Drinking, Schminking, was Re: Ethics, Schmethics

[eloise_herisson]

Waldo Glatisant:

>I actually think that
> Trelawney has the real problem with booze, not so much
> Hagrid. He may drink more, but she seems to drink
> because she has to. I am sure she is depressed and has
> situational stressors as well, but that doesn't make
> her any less of a drunk. She gives every impression of
> being a chronic daily drinker, even though her drink
> of choice is sherry. She drinks just to get by.

Exactly, poor thing. Sherry is the drink of choice of the respectable 
old-fashioned lady. But it's described elsewhere as "cooking sherry" so 
it's cheap, nasty stuff that you'd only *drink* if either you couldn't 
afford something decent or you are dependent/want to get drunk rather 
than enjoy it. Sherry's also relatively high in alcohol content.

Whether she can function is really neither here nor there (given her 
incompetence in any case). She has problems and has turned to alcohol 
for help. She doesn't just need help for her alcoholism itself, she 
needs help with the underlying causes. She's certainly not doing 
anything for her health. 

BTW, I do wonder why she has to go to lengths to hide the bottles 
(other than it being a convenient plot device!) Surely the house elves 
would just clear them away, no questions asked. It must mean she's so 
ashamed of her problem that she doesn't even want them to know.

~Eloise
Who loves Randy's observation about stewed horned slugs