Coming of Age in the Potterverse was Re: Dumbledore as shameless

[zgirnius]

No: HPFGUIDX 189011

> Magpie:
> I don't see how it could be. Not only does Harry not wrestle with most of his moral choices and rarely spend much time regretting his actions, wasn't JKR asked about this and didn't she give a fairly dismissive answer about Harry not being a saint and having a temper? Which to me pretty clearly says that of course he cast a bad spell but it's nothing for deep concern. He throws "good" spells just as easily and with just as little regret. I think we're more often encouraged to see Harry as having good instincts when it comes to morals.

Zara:
Is this the quote you mean?

> 2007 Bloomsbury chat:
> Barbara: I was very disappointed to see harry use crucio and seem to enjoy it his failure to perform that kind of curse in the past has been a credit to his character why the change, and did harry later regret having enjoyed deliberately causing pain 
> J.K. Rowling: Harry is not, and never has been, a saint. Like Snape, he is flawed and mortal.
> J.K. Rowling: Harry's faults are primarily anger and occasional arrogance.
> J.K. Rowling: On this occasion, he is very angry and acts accordingly. He is also in an extreme situation, and attempting to defend somebody very good against a violent and murderous opponent.

Zara:
If we are attempting to discern her intention on the basis of what she has said in interviews, I would have to agree Pippin's view is what Rowling intended, that this was a bad action on Harry's part. In particular, I'd say her choice of Severus Snape, of all characters, to compare Harry to in this quote weighs heavily against your supposition that this sort of thing is not supposed to be concerning in her world. Severus is a good guy, but certainly not someone whose instincts always kept him out of trouble and on the straight and narrow path...!

That she is not, actually, concerned about Harry's specific action in this specific case is in my opinion because she knows his entire life story, and it is in that context that she is explaining the incident to the fan who raised this question. If Harry had continued to indulge in this sort of thing, this would be bad. However, in what she has actually written, following this scene, Harry willingly tries to sacrifice his life for others, and follows this up with showing Voldemort mercy in their final confrontation, and giving up the temptations the Elder Wand would present him with. He then goes on (in her imagination as expressed in other interviews) to be a credit to the Auror Department and loving husband and father (as we also see in the Epilogue). Thus, Rowling is explaining why Harry did this not to dismiss that it is (as the fan points out) disappointing, but to explain why a generally good character might act in a disappointing way.