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mmoa_writes at 01:21am on 09/11/2007
mmoa_writes at 01:21am on 09/11/2007Started to re read DHs, as I've finished my Proust dosage. Admittedly, it was a little tough at first as I'm not the sort of person who re-reads the same book within so short a space of time, particularly a book that is only okay.
Anyhoo.
I'm no Red Hen, and my interests are actually quite narrow when it comes to HP, but I actually found myself wondering about a character who I'd previously sort of ignored.
It's interesting reading Kreacher's tale again, especially now that I noticed that rarest of occurrences within HP, when it seems that the Author has remembered the necessity of consistency and has actually referred to a precursive book.
I'm drifting. In short, it's about Sirius.
On the surface, we have been encouraged to see many of his troubles as a result of his confrontational upbringing, and whilst it must have been difficult growing up within a family with different mores to you, it could not have been so difficult, particularly for him as the first son of a well off family, as to be the underlying cause for the difficulties of his life.
I'm absolutely sure that Kreacher exaggerates, but I don't think he's too far from the truth when he describes his mistress' heart as being 'broken' by Sirius. Undoubtedly unpleasant people she and her husband may have been, that doesn't make them the heartless fetishists of fanfic (heck, look at how the Malfoys turned out). There would have been anger, certainly (which says more about the level to which they cared about Sirius at all, regardless of the motive behind it... for now at least), her and her husband's pride would have been wounded, family honour would have been stained, but I do think there would have been a no small degree of actual grief over the departure of Sirius from the family. The more 'objective' views of Sirius we are given (the excellent reminder of his ghastly treatment of Kreacher), the more viable it seems that a lot of the troubles experienced by Sirius were precisely because of his inability to understand and indeed respect the feelings of others, from house-elves to schoolmates.
This could help explain the motives behind 'The Prank'. We know that it took place before the lakeside incident, which ruffled more than a few feathers because it made it seem less likely to have been a pivotal moment in the moral development of the Marauders (although it does make Snape's 'grudge' far more understandable), but in line with the characterisation of Sirius as an empathetically stunted individual, it makes more sense. For him, I now don't doubt that it really was just a 'prank', like all the others before it, in spite of the fact that we the reader, and certainly James at the time, don't agree. We could scream and rant about how he was endangering his friend's position at school, potentially causing the death of another year mate, but I bet we would only get a slightly bemused shrug at why we think it was so much worse than whatever misfortune they had inflicted upon Snape.
Us apart, it just emphasises that whole 'Snivellus' get up that always grated on my nerves, not so much because of the word itself, but also because these are men approaching middle age, for goodness' sake, and he's still insulting him with a first year nickname? Oh, Sirius knows it must be annoying, but I don't think he really understand just how insulting and hurtful that little nickname is for Snape.
Because if he did, he wouldn't? Actually, I honestly think so: Sirius is, after all, a more straightforwardly decent man than say, Snape (who is not decent at all, really; good, at times honourable, definitely but decent has connotations of niceness that just doesn't ring...).
But that particular dynamic isn't my interest right now. My main point is that Sirius' relationship with his family, probably had a good deal more to do with Sirius' faults than those of his family. After all, Regulus managed to toe the party line and still do the 'right' thing (and we can quibble over his actual attitude to Muggles/Muggle borns and when the change of heart took place, and if it was ever needed at all - maybe he had always been on the side of 'Light' and was simply being pragmatic. There are too many details of his involvement with the DE's, which has not, so far, been hinted as anything near the depths of some. As for his true attitude to Muggles, personally I think that in this respect, most wizards, Light or Dark, fall woefully short, so whatevs, really). His inability to understand and thus behave appropriately in response to the feelings of those around him would have rendered ideological differences to something more akin to real hatred, a hatred I do not think either of his parents had for him (to begin with, at any rate).
Sirius must have been quite a difficult child, and this would have only exacerbated when he started Hogwarts where he was part of the popular crowd and now had a social acceptance and celebration that he didn't at home (not that he didn't get any - I'm sure he got more than his fair share). I think his mother's heartbreak was more than just because her family's reputation and honour was at stake (I mean, it wasn't as if he had eloped with a muggle born wizard or anything, gosh...), but also because she had failed in keeping the family together and keeping her first born (and probably real favourite) son on the best path - and considering his life after he left home, this fictional mother may well have had a point. Even his 'seat-sniffing' younger brother turned out to be more of a hero, and a bit cleverer, than he was. All in all, this paints a rather soppy picture, which isn't what I had in mind, but a more valid one than the (what seems to be) accepted of Sirius-as-brave-martyr-of-family's-prejudice.
On a more trivial note, it could help explain what such a 'handsome' young man with a motorbike was doing still being single. I mean, really now.
Anyhoo.
I'm no Red Hen, and my interests are actually quite narrow when it comes to HP, but I actually found myself wondering about a character who I'd previously sort of ignored.
It's interesting reading Kreacher's tale again, especially now that I noticed that rarest of occurrences within HP, when it seems that the Author has remembered the necessity of consistency and has actually referred to a precursive book.
I'm drifting. In short, it's about Sirius.
On the surface, we have been encouraged to see many of his troubles as a result of his confrontational upbringing, and whilst it must have been difficult growing up within a family with different mores to you, it could not have been so difficult, particularly for him as the first son of a well off family, as to be the underlying cause for the difficulties of his life.
I'm absolutely sure that Kreacher exaggerates, but I don't think he's too far from the truth when he describes his mistress' heart as being 'broken' by Sirius. Undoubtedly unpleasant people she and her husband may have been, that doesn't make them the heartless fetishists of fanfic (heck, look at how the Malfoys turned out). There would have been anger, certainly (which says more about the level to which they cared about Sirius at all, regardless of the motive behind it... for now at least), her and her husband's pride would have been wounded, family honour would have been stained, but I do think there would have been a no small degree of actual grief over the departure of Sirius from the family. The more 'objective' views of Sirius we are given (the excellent reminder of his ghastly treatment of Kreacher), the more viable it seems that a lot of the troubles experienced by Sirius were precisely because of his inability to understand and indeed respect the feelings of others, from house-elves to schoolmates.
This could help explain the motives behind 'The Prank'. We know that it took place before the lakeside incident, which ruffled more than a few feathers because it made it seem less likely to have been a pivotal moment in the moral development of the Marauders (although it does make Snape's 'grudge' far more understandable), but in line with the characterisation of Sirius as an empathetically stunted individual, it makes more sense. For him, I now don't doubt that it really was just a 'prank', like all the others before it, in spite of the fact that we the reader, and certainly James at the time, don't agree. We could scream and rant about how he was endangering his friend's position at school, potentially causing the death of another year mate, but I bet we would only get a slightly bemused shrug at why we think it was so much worse than whatever misfortune they had inflicted upon Snape.
Us apart, it just emphasises that whole 'Snivellus' get up that always grated on my nerves, not so much because of the word itself, but also because these are men approaching middle age, for goodness' sake, and he's still insulting him with a first year nickname? Oh, Sirius knows it must be annoying, but I don't think he really understand just how insulting and hurtful that little nickname is for Snape.
Because if he did, he wouldn't? Actually, I honestly think so: Sirius is, after all, a more straightforwardly decent man than say, Snape (who is not decent at all, really; good, at times honourable, definitely but decent has connotations of niceness that just doesn't ring...).
But that particular dynamic isn't my interest right now. My main point is that Sirius' relationship with his family, probably had a good deal more to do with Sirius' faults than those of his family. After all, Regulus managed to toe the party line and still do the 'right' thing (and we can quibble over his actual attitude to Muggles/Muggle borns and when the change of heart took place, and if it was ever needed at all - maybe he had always been on the side of 'Light' and was simply being pragmatic. There are too many details of his involvement with the DE's, which has not, so far, been hinted as anything near the depths of some. As for his true attitude to Muggles, personally I think that in this respect, most wizards, Light or Dark, fall woefully short, so whatevs, really). His inability to understand and thus behave appropriately in response to the feelings of those around him would have rendered ideological differences to something more akin to real hatred, a hatred I do not think either of his parents had for him (to begin with, at any rate).
Sirius must have been quite a difficult child, and this would have only exacerbated when he started Hogwarts where he was part of the popular crowd and now had a social acceptance and celebration that he didn't at home (not that he didn't get any - I'm sure he got more than his fair share). I think his mother's heartbreak was more than just because her family's reputation and honour was at stake (I mean, it wasn't as if he had eloped with a muggle born wizard or anything, gosh...), but also because she had failed in keeping the family together and keeping her first born (and probably real favourite) son on the best path - and considering his life after he left home, this fictional mother may well have had a point. Even his 'seat-sniffing' younger brother turned out to be more of a hero, and a bit cleverer, than he was. All in all, this paints a rather soppy picture, which isn't what I had in mind, but a more valid one than the (what seems to be) accepted of Sirius-as-brave-martyr-of-family's-prejudice.
On a more trivial note, it could help explain what such a 'handsome' young man with a motorbike was doing still being single. I mean, really now.