Fathers

[Jen Reese]

All quotes below
from current issue
of TIME magazine
July 25th, 2005

don't know how much is enough,
will do a few more lines
There.

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"Much of Rowling's understanding of the origins of evil has to do 
with the role of the father in family life. 'As I look back over the 
five published books,' she says, 'I realize that it's kind of a 
litany of bad fathers. That's where evil seems to flourish, in 
places where people don't get good fathering.'"

Jen: OK, this surprises me. That's the main object of damage then, 
the absent or controlling/abusive father?

We do have many examples: Barty Crouch Jr. with his sacrificing 
mother and rigid/distant father. Draco & Lucius would probably be 
one of JKR's examples. And if the images Harry's extracts from 
Snape's mind were indeed Tobias Snape, well he was no picnic either.

But the most evil of them all, Tom Riddle, provides a little bit 
creakier example since we have backstory now. Certainly Tom, Sr. 
abandoned the family and that eventually led to Tom's place in the 
orphanage. But it wasn't *exactly* clear-cut. Shallow, vain, 
prejudiced--Sr. was all these things but it's not like he made a 
free-choice decision in the pregnancy, either. But perhaps it's 
enough for evil to breed in absentia, regardless of the reasons why.

OTOH, we have a few absent fathers for the good guys too--where was 
Mr. Black? Neville certainly didn't get to spend any quality time 
with his father. Harry while perhaps having *had* a loving father 
truly remembers only Vernon as a father *figure* (can't ever call 
him a proper father in that relationship).

Now symbolically I can see this more clearly than literally. Harry's 
many father-figures have played a huge role in his magical and 
personal development. Not that any of them last long. But it's 
interesting his most conflicted father relationship, with Snape, 
remains the final one to sort out.

In comparison, TR would accept no substitute. When Dumbledore 
arrives at his door, Tom has long since decided that he needs no one 
to guide him, least of all a father.

Jen