Potter Meme Day 6

[therealsnape]

Day 1 How did you get into Harry Potter
Day 2 Favourite book
Day 3 Least favorite book
Day 4 Favorite female character
Day 5 Favorite male character.



Well, that was an entertaining day, going over every annoying HP lady, enjoying a good rant. But in the end the one who really gets on my nerves is Molly Weasley. I've two main reasons (and a whole lot of petty hatreds).

She's badly written
There are quite a few characters who have shades of grey; yet we are to admire them unquestioningly - James Potter and Dumbledore spring to mind. In those cases, however, the lack of serious examination of these characters can be explained by JKR's choice to write the whole series from Harry's POV. Where he admires, we can but follow. And as a teenager, he understandably tends to see black and white much clearer than grey.

Occasionally JKR shows her readers that Harry is wrong (the 'take a ginger newt from an exasperated McG in OotP is a case in point), but if the hero has to remain a truly heroic person, this method must be used very sparingly.

In Molly, however, she has a character that could have been explored quite fully.
Harry would have wanted to observe and think about the Weasleys: his first contact with a normal, happy family. He'd want to see what could have been. And he could also notice that people can sometimes be wrong, or have flaws / things we really don't like, but that one can still love them in spite of it.

A perfect case would have been the events surrounding the flying muggle car. The way Molly screams at her husband in front of his children, while he uphelds her authority, is one of Molly's most unpleasant, shrewish moments.
Harry could have disliked her for it, but could have seen that Arthur doesn't love her less. And he could have discovered that disliking a thing doesn't mean you stop loving a person.

But JKR seems to be so utterly besotted by the wonderful, warm Aga-saga she has created around her Earth Mother, that she wants us to see those moments not as serious flaws, but as likeable eccentricities. Molly's outbursts are moments of light, comic relief. They aren't painted in grey, but in the gaudiest of colours - Oh golly, Mum Molly!

In my mind, JKR has lost all critical distance to her character, and the story is less interesting because of it.

And my second reason for disliking Molly: she's a sanctimonious bitch
During quite a lot of books, I felt that Molly's redeeming trait was her true kindness to Harry. In a great many good ways, the Weasleys do act in loco parentis.

Then, in DH, I discovered how ridiculously close the Weasleys and Luna are: walking distance. And yet they had never visited. Clearly, it's not the idea of a lonely, motherless child that triggers Molly. It's The Boy Who Lived.




Day 7 Least favorite male Character.
Day 8 Thoughts on fanfic.
Day 9 Favorite Hogwarts Professor.
Day 10 Dead character you want to bring back most.
Day 11 House you would be in.
Day 12 Hogwarts subject you would most like to take.
Day 13 Spell you wish you could work without a wand.
Day 14 Thoughts on fanart (+ A favorite fanart).
Day 15 Favorite movie.
Day 16 Least favorite movie.
Day 17 Books vs. films.
Day 18 A part of the books/movies that makes you cry.
Day 19 Favorite 'ship(s).
Day 20 Your favorite villain.
Day 21 Favorite location.
Day 22 Thoughts on wizard rock.
Day 23 Character you think you are most like.
Day 24 Horcruxes vs. Hallows?
Day 25 Something you wish JKR had written about more.
Day 26 Marauders vs. Snape.
Day 27 The Invisibility Cloak, The Resurrection Stone or The Elder Wand.
Day 28 The Next Generation.
Day 29 How have you participated in the fandom over the years?
Day 30 In general, the effects of Harry Potter on your life.