The Potter meme - day 7

[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.
Day 6 Least favorite female character


I've taken the day off! It's raining so ludicrously hard that the only possible out-of-doors activity is shooting a remake of Noah's Arc. And it's not as if I'm an out-of-doors person to begin with. So I'm spending the day in my study, with lots of tea (from the Scottish hols) and the last two chocolate-orangy thingies (Scotland) and about 80 cm (24 inch) of unread books (Scotland).
And I'm spamming you with posts. Don't worry: my to-do list is still as long as my arm, days like this won't happen again any time soon.
Anyhow, today is "least favourite male character day". I've read all your wonderfully-formulated votes for James Potter, Dumbledore, Peter Pettigrew, and Sirius Black, and you're right. I don't like them either. But if I were a lawyer, the person I'd refuse to defend isn't any of these. It's

He's meant to be unlikeable, and JKR did a brilliant job in making him so. I can't think of a single nice thing to say about him, or of a single mitigating circumstance for his treatment of Harry. But to me, there's more behind Vernon, and it remains mostly unnoticed. True, you could hide the London Eye behind Vernon and it would be unnoticeable, but that's not what I meant.

Vernon, his treatment of Harry, and, above all, the way it's described in the books, is a chilling illustration of why child abuse in middle-class families can go on for years. Vernon abuses Harry both physically and emotionally, the signals are there, and it's ignored.

There's the canon facts:
Vernon uses every well-known trick to keep things hidden. On Dudley's birthday (PS), he waits till they are in the house before he really lashes out.

Harry is hidden from visitors and discredited by the "special school" story. And when there's a crack in the wall surrounding Harry's treatment (the letter with the Cupboard-under-the-Stair address) he gives Harry a room of his own.

Cornelius Fudge sees and clears up the Marge-Mess, but asks no questions as to why Harry was so upset that he blew up his aunt.

There's the construction of the shop front. The boss's visit in GoF is spooky with its meticulous preparations.

There's the things canon ignores
Arabella Figg. She may have noticed things. She may even have tried to report, but doesn't get through (only a Squib, after all).

The Weasleys. Neither Arthur nor Molly tries to find out what's really going on.

Hogwarts. No-one seems to question the fact that he never goes home during the year, never gets mail, (the Dursleys cleverly send a Christmas "gift" to keep up appearences), that his family never shows any interest whatsoever.
Does Hogwarts inform the Dursleys when Harry is hospitalized? (As guardian to a child, I'd want a school to mention such minor details as boneless arms, basilisk-attacks, and the likes.) If so, aren't they surprised no-one visits? Or do they know perfectly well that it's useless to write the Dursleys, and still decide that he must return there?

And why doesn't anyone take him away?
Because the Dursleys are family. Cut out the magical rigmarole, it's family. And it's not as if they're drunk, or on the dole, or involved in criminal activities, or have a history with social workers. They're perfectly respectable. People like us, so they can't possibly ...

It happens, just like that. I find it chilling.

And while I freely admit to not being well-read in Potter-publications, I've never so far see a reviewer, or a movie-critic, or a scholar pick up on this. Is it because the movies turn him into a big, fat, funny caricature? Let's face it, movie!Vernon is a clown. So is Petunia. The actors both do a brilliant job. The fat one and the thin one, classic comical pairing. But why did the directors feel the need to make them so unrealistic?




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.

Comments

[pale-moonlite.livejournal.com]

You're right about Vernon, and it is chilling. I completely forgot about him. I think the problem is that PS/SS reads so much like a fairytale that we (or I in that case) forget the seriousness of Harry's situation. He gets to be Cinderella after all and finds a fantastic new world where he's the hero.

[therealsnape.livejournal.com]

He gets to be Cinderella after all and finds a fantastic new world where he's the hero. Exactly! But underneath, there's that whole tale of how a child is abused for years on end. And no-one sees it or believes him. It's spooky.

[pale-moonlite.livejournal.com]

They don't want to see it. Or else they would have to rethink about the blood protection spell. Heaven forbid!

[minervas-eule.livejournal.com]

Thank you for pointing that out! You are right, of course. And I indeed have never taken him seriously in the movie (just thought how good an actor the actor is), and in the books the Dursley-chapters were always ones to read pretty fast to get to the action / my beloved characters...
You are especially right about that there is nothing one could come up with to defend him...

[therealsnape.livejournal.com]

It's all turned into such a big joke - but that scene before the boss arrives! Grotesque, of course, but in a way it's what happens - we all play at happy families, and you stay mum or else ...

[the-winterwitch.livejournal.com]

You are absolutely right, of course. It is extremely chilling.

But why did the directors feel the need to make them so unrealistic? The Clown image works well for me - and the reason why the directors did so probably was that otherwise, they would have had to tackle the abuse question and all that. Turning this into ridiculousnes enables them to brush the subject off.

Vernon wasn't on my list for this question, as for choosing a "least favourite" character, I need to choose among characters who I at least don't outright loathe. (Just my personal interpretation of it, though, no judgement meant or anything!) So characters like Vernon, Greyback, the Dementors, the average overzealous auror simply didn't count. All of these represent for me the abyss of desperation and general badness working as a general background.