The books seem to me to be written from a (not unexpected) mindset in which being a traitor is the *worst* thing, worse than actually being evil for its own sake. (Loyalty calls the Phoenix! Loyalty!)
This is a very good point! Snape is also a traitor, of course, but to the Dark side, so I guess that makes it okay.
If he were a debonair!pretty!traitor would we be more inclined to see his pathetic behavior as a clever ploy?
"Peter with presence" is basically... Lucius! Lucius is also two-faced, grovels to Voldemort after not having the balls to stand up and defend him when he "wasn't the biggest bully in the playground anymore", as Sirius might put it. He's at least as morally weak as Peter, and less loyal: Peter's loyalties can be swayed, but Lucius appears to have none at all.
What has Lucius ever done to deserve his fan following? Harry's relationship with him is not complex, as with Snape. JKR doesn't want us to like or sympathize with him -- he's a slimy villain, and that's about it.
But he's pretty! And he has presence!
Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not saying Lucius fans shouldn't like him -- I'm just saying it's pretty clear that what a character actually does and believes is not the main cause for said character becoming popular.
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Date: 2004-04-29 09:53 am (UTC)This is a very good point! Snape is also a traitor, of course, but to the Dark side, so I guess that makes it okay.
If he were a debonair!pretty!traitor would we be more inclined to see his pathetic behavior as a clever ploy?
"Peter with presence" is basically... Lucius! Lucius is also two-faced, grovels to Voldemort after not having the balls to stand up and defend him when he "wasn't the biggest bully in the playground anymore", as Sirius might put it. He's at least as morally weak as Peter, and less loyal: Peter's loyalties can be swayed, but Lucius appears to have none at all.
What has Lucius ever done to deserve his fan following? Harry's relationship with him is not complex, as with Snape. JKR doesn't want us to like or sympathize with him -- he's a slimy villain, and that's about it.
But he's pretty! And he has presence!
Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not saying Lucius fans shouldn't like him -- I'm just saying it's pretty clear that what a character actually does and believes is not the main cause for said character becoming popular.