen to the Potter boy, they've got to know he's not at St. Brutus school.  Even so, Harry minds his own business when he is at home.  He don't act up, so I don't think the neighbors need be too worried.

4. Do you think that students from wizarding families are watched as closely by the ministry to see if they perform magic during the summer? Why or why not?

Pippin:
We know that there's a special degree of watchfulness on Privet Drive. The ministry wants to know if magic is being performed in Harry's vicinity, in light of previous events, as Fudge puts it somewhere. Unfortunately the Trace apparently can't detect any difference between a hover charm performed by a wizard and one performed by a House Elf. And what would a House Elf be doing at Privet Drive? 

 I suppose the person monitoring for magical activity at Privet Drive in CoS wanted to show that they were on the job and referred the matter to Mme Hopkirk without considering what the consequences for Harry would be.

Marianne:

Wizarding children at their homes are probably not too closely monitered because the parents keep an eye of them.  During the summer there are strange sounds coming from Fred and George's rooms.  They are working on something, and I would think it involves magic.  I think George mentioned that Ginny does a good bat bogey hex.  Not sure which book. Or if he was on the receiving end at school or at home.  If the Ministry kept that close of an eye on wizarding families they'd be at the Burrow on a regular basis because of Fred and Geore alone.

Megan: 
5. OK, one more about Aunt Marge - can you think of any way in which she could have been written to be more unlikeable? 

Pippin:
Oh yes. She could pretend to have Harry's best interest at heart and have a quill that makes him cut words into his hand.

Marianne:
She could have had her dog sit right up at the supper table with everybody else and eat off Petunia's good dishes. That's probably  more disgusting than unlikeable.  Or if she had any indication that Harry would be involved with Sirius she probably would have turned Harry over to Sirius.