PS 3

[pauraque_bk]

In the previous edition of our HP book analysis,
We typed all day and night through tendonitis and through calluses,
Pondering the characters and waxing pedagogical
On JKR's vast ignorance of things herpetological.
We've found symbolic alchemy and teased out the foreshadowing;
A rosy view of Dumbledore's already had a battering;
We all know black_dog's clever but I don't think we imagined he
Would find the textual evidence for the Dursley family tragedy!

(CHORUS: Would find the textual evidence for the Dursley family tragedy, etc.)

Is it psychologic realism that the Dursley family lacks?
Let's have some speculation on the bracket of their income tax!
We'll maybe even work out what the source of Vernon's malice is--
Stay tuned for the next chapter of our HP book analysis.

(That was _hannelore's fault.)


PS 3: The Letters from No One

The escape of the Brazilian boa constrictor earned Harry his longest-ever punishment. By the time he was allowed out of his cupboard again, the summer holidays had started[...] (28)

How long is that? When's Dudley's birthday?

'They stuff people's heads down the toilet first day at Stonewall,' [Dudley] told Harry. 'Want to come upstairs and practise?'

'No thanks,' said Harry. 'The poor toilet's never had anything as horrible as your head down it -- it might be sick.' (28)

A snarker from childhood, Harry is. (His only weapon... Who else to we know who uses cruel insults this way? Yes, I've gotten very big on the Harry-Snape parallels.)

Also: When I see the word Stonewall, my first thought, of course, is Stonewall. There's also apparently a well-known gay rights group of the same name in the UK.

Smeltings boys wore maroon tailcoats, orange knickerbockers and flat straw hats called boaters. They also carried knobbly sticks, used for hitting each other while the teachers weren't looking. (29)

black_dog was under the impression that this uniform was rather non-U. I'm afraid I'm not up on the details of British social structure... anyone else? (Also... what's with the stick?)

Uncle Vernon opened his newspaper as usual and Dudley banged his Smeltings stick, which he carried everywhere, on the table. (29)

Dudley/stick OTP!! Beg your pardon. I found this chapter very funny, and I'm still a bit giggly.

'Who'd be writing to you?' sneered Uncle Vernon, shaking the letter open with one hand and glancing at it. His face went from red to green faster than a set of traffic lights. And it didn't stop there. Within seconds it was the greyish white of old porridge.

'P-P-Petunia!' he gasped.

Dudley tried to grab the letter to read it, but Uncle Vernon held it high out of his reach. Aunt Petunia took it curiously and read the first line. For a moment it looked as though she might faint. She clutched her throat and made a choking noise.

'Vernon! Oh my goodness -- Vernon!'

They stared at each other, seeming to have forgotten that Harry and Dudley were still in the room. (30-31)

What a reaction! They've clearly discussed and worried over this in advance; there's no doubt in Vernon's mind what it means. If Petunia knew the letter always comes when you're 11, I can see how the stress would have escalated over the years.

'I WANT MY LETTER!' [Harry] shouted. (31)

Aw, baby's first capslock.

'Vernon,' Aunt Petunia was saying in a quivering voice, 'look at the address -- how could they possibly know where he sleeps? You don't think they're watching the house?'

'Watching -- spying -- might be following us,' muttered Uncle Vernon wildly.

'But what should we do, Vernon? Should we write back? Tell them we don't want --'

'Harry could see Uncle Vernon's shiny black shoes pacing up and down the kitchen. [There's a stray quotation mark in this line.]

'No,' he said finally. 'No, we'll ignore it. If they don't get an answer ... yes, that's best ... we won't do anything ...'

'But--'

'I'm not having one in the house, Petunia! Didn't we swear when we took him in we'd stamp out that dangerous nonsense?' (31)

This is rather an abrupt change from Chapter 1, where Vernon timidly broaches the subject with her, after seeing the owls. And why would Petunia ask *him* what to do, or how they knew where Harry slept? She's the one with direct experience of the wizarding world. But he's very clearly in charge here.

[Uncle Vernon] took a few deep breaths and then forced his face into a smile, which looked quite painful.

'Er -- yes, Harry -- about this cupboard. Your aunt and I have been thinking ... you're really getting a bit big for it ... we think it might be nice if you moved into Dudley's second bedroom.' (32)

Harry comments later that Vernon is trying to be nice to him. Why? As a palliative, so he won't ask about the letters anymore? Some misguided attempt to make Harry not *want* to go to Hogwarts?

'See,' he explained to Aunt Petunia through a mouthful of nails, 'if they can't deliver them they'll just give up.'

'I'm not sure that'll work, Vernon.'

'Oh, these people's minds work in strange ways, Petunia, they're not like you and me,' said Uncle Vernon, trying to knock in a nail with the piece of fruit cake Aunt Petunia had just brought him. (34)

Again, Petunia's superior knowledge of magic is ignored... perhaps not coincidentally. She may be ashamed even to admit that she knows anything more about it than your average Muggle.

On Sunday morning, Uncle Vernon sat down at the breakfast table looking tired and rather ill, but happy.

'No post on Sundays,' he reminded them happily as he spread marmalade on his newspapers, 'no damn letters today--' (34-35)

Okay, this is funny, but it's hard not to feel bad for old Vernon. It hasn't even been a week of getting letters, and he's already out of his mind.

They had just finished when the owner of the hotel came over to their table.

' 'Scuse me, but is one of you Mr H. Potter? Only I got about an 'undred of these at the front desk.' (36)

An obvious question presents itself: Would Hogwarts go to such lengths to elicit a response from any student, or is it just because it's Harry?

And here's another: If you don't *want* to go to Hogwarts, what happens? Presumably they'd go to any lengths to get Harry to come, but what about... Hermione, say? If she'd not wanted to come? Do they allow magic-users to go untrained?

Of course, his birthdays were never exactly fun -- last year, the Dursleys had given him a coat-hanger and a pair of Uncle Vernon's old socks. (36)

I always thought the bizarre Dursley gifts were funny-strange... Not the harsh reality of abusive parents -- that he'd get nothing -- but gifts of Dahl-esque useless junk.

If you want to take this a little further, you could say that the Dursleys feel guilty on some level for their mistreatment of Harry -- the fact that Vernon realizes he can be nicer to Harry if he chooses suggests that he knows full well he's not treating Harry right. Or they're possibly deluding themselves that giving any kind of gift is enough. More than Harry deserves, even.

And if you want to take it even further -- socks! Dumbledore's vision in the mirror, and the ticket to Dobby's freedom... The Dursleys mistreat Harry, yet they give him the gift of protection from Voldemort. And Harry wraps the Sneakoscope in one of Vernon's socks to shut it up (61 PoA UK paperback)... deafness to the signs of the magical world, to the real (not paranoiac) dangers it presents.

It's all about the socks, yo.


Past re-read posts are saved in memories here.

Comments

[erinellii.livejournal.com]

Well, they leave the untrained kids in the muggle world for eleven years and sure, a few strange things are noticed, but nothing that can't be explained away. I shouldn't think it would be any different just to live your entire life that way, after you'd had your memory modified.