I know, i know, i know, I KNOW that most people headcanon France as the Reach but as italian i see at least 8-10 similarities with Italy instead.
Please hear me out :
Tyrell's colors and features are more stereotypical south Europeans that support the idea of a very warm climate unlike most of France.
The new faith imposed over the pagan ancient rituals is clearly the "Christian one" (God is one in 7 = God is the Thrinity) and the biggest city in Reach becoming THE city of this new religion, where all the knowledges of that religion is preserved, mirrors last centuries of roman empire and the knowledge preserved in Rome.
Old Town being so old that none remember when it was founded and that was already there when Andals arrived recall Rome being "the eternal city" and arrivals of Barbarians that open the "dark age"/middle age.
All this happen in a territory known for a fertil soil since Italy was called "the garden of Europe" by European scholars for it's fertility and some foods from Italy were perceived as exotic and high-quality/class in Middle age north Europe.
This same territory is famous for luxury commerce; even now tourism is just the third most prosperous italian sector, luxury items as high fashion and luxury cars are the first, and even in past italians were famous for clothes.
Early Middle-Age Italy was famous for the Four Marittime Republics and the Reach have a big navy.
Tyrells and Hightower with their schemes and the habits of marry mostly people from inside their territory recalls Borgia and Medici, that rarely married not italian.
Medici and Tyrells share some similarity being both families that weren't originally meant to seat at the table with biggest one : the Tyrells never ruled as kings and originally were among the lower ranking houses of the Reach and just supported their power by marry into higher families, while Medici were originally bankers that heavily intermarriade with high rate local italian nobility to support their raise to the control of the richest city of Italy (Florence) back then. Both families use flowers as coat of arm.
Borgia and Hightowers too share some similarity : both were famous for having some members with very light colors in hair and eyes, unlike the Medici that were mostly brunettes (Ludovico dei Medici was called the Moor for his dark hairs) like Tyrells, both had members that were famously speculated to be involved into dark magic, both married primarily into their local city (Old Town/Rome) high nobility, both had deep ties with the dominant new religion (we had many Borgia as cardinals and popes).
Caterina de Medici and Maria de Medici (aunt and niece) being accused to be unfaithfull and too concerned with Italy's glory and interest over France's ones by French, recalls Cersei vs Olenna and Margaery's beef.
HighGarden was a rich court with great scholars and Italy created the bases for Reinassence in Middle Age, while other european countries experimented Reinassence only in Modern age.
Italians were perceived as sexually promiscuous and "too much into erotic songs/poetries" and Tyrells seems to love literature and sex.
You can call me delulu now, i surely am..but not fully.
It's honestly so weird (i.e racist) when every female character opposite Sansa is drawn in darker skin tones as if to highlight Sansa's white skin because that's so important to her looks...
I will always talk about this when I see it, because as a brown person in the asoiaf fandom it's incredibly frustrating to see my skin colour being used to promulgate certain racist headcanons.
ALL the characters depicted below are white in the books.
Sansa and Arya - Ok, let's just accept this is the bog standard, accepted in fandom, racist head canon of Arya. For ex. like this fanart of dark-skinned Arya with an overbite ... (from where in the world do they conjure up such headcanons of Arya?!)
Moving on, Sansa and Jeyne -
Okay, let's just accept that Jeyne is pretending to be Arya and can be headcanoned as having the same skin tone. This is contrary to the books of course, where, other than being skinny and having brown hair they don't look similar at all, as Theon points out. Arya has grey eyes and Jeyne has brown eyes. Jeyne Poole, along with Sansa, bullies Arya as being 'horse-faced', mocking Arya's long face.
Moving on, Sansa and Mya Stone -
Even if we look past Arya and Jeyne, why in the world is Mya Stone now a POC? Is it because she is non-conforming? Because she is a bastard? Because she wears riding leathers? Because she has short hair?
This is Robert Baratheon's daughter by the way! Robert 'The Seed is Strong' Baratheon! The drawing above is especially egregious because Sansa describes Mya's best features as her big, blue eyes. The artist however has given those big, blue eyes to Sansa instead.
So all the high born female characters - like Sansa and Myranda Royce depicted above - are white (except for Arya because she is not as good looking as her sister) and the bastards and small folk are poc?
Hmm. I wonder why...
It's similar to how Rickon and Bran are now slowly being drawn in darker shades in other fanart because Rickon is living with cannibals and Bran is communing with Trees and there is a need to separate Sansa as special -
Rickon, Arya, Bran, Robb and Sansa - ALL canonically white in the books.
Remember this popular post about how Sansa alone out of all the Starks was special because of her 'porcelain skin' and 'red hair' like that of a weirwood?
Here's another one where the Starks are all hilariously different shades ranging from darkest - Arya/Jon - to the lightest - Robb and Sansa.
I guess only the high born lady like and non magical 'civilized' Starks are allowed to be white in asoiaf headcanons.
It's really something when the fans turn out to be even more racist than the author. There didn't even have to be poc characters in the series for them to be racist. They just created those poc characters to accommodate their racism!
âWhile I was writing Green Gables my idea of Anneâs face was taken from a picture I had cut from a magazine, passe-partouted, and hung on the wall of my roomâa photograph of a real girl somewhere in the U.S. (Evelyn Nesbit), but I have no idea who she was or where she lived. I wonder if she ever read of Anne, never dreaming that, physically, she was the original!â
L.M. Montgomery on Evelyn Nesbit serving as the original inspiration for Anne Shirley.
Megan Follows as Anne Shirley in Anne of Green Gables: The Sequel
1987 | dir. Kevin Sullivan
Florence Evelyn Nesbit (1884-1967)
an American artistsâ model, chorus girl, and actress
I think Baelon Targaryen is a great example of the banality of evil in A Song of Ice and Fire.
He does not seek to harm others on purpose. Nevertheless, his passivity still contributes to the injustices experienced by the women of his family.
When Jaehaerys passed Rhaenys over as heir, Baelon never once questioned his fatherâs decision. In contrast, Rhaenys was very outspoken about her inheritance being usurped. Baelon had a close relationship to his big brother, Aemon, but that did not stop him from usurping Aemonâs daughter. All because King Jaehaerys said so and Baelon was not going to question his fatherâs decision. GRRM has himself confirmed that the usurpation that occurs here would later set the stage for the Dance of the Dragons, wherein another female heiress is passed over, and it is officially set into law that no woman shall ever be allowed to inherit the Iron Throne before a man.
At the onset of Alysanne arranging Viserraâs betrothal to Theomore Manderly, Viserra expressed her objection to the match. Once Viserraâs efforts to have her parents set aside the betrothal fail, she went to her big brother for help. Itâs quite sad Viserra believed that the only way Baelon would be willing to save her from her impending marriage to an old man is if he was seduced by the sight of her. Though her plan did fail and Alysanne was determined to make this marriage happen. But we see from Baelonâs inaction that he did nothing to convince his parents to not marry Viserra off. Honestly, Baelon shouldâve married Viserra himself to save her. He does not need to consummate that marriage. Since heâs an adult male warrior, thereâs nothing his 15 years old sister couldâve done to force him into a sexual relationship if he doesnât want that. By marrying Viserra, he couldâve saved her from the unfortunate situation of marrying an old man, who has already buried 4 wives, and has multiple children already. Instead, Viserra was left without any support, and in the end, her last attempt at freedom led to her death.
Fire & Blood focuses a lot on the theme of patriarchal power. Baelonâs inaction allowed him to benefit greatly just by refusing to bestir himself for the sake of the women in his family. Though he is not some cold hearted villain. He is simply an ordinary man. He listens to his parents. He was a devoted husband to his wife and took care of his sons like a father should. He performed his princely duties as was expected. And when he saw injustices happening in front of him, he looked the other way.
Another account tells us that a sailor in the crowâs nest of a Myrish galley cast a grapnel as Vermax was swooping through the fleet. One of its prongs found purchase between two scales, and was driven deep by the dragonâs own considerable speed. The sailor had coiled his end of the chain about the mast, and the weight of the ship and the power of Vermaxâs wings tore a long jagged gash in the dragonâs belly. The dragonâs shriek of rage was heard as far off as Spicetown, even through the clangor of battle. His flight jerked to a violent end, Vermax went down smoking and screaming, clawing at the water.
obsessed with how jaceâs death is so reminiscent of robbâs. âhis flight jerked to a violent endâ is basically the two of them in a nutshell - vermax and grey wind representing jace and robbâs fast rise and sudden fall as the two promising young heirs of their houses. grey wind is known for his speed (especially in battle) yet dies locked up in the kennels and tangled up in netting during the red wedding vs vermax flies so fast through the battle that the grapnel prong gets driven deep into his stomach and rips him open alive (his own speed kills him!). both jace and robb are separated from their dragon/direwolf and are killed alongside them at 15/16, being shot at with crossbow arrows like animals.
also itâs worth noting that their grief for their younger siblings plays a major part in their deaths. robb sleeps with jeyne out of grief/guilt after finding out that bran and rickon were âmurderedâ by theon because he feels responsible for sending theon to winterfell in the first place (which indirectly leads to the red wedding). jace throws himself into battle out of grief/guilt because it was his idea to send aegon and viserys away to pentos in an attempt to protect them, just like it was his idea to send luke to stormâs end as an envoy (which of course ends in his death). he freely burns the triarchyâs ships because he assumes that viserys is already dead (like robb assumes that arya is dead!). except all of this leads to jace and robbâs deaths and leaves their younger siblings to grieve them instead.
Broken by the loss of one son, Rhaenyra Targaryen seemed to find new strength after the loss of a second. Jaceâs death hardened her, burning away her fears, leaving only her anger and her hatred. Still possessed of more dragons than her half brother, Her Grace now resolved to use them, no matter the cost. She would rain down fire and death upon Aegon and all those who supported him, she told the black council, and either tear him from the Iron Throne or die in the attempt.â
and then ofc we have rhaenyra and catelyn mourning their firstborn sons. rhaenyra reacting to lukeâs death with despair vs jaceâs death âburning away her fears, leaving only her anger and her hatredâ - cat holding it together as she loses every single one of her children vs being reborn as lady stoneheart after robbâs death, driven by her need for vengeance and her hatred for her sonâs killers. rhaenyraâs âeither tear him from the iron throne or die in the attemptâ vs catâs âshe wants her son alive, or the men who killed him deadââŠrhaenyra and cat being âhardenedâ by the deaths of their firstborns, feeling like thereâs nothing left to them except for vengeance.
jace and robb vermax and grey wind and rhaenyra and catelyn do you hear me !!!
Best Ramsay moment is in ACOK when he takes a break from listing his #top10crimes to give Theon his OOTD, like he would care. And the truth is Theon absolutely would care đ. Theyâre GRRMâs little fashion dolls. In another life theyâre rival fashion students and Theon canât help but notice the âleatherâ Ramsay uses doesnât look normal. Theon points this out and then Ramsay (lovingly) runs his hand through the sewing machine
I ship Hinata with everyone in SDR2 (except the Monobears of course)! I just think all the FTEs and the Island Mode stuff for everyone makes him look great with just about anyone lol
Could you expand on the James was implied to be abusive?
So, to clarify, everything in this meta isnât necessarily my interpretation. Some of it is, but some is in fact the opposite of my own interpretation (esp. re: Snape). But Iâm going for a Doylist lens for once and trying to unweave what JKR was trying to do. This isn't normally how I analyze the text - but it's helpful to know so people can develop a more informed version of their interpretations.
I think JKR intended Jily as, at best, a dysfunctional marriage where they werenât truly in love, and at worst, an abusive one. Iâve seen speculations that JKR based James on her abusive ex-husband - Iâm not sure where that comes from or is true, it might be entirely made up, but Iâm mentioning it here (ETA: the photograph of her with her ex-husband VERY strongly resembles Jily's appearance, so I see it now).
1.0 In Photographs
Photographs are regularly used in canon to show family estrangement and rejection, and in this section I'll demonstrate how they're used for the same purpose with James and Lily.
To start off, we see James and Lily in the Mirror of Erised, standing next to each other - but remember what the inscription on the frame means (I show not your face but your heart's desire), and what Dumbledore says:
[...] he noticed that she was crying; smiling, but crying at the same time. The tall, thin, black-haired man standing next to her put his arm around her.
âIt shows us nothing more or less than the deepest, most desperate desire of our hearts. [...] However, this mirror will give us neither knowledge or truth. Men have wasted away before it, entranced by what they have seen, or been driven mad, not knowing if what it shows is real or even possible." (PS)
What we'll realize via a close analysis is that the image of James and Lily in the Mirror of Erised standing next to each other is exactly what Dumbledore says - itâs only Harryâs heartâs desire, it isnât the truth. That Dumbledoreâs words about the Mirror not being real isnât just about James and Lily being dead, but the hidden meaning is that it also refers to James and Lilyâs marriage.
Next, we get James and Lily's wedding photo, and in that photo James and Lily are standing arm-in-arm, according to Harry's POV Lily looks "alight with happiness", and Lily's also standing next to Sirius. So temporarily, in that snapshot, the image in the Mirror of Erised seems like it's still the truth.
But then we get to the Order photo in OoTP, the book Harry's meant to shed his idealization of his father:
âThatâs Dumbledoreâs brother, Aberforth, only time I ever met him, strange bloke... Thatâs Dorcas Meadowes, Voldemort killed her personally... Sirius, when he still had short hair... and... there you go, thought that would interest you!â
Harryâs heart turned over. His mother and father were beaming up at him, sitting on either side of a small, watery-eyed man Harry recognized at once as Wormtail: He was the one who had betrayed their whereabouts to Voldemort and so helped bring about their deaths. (OoTP)
Most notably, James and Lily aren't next to each other, because Wormtail sits between them.
Note that Moody starts off the photo by saying âAnd thereâs Dumbledore beside me, Dedalus Diggle on the other sideâ, telling us that we should pay attention to whoâs next to each other.
Dumbledore is also standing apart from Elphias Doge and Aberforth, hinting at the way he keeps emotional distance from his friends with the former and family estrangement in the latter, and Remus is similarly standing apart from his friends - and just as important is where Lily is standing. Also note that the other married couple, Alice and Frank, are implied to be standing next to each other.
This is our first clue that what Harry sees in the Mirror of Erised and in the wedding photo is at least a partial lie.
Then, in DH, Lily sends Sirius a picture of herself and Harry - with her husband out of frame, to the point that Harry initially canât even tell for sure itâs James in that photo:
A black-haired baby was zooming in and out of the picture on a tiny broom, roaring with laughter, and a pair of legs that must have belonged to James was chasing after him [âŠ] (DH)
Then he ripped in two the photograph he was also holding, so that he kept the part from which Lily laughed, throwing the portion showing James and Harry back onto the floor, under the chest of drawers (DH)
Very like the following quotes and examples:
Only the photographs on the mantelpiece really showed how much time had passed. Ten years ago, there had been lots of pictures of what looked like a large pink beach ball wearing different-colored bonnets â but Dudley Dursley was no longer a baby, and now the photographs showed a large blond boy riding his first bicycle, on a carousel at the fair, playing a computer game with his father, being hugged and kissed by his mother. The room held no sign at all that another boy lived in the house, too. (PS)
He couldnât remember his parents at all. His aunt and uncle never spoke about them, and of course he was forbidden to ask questions. There were no photographs of them in the house. (PS)
A photograph of the Weasley family stood beside the in-tray. Harry noticed that Percy appeared to have walked out of it. (OoTP)
The china, which bore the Black crest and motto, was all thrown unceremoniously into a sack by Sirius, and the same fate met a set of old photographs in tarnished silver frames, all of whose occupants squealed shrilly as the glass covering them smashed.
he had also managed to retrieve the silver-framed family photographs that Sirius had thrown away over the summer. Their glass might be shattered, but still the little black-and-white people inside them peered haughtily up at him, including â he felt a little jolt in his stomach â the dark, heavy-lidded woman whose trial he had witnessed in Dumbledoreâs Pensieve: Bellatrix Lestrange. By the looks of it, hers was Kreacherâs favorite photograph; he had placed it to the fore of all the others (OoTP)
The old manâs eyes traveled to the painting of the girl over the mantelpiece. It was, now Harry looked around properly, the only picture in the room. There was no photograph of Albus Dumbledore, nor of anyone else. (DH)
As displayed above, OoTP in particular introduces many estrangements: Percy's from his family, Sirius's from his family, Aberforth making his first appearance and hinting at his conflict with his brother, and of course the continuous emphasis on Petunia's estrangement from Lily, and all of these are emphasized via photographs... as is Jily's estrangement.
The comparison to the Dumbledores is probably the most apt - Aberforth and Albus both talk of Ariana very lovingly while being estranged from each other, similar to how Lily talks of Harry in her letter while there being minimal references to her relationship with James by itself.
Additionally, right before Harry reaches Lily's letter and the photograph with her and Harry, he views the photo of the Marauders on Sirius's bedroom wall and muses on the group's specific dynamics, and then thinks âor was it simply because Harry knew how it had been, that he saw these things in the picture?â
But the thing is, Harry can't see the truth in the picture Lily sends Sirius, that it's a sign of an broken marriage with James - because he doesn't know how it had been with Lily, will never know, and accepting that is meant to be part of his acceptance of death. (Worth noting that JKR wrote HP while her own mother was dying/after her death).
To summarize, Jily get farther and farther away from each other in these snapshots - they go from first standing next to each other, to standing apart in the Order photo, to not standing together again in the photograph Lily sends to Sirius - because James isn't in the photo at all.
Of course, the evidence here is circumstantial - I'm not going to make a judgment on i.e. Sirius and James's closeness by them not standing together in that or the wedding photo (Sirius and Lily standing together in both on the other handâŠ).
But since James and Lily are explicitly stated as standing next to each other in the Mirror of Erised, and the narrative goes out of its way to point out they aren't standing beside each other in that photograph in the same book you get stuff like "Lily loathed James and maybe James forced her to marry him", I assume it's significant, especially given the Mirror of Erised explicitly comes up several times in OoTP itself:
A great black dragon was rearing in front of him⊠His father and mother were waving at him out of an enchanted mirror (OoTP)
He remembered seeing his dead parents in the Mirror of Erised four years ago. He was going to be able to talk to Sirius again, right now, he knew it â (OoTP)
2.0 Lily as The Golden Snitch
A very, very important point is that James doodling Lilyâs initials with the Snitch was never meant to be romantic - because the hidden, true meaning of this is that Lily is represented by the Snitch and James playing with the Snitch represents James and Lilyâs relationship:
Harry stared at Wormtail for a moment, then back at James, who was now doodling on a bit of scrap parchment. He had drawn a Snitch and was now tracing the letters L. E. What did they stand for?
âMe too,â said James. He put his hand in his pocket and took out a struggling Golden Snitch.
âWhereâd you get that?â
âNicked it,â said James casually. He started playing with the Snitch, allowing it to fly as much as a foot away and seizing it again; his reflexes were excellent. Wormtail watched him in awe.
[...] James was still playing with the Snitch, letting it zoom farther and farther away, almost escaping but always grabbed at the last second. Wormtail was watching him with his mouth open. Every time James made a particularly difficult catch, Wormtail gasped and applauded. After five minutes of this, Harry wondered why James didnât tell Wormtail to get a grip on himself, but James seemed to be enjoying the attention. Harry noticed his father had a habit of rumpling up his hair as though to make sure it did not get too tidy, and also that he kept looking over at the girls by the waterâs edge.
âPut that away, will you?â said Sirius finally, as James made a fine catch and Wormtail let out a cheer. âBefore Wormtail wets himself from excitement.â
Wormtail turned slightly pink but James grinned.
âIf it bothers you,â he said, stuffing the Snitch back in his pocket. (OoTP)
Lily is the one James ânickedâ aka stole, the one struggling against him, the one trying to escape but being grabbed at the last second by James AKA James finally managing to go out with Lily 7th year AKA James making a âparticularly difficult catchâ.
Lily as symbolized by the Golden Snitch is a really important part of canon that encompasses the whole text, not just SWM, and I promise I have a lot more evidence on that thread, but I'm writing a separate meta regarding that. (For now note that - Lily is the Snitch and Harry is the Seeker, because Lilyâs playing hide-and-seek with him throughout the narrative and Harry has to seek her. Try doing Ctrl+ F + Snitch in OoTP and DH and see if you can spot patterns/hidden allusions to Lily).
3.0 My Analysis on SWM
(This section is most directly my personal thoughts)
It starts off with James attacking Snape specifically to get her attention, or at least, that's one of the reasons (âSnape lay panting on the ground. James and Sirius advanced on him, wands up, James glancing over his shoulder at the girls at the waterâs edge as he wentâ). This is already a red flag. To clarify, in the context of the war and the atmosphere at Hogwarts, imo James attacking Snape even when Lily happens to be nearby isn't the issue, but doing something he knows upsets her specifically to get her attention is.
Second, he asks her out publicly, in front of a literal crowd. This is another red flag. This also goes back to him the imagery of him showing off with the Snitch - a.k.a showing off with Lily, liking the attention of others when he tries to "catch" her.
And the biggest red flag - blackmailing her with "I'll stop hurting Snape if you go out with me".
Now, I will say that it's questionable whether he 100% meant it or if it was a spur of the moment thing. I say this because when she says no, in a pretty dramatic and cutting way no less, he doesn't seem upset specifically by that. He just sort of moves on. (What he is upset by and his reaction to it, I'll get to in a bit). That said, if Lily had actually said yes, and they had had sex, that would've been rape.
Whether James asked her out repeatedly / harassed her, idk, I think it could go either way, from Sirius's words and SWM overall it is at least clear James making his interest in her known in showy and obnoxious ways even if he didn't directly ask her out before, despite her making her disinterest in him known just as much. But the way he asked her out in this scene is bad enough, even if it was just once.
Then James continues to call after her despite her speech making it clear sheâs very infuriated and very not into him.
Then James doesnât get why sheâs upset at his behavior and goes âwhat is it with herâ (putting the blame on her for her reaction) and then is so enraged by her rejection that he escalates his attack on Snape. This does not have great implications for what heâd do to Lily at other times when she similarly does something he doesnât like.
As for Lilyâs reaction in the scene, I think every word frankly speaks for itself regarding how much she dislikes James.
Lily compares going out with James to dating an animal at the bottom of the lake - this evokes the idea that dating James is equivalent to âdrowning in despairâ.
Also see how affectionately she talks about Harry's flight vs. the words about James (and this is a particularly sick burn towards James given Lily has been able to fly unsupported since she was 9 years old and Snape can probably fly unsupported by then too - Lily truly does NOT like this man).
âMessing up your hair because you think it looks cool to look like youâve just got off your broomstick, showing off with that stupid Snitch, walking down corridors and hexing anyone who annoys you just because you can â Iâm surprised your broomstick can get off the ground with that fat head on it. You make me SICK.â (OoTP)
Thank you thank you, for Harryâs birthday present! It was his favorite by far. One year old and already zooming along on a toy broomstick, he looked so pleased with himself, Iâm enclosing a picture so you can see. You know it only rises about two feet off the ground, but he nearly killed the cat and he smashed a horrible vase Petunia sent me for Christmas (DH)
âShe turned on her heel and hurried away.â - Lily is hurrying away from James, sheâs running away from him, sheâs the Snitch trying to escape from him.
4.0 Harry's reflections
Harry muses on the Marauders' attack on Snape, and then we have these paragraphs right after it:
Harry reminded himself that Lily had intervened; his mother had been decent, yet the memory of the look on her face as she had shouted at James disturbed him quite as much as anything else. She had clearly loathed James and Harry simply could not understand how they could have ended up married. Once or twice he even wondered whether James had forced her into it... (OoTP)
To reiterate - Harry was just as disturbed by Jamesâs treatment of Lily and Lilyâs loathing of him as he was by the extreme violence towards Snape in that scene. The text clearly puts those things on the same level and on par with each other here.
And to reiterate again, JKR⊠literally had Harry wonder if James FORCED Lily to marry him. There was zero reason for JKR to include this if Jily was ever meant to be read positively. This isn't a "cute hate to love" type of framing, JKR clearly framed Jily as disturbing. The idea of James potentially forcing her, Lily literally saying she wouldn't go out with him if it was a choice between him and the Squid - the language here is consistently of force, of lack of choice.
Then Harry's misery about the violence towards Snape is again linked to his misery about James and Lily:
For nearly five years the thought of his father had been a source of comfort, of inspiration. Whenever someone had told him he was like James he had glowed with pride inside. And now... now he felt cold and miserable at the thought of him. (OoTP)
âHow come she married him?â Harry asked miserably. âShe hated him!â (OoTP)
The descriptions of the struggling Golden Snitch a.k.a. Lily trying to escape from James is also likened to Snape struggling to escape from the Marauders' attack on him:
He put his hand in his pocket and took out a struggling Golden Snitch.
Snape was trying to get up, but the jinx was still operating on him; he was struggling, as though bound by invisible ropes.
âThere you go,â he said, as Snape struggled to his feet again, âyouâre lucky Evans was here, Snivellus ââ (OoTP)
And another hint JKR might've put in is James greeting them both similarly ("All right, Snivellus?" and "All right, Evans?"). Now, regarding Harry's conversation with Sirius and Remus:
âIf we were sometimes arrogant little berks, you mean,â said Sirius.
Lupin smiled.
"He kept messing up his hair,â said Harry in a pained voice.
Sirius and Lupin laughed.
âIâd forgotten he used to do that,â said Sirius affectionately.
âWas he playing with the Snitch?â said Lupin eagerly.
âYeah,â said Harry, watching uncomprehendingly as Sirius and Lupin beamed reminiscently.
âWell... I thought he was a bit of an idiot.â
âOf course he was a bit of an idiot!â said Sirius bracingly. âWe were all idiots! Well â not Moony so much,â he said fairly (OoTP)
Notice the language here when they talk about James in the memory - Sirius and Remus are smiling, theyâre laughing, theyâre affectionate, they're speaking of him eagerly, theyâre beaming reminiscently - even at the stuff that i.e. Sirius was annoyed by in the actual memory (James showing off with the Snitch, etc). You can even feel the affection in Sirius going "we were all idiots <3â.
But then we get to the topic of James and Lily, and that totally and completely ends:
âAnd,â said Harry doggedly, determined to say everything that was on his mind now he was here, âhe kept looking over at the girls by the lake, hoping they were watching him!â
âOh, well, he always made a fool of himself whenever Lily was around,â said Sirius, shrugging. âHe couldnât stop himself showing off whenever he got near her.â
âHow come she married him?â Harry asked miserably. âShe hated him!â
âNah, she didnât,â said Sirius.
âShe started going out with him in seventh year,â said Lupin.
âOnce James had deflated his head a bit,â said Sirius.
âAnd stopped hexing people just for the fun of it,â said Lupin. (OoTP)
They are not effusive at all. Sirius in fact sounds just as unimpressed and critical of James as he sounded in the actual memory. (âBad luck, Prongsâ, âReading between the lines, Iâd say she thinks youâre a bit conceited, mateâ, the double meaning of Sirius telling James to put the Snitch away).
Sirius emphasizes James showing off for Lily and trying to get her attention and "making a fool of himself" (again, not positive wording), and itâs only when Harry brings up Lily seeming to hate him that Lilyâs feelings are addressed at all, and all Sirius says is ânah she didnât hate himâ, never saying she liked or loved him and painting it as very one-sided.
This text uses the word âloveâ very, very intentionally - and itâs never once used for Lilyâs feelings towards James (or even vice versa, frankly).
And in this conversation, the emphasis here quickly goes to the fact that James broke his promise to Lily (sort of evoking a broken wedding vow, etc):
âYou think youâre funny,â she said coldly. âBut youâre just an arrogant, bullying toerag, Potter. Leave him alone.â
âI will if you go out with me, Evans,â said James quickly. âGo on... Go out with me, and Iâll never lay a wand on old Snivelly again.â (OoTP)
âEven Snape?â said Harry.
âWell,â said Lupin slowly, âSnape was a special case. I mean, he never lost an opportunity to curse James, so you couldnât really expect James to take that lying down, could you?â
âAnd my mum was okay with that?â
âShe didnât know too much about it, to tell you the truth,â said Sirius. âI mean, James didnât take Snape on dates with her and jinx him in front of her, did he?â (OoTP)
Again the language here, it's clearly making an intentional reference to James's "promise/agreement" to never attack Snape if Lily goes out on a date with him.
This is likened to Voldemort's broken promise to Lily - Lily says "Leave him alone" three times before James says "I will if you go out with me", just as Lily offers her own life for Harry's three times (take me, kill me instead, I'll do anything) and says Not Harry seven times and Voldemort seals the agreement by taking Lilyâs life, and then âbreaks that promiseâ whenever he tries to kill Harry (Voldemort's broken promise to Lily is brought up many times specifically in OoTP in coded language, part of why the parallel seems intentional, but Iâll get to that in other metas).
To clarify, I donât think James did anything wrong there - certainly by 7th year Snape wouldâve been a marked Death Eater who already murdered people, Iâm just pointing out what the text is trying to do here.
5.0 Some comparisons
5.1 Wearing masks with each other
It's emphasized that Sirius is the one James stops showing off for, not Lily, and that James's hair is different and voice is different when he speaks to Lily - basically, that James is wearing a mask with Lily:
Harry had the distinct impression that Sirius was the only one for whom James would have stopped showing off.
âLeave him ALONE!â
James and Sirius looked around. Jamesâs free hand jumped to his hair again.
âAll right, Evans?â said James, and the tone of his voice was suddenly pleasant, deeper, more mature. (OoTP)
Again, none of this is positive framing for Jily. In comparison, in the Prince's Tale we have Snape taking off his long coat and is comfortable wearing his mother's clothes in front of Lily. In other words, unlike James who puts on a mask with her, Snape is taking the mask off with Lily.
And as James wears a mask with Lily, Lily wears a mask with him, because in the death scene memory, her face is covered by her long hair while she speaks to James, vs. the Lily from the Resurrection Stone who pushes her hair back to look at Harry.
This is Lily setting the terms of who is and isn't allowed to see her - because similarly, she's letting Sirius see her face (I'm enclosing a picture so you can see - the picture which not only includes Harry but also Lily herself laughing), she's repeatedly described as smiling at Snape, and of course she's letting Harry see her face, yet with James, we have these passages:
âEvans!â James shouted after her, âHey, EVANS!â
But she didnât look back. (OoTP)
his mother had been decent, yet the memory of the look on her face as she had shouted at James disturbed him quite as much as anything else (OoTP)
A door opened and the mother entered, saying words he could not hear, her long dark-red hair falling over her face. Now the father scooped up the son and handed him to the mother. (DH)
In direct contrast to:
Harry heard Snape let out a tiny groan. Lily took off the hat, handed it back to Professor McGonagall, then hurried toward the cheering Gryffindors, but as she went she glanced back at Snape, and there was a sad little smile on her face. (DH)
âYour motherâs comingâŠâ he said quietly. âShe wants to see you⊠it will be all right⊠hold onâŠâ (GoF)
One year old and already zooming along on a toy broomstick, he looked so pleased with himself, Iâm enclosing a picture so you can see. (DH)
but we've had to pack away all the ornaments and make sure we don't take our eyes off him when he gets going. (DH)
Lilyâs smile was widest of all. She pushed her long hair back as she drew close to him, and her green eyes, so like his, searched his face hungrily, as though she would never be able to look at him enough. (DH)
This is especially notable given the obvious significance of Lily's eyes and Lily's gaze as a "window to her soul" and most reflective of her true emotions.
This is echoed in the only true James and Lily emphasis in The Princeâs Tale being that of James not paying attention to Lily:
One of the boys sharing the compartment, who had shown no interest at all in Lily or Snape until that point, looked around at the word, and Harry, whose attention had been focused entirely on the two beside the window, saw his father (DH)
Again, James is 11, this is totally understandable and in fact itâd be weird if he was interested in Lily since he was 11, but Iâm just pointing out how the language around James and Lily is consistently negative.
5.2 The Bloody Baron
âShe sent a man who had long loved me, though I spurned his advances, to find me. She knew that he would not rest until he had done so."
Harry waited. She drew a deep breath and threw back her head.
âHe tracked me to the forest where I was hiding. When I refused to return with him, he became violent. The Baron was always a hot-tempered man. Furious at my refusal, jealous of my freedom, he stabbed me.â (DH)
âWhat is it with her?â said James, trying and failing to look as though this was a throwaway question of no real importance to him.
âReading between the lines, Iâd say she thinks youâre a bit conceited, mate,â said Sirius.
âRight,â said James, who looked furious now, âright ââ
There was another flash of light, and Snape was once again hanging upside down in the air.
âWho wants to see me take off Snivellyâs pants?â (OoTP)
A note on patronuses and extracanon statements
I'm aware JKR has said Lily was attracted to James in SWM in extracanon, and has framed Jily's patronuses positively in relation to each other. However, these statements was years after the books were published - and it's clear JKR often changes her opinions about her characters and dynamics very often i.e. the way she framed Ron and Sirius in the early books vs the later books, so it's likely something similar happened with Jily in the other direction.
In the actual books, the doe patronus is only ever shown and discussed to emphasize Snape and Lilyâs bond, itâs never discussed in relation to James and Lily. The stag patronus is firmly about Harryâs connection with his father.
As for the argument that Lily noticing James showing off with the Snitch signifies sheâs into him - if some boy is constantly trying to get your attention and being obnoxious about it, youâd be hyper aware of his presence regardless if you were attracted to him. Snape is also hyper aware of the Marauders, Sirius was likewise watching Snape, etc. There is, of course the blush in her conversation with Snape - I'll get to that in a separate meta.
This is another meta about Jily as potentially abusive, I donât agree with all of it but itâs worth reading.
Please share the receipts about Harry Potter being a colonial fantasy! Reading stuff like that is so interesting đ have a good day
Iâm glad you both asked!
This argument will be divided into threemain parts. The subject of magical creatures in the wizarding world, thesubject of humans other than English wizards, and the subject of Harryâscharacterization in the novels. But before I can discuss the novels andRowlingâs (probably mostly unintentional) colonial fantasies, we must look atthe background information of those colonial fantasies. To do that, I willoutline and explain certain elements of the 1800-century cultural and politicalsituation, reflected in the literature of the time. (See! This is why you donâtdismiss history as the unnecessary boring subject Rowling!!!!) Â
(In this text, I use the word wizard akin tothe universal man, as in mankind. I do this, because Rowling herself does this,referring to unisex groups of witches and wizards as âwizardsâ.)
Racial thinking in the British empire was heavily influenced by pseudo-scientific theories like phrenology and race classification theory. Humanist sciences like sociology were heavily influenced by âhard sciencesâ and there was a strong demand to find a scientific justification for the existence of the empire. This justification came with race classification, that was divided into two different equally racist branches of theory. The idea that different human races were actually subspecies inside the human main species, and that these subspecies had evolved to fulfill different functions and behave in different ways. Roughly divided, the Anglo-Saxon subspecies had evolved into a rational thinker and a natural leader, the Asian subspecies into servile and effeminate role, and African subspecies into manual labourer. Now, in order for society to live in perfect harmony, that society has to be built in a way that each human species can follow their natural predilections and follow their species-natural behaviour.Â
The other branch of scientific sociology argued that all humans had the same potential for civilization, but that all human societies were also in different evolutionary stages. Human societies were seen to evolve in a neat line, from promiscuity-matriarchy-transitional patriarchy-patriarchy. All human societies therefore started from hunter-gatherer tribes and would eventually turn into enlightened British style modern societies. As the British already had reached the top of the societal evolution, it was also their right and burden to protect the societies that had not yet reached this top evolutionary form. It is very important to remember that while the British empire was filled with straight up hateful and vile racists that saw genocide as a fun past-time, there were equally many people who believed the science of the time and condemned the mistreatment of the empireâs subjects believing that the empire was in truth necessary in order to help their less-evolved human compatriots.Â
Another important note to make about the imperial mindset is how these rational leaders were created; in boarding schools. The future leaders of the empire were all sent to a boarding school, somewhere around the age of 10. These schools, rampant with bullying, pressure and straight up rape, were not places that a young boy was supposed to become a scholar or an athlete; his job was to make connections and learn to become charismatic. Doing too well in your subjects was not desirable, as a book-worm is not what the empire needed. Being good at sports was good, but not if you had to sacrifice time to practice too much. Sports and sciences were there to support the studentâs growth into a proper English gentleman, not as an educational goal themselves. Debating, public speaking, and aggressive confidence were much more important skills to master for the future overseer of a colony. Your job as a student in, for example Eton, was to network and grow a stiff upper lip. A terrible educational system for sure, which caused damage to the British psyche that people today are still trying to understand; with Boarding School Syndrome and its consequences important when trying to understand the problems in British politics today
How do these facts then relate to Harry Potter? Well, letâs start working our way through from magical creatures. In the Harry Potter universe, the world is filled with creatures with human-sentience that however do not, at least in Britain, mix with the dominant human population. We know that there are house-elves, working as servants, goblins, working as bankers, centaurs, keeping away in their forest, as do merfolk in their lake. Dwarves were employed as cupids (entertainers) in Hogwarts by Lockhart, and there are veelas that work as exotic dancers in the quidditch world cup.
At first glance, you might think that Harry Potter and Dumbledore are on the side of the creatures. Dumbledore is noted for being a great advocate for non-humans when defending their right to exist, as opposed to the more genocide-minded goons at the ministry. Voldemort is happy to employ creatures that he deems âdarkâ and ignore the rest. At first glance it would even look like the narrative is advocating for tolerance, and it is, but it is not advocating for equalitybetween humans and non-humans.   Â
The centaurs and the giants have lost their native lands to humans, and have been forced to live in reservations, as most notably pointed out by Dolores Umbridge in Order of the Phoenix. âMinistry of magic permits you certain areas of land.â (p.665) At the same time, the books do not take the time to portray either the giants or the centaurs in particularly sympathetic light from the point of view of our characters and this point of view is never questioned. Centaurs are shown to be violent and even unreasonable towards any humans who would want to have contact with them. Giants are shown to be stupid and hostile, killing themselves into extinction. (Order of the Phoenix p.377) Meanwhile, the races that do mingle amongst wizards all have something to offer to humans who allow them in their society. Goblins are useful to have around because of their hold over the banking industry and their superior metal-working. House-elves are useful as domestic servants. The creatures that wizards label as âdarkâ are all creatures that do not have any filled role that they can perform for the benefit of humans, (vampires, hags, werewolves), segregated from the wizarding society proper, and are therefore shunned as undesirables. Veelas on the other hand are blatantly fetishized, and they are only shown in two roles in the books. Either as entertainers or as married to wizards. The narrative does not even hint that a veela might have any non-sexual role in the society. It would seem, that all the magical races have either been pushed out of the wizarding community, or they fill some niche purpose in society that the wizards find useful, and that the wizards themselves do not want to perform.This structure of society, built upon the assumption that there will always be creatures fulfilling certain roles for the society, is not questioned by any of our heroes.
Dumbledore is happy to advocate for tolerance, but not inclusion. He is happy to create a dialogue between humans and centaurs- as long as it is not humans who have to make any concessions in their relationship. Same goes for merfolk. Dumbledore advocates for their right to exists in their own segregated patches of land, and in return they will help Dumbledore. Merfolk will allow themselves and their home to be used as obstacles in the tri-wizarding tournament and the centaurs will let wizards traipse through their forest.Â
Inside the centaur society, we are supposed to see territorial Bane as the âbad guyâ and the meek Firenze, who argues that centaurs should take sides in a human war and make defer even more to the wizards. Firenze eventually accumulates into the human society by becoming a teacher in Hogwarts, but only after he has been banished from the Centaur society. Therefore Firenze becomes completely subserviant to Dumbledore, as his own people do not accept him anymore and Hogwarts is the only place he can go. He does not have the backing of his own community that could allow him to make demands towards his human peers, which makes him a good ally for Dumbledore. Firenze placed the needs of humanity above the needs of his own species and that makes him the âreasonableâ centaur. Â
The same happens with goblins. Their prioritization of their own people is at every turn equated with them being unpleasant, unreasonable, and impossible to work with, and when Harry Potter shows the bare minimum of respect- acknowledging that goblins have their own legal system that defines ownership of an object differently than a human would, it is framed as the greatest height of progressiveness that anyone could ever show towards a goblin, instead of the bare minimum. Never-mind the fact that the books explicitly mention that goblins are denied the use of a wand by the dominant human government, and actively have to fight for the rights they have even now, which is neither an interest nor a concern to any of our heroes.Â
Note of interest is also that most non-humans taking action against the status quo are antagonists. There are no creatures in the order of the phoenix fighting against the dark lord, (Remus Lupin identifies as a human with an unfortunate condition.) but there are several under the command of Voldemort. (Order of the Phoenix p.88) The most positive attitude towards non-humans comes from the heroes who show tolerance towards non-humans, but who also do not try to reach any deeper understanding about non-human experiences in the wizarding society.
The house-elves are the most blatant piece of yikes when it comes to the issue of creatures. The enslavement of house elves is explained away as a natural order of the world. Â At the end the series, even the protagonist Harry Potter accepts this natural order and becomes himself a master of the house elf Kreacher (Half Blood Prince p.55). Harryâs slave-master position is accepted,because we trust Harry to treat his slaves decently, there is never anyquestion what the condition of being a slave-master can psychologically do tothe master, or that slavery as an institution is too immoral to accept, nomatter the conditions. The reader is shown that the elves are not capable oftaking care of themselves without a master by examples of Dobby and Winky, the only freed elves shown in the books. Winky, after being freed, becomes an alcoholic. (Goblet of Fire, p.564) Dobby, while enjoying freedom, would be unable to support himself without the help of benevolent Dumbledore, to whom Dobby works in the same way as the other slaves in the castle, even if he is namely free. (Goblet of Fire p.400) (Both alcoholism and âfrivolityâ were anti-abolitionist talking points in the southern states in the antebellum era). Theimplication is that some races are simply born subservient, and the morally decent thing to do is to keep them in slavery but treat them kindly.Â
Hermione Granger, who in the books argues that slavery as an institution is by itself something that cannot be accepted, is presented with her views as ridiculous and misguided. On the other hand, those who argue for the institution of slavery appear as rational and reasonable. There is no way for anyone to think of her S.P.E.W badges as anything but childish and stupid, a phase for Hermione to grow out of. In Chamber of Secrets, the readers do see Harry freeing the house elf Dobby, after Dobby has personally helped Harry. However, the implication is that Dobby suffered from an unfit master, not from the slavery itself, and that his freedom came as boon after he had done a personal favour to Harry Potter. In the world of Harry Potter, slaves are happy to be slaves, as long as their masters are decent masters.
But if you stop and think of all this, it should not be rationally possible for a society like this to exist. If the giants truly are so stupid and violent that they are accidentally killing themselves to extinction, they should also not be sentient enough for humans to breed (and even create emotional bonds, as Hagridâs family) with them. If these creatures have managed to create a society, it should not be possible for them to be unable to âunderstand complicated mattersâ or âkill anyone who uses too big wordsâ (Order of the phoenix, 429).  Â
 Same with the centaurs. Segregating an entire culture to a small reservation is not pretty, and it does not happen peacefully. Still there is never any indication that the wizards were actively doing anything to keep the centaurs in their reservation. Even though, overtly and less-overtly violent actions and policies are in reality always working to keep indigenous populations at check. No creature segregated in their little reservation wants to leave that reservation, choosing to rather waste away amongst their own kind than pushing for their species to either be integrated into the wizarding world, or gaining more land from the wizards. And assuming that the centaur population is too small and weak to do anything but accept their reservation, the heroes do not see anything wrong with this arrangement either. The mythical tale of the noble savage who quietly goes into the good night is real in the wizarding world. Â
Those creatures who do live and work alongside wizards are equally content with their narrow roles. No goblin wants to work anywhere else expect the bank, no house-elf wants to open a business, no veela wants to study in Hogwarts. Half-breeds might be allowed in, if the headmaster is eccentric enough, and as long as they are able to âpassâ as humans. The fact that their creature parents would never have that change is not even acknowledged as the tragedy that it is. It is easy for the heroes to appear as progressive, when the only thing the creatures want is to be allowed to exist in their pre-ordained roles and be treated with the most basic decency.      Â
We donât know what Dumbledoreâs answer would be if a young goblin wanted to apply as a student at Hogwarts. We donât know what any of our heroesâ reactions would have been, if the centaurs demanded compensations for Hogwartsâ rights to use the Forbidden Forest. Or if Dobby would have started campaigning alongside Hermione for abolition. We donât know, because the wizarding world is in perfect harmony, as long as the creatures are allowed to exist peacefully in their roles, without corrupt, dark wizards abusing them needlessly.
What about humans then. Not all humans are created equal either. We donât really see about the state of the wizarding world outside of Britain, but we are given the implication that the political situation in Britain is equal to the fate of the world. Harry Potter is not fighting for a political cause in UK, he is saving the world. British politics are world politics. The international wizards we do see, are also almost as much stereotyped as the creatures are. The French boys and girls from Beauxabatons are vain and frilly, while the girls and boys from Durmstrang are brutish and coarse. And in the European stage, UK and France gets their own wizarding population, while the eastern Europe is apparently lumped together in a way that makes you suspect that the Soviet Union never fell in the magical world. (considering when Rowling was creating these stories, that is not impossible. Rowling started writing Philosopherâs stone a year before the Soviet Union was dissolved). In the world politics, these three are the only ones important enough to be included in the tri-wizarding tournament, (tournament that the British dominate easily), and therefore clearly hold the political cards of magical Europe. What we do know is that British wizards have no trouble finding work overseas, while we do not see any foreigners living or working in the British wizarding world. Britainâs importance as the centre stage of magical world politics is simply a given fact of the world.
(Note that I have decided to omit all nonsense that Rowling has added to Pottermore in her effort to world-build but rest assured that it makes the situation simply much much worse.)Â Â
There is also the clean divide between muggles and wizards. The wizards once again are honour-bound from their superior position to protect the muggles. The books make it clear that it was not for the safety of the wizards that the worlds were divided. It was simply that muggles in their ignorance kept burning other muggles during the witch-hunting times. The idea that muggles, if confronted with an existential threat like the death-eaters and their genocidal tendencies, were to win the fight, is not even floated as an idea. The moral implications ofkeeping the muggle world ignorant about a part of UK population that wants to kill them, and has succeeded in several terrorist attacks against the commonpopulation, is not discussed at all. The wizards simply have the right to sacrifice the lives of muggles in exchange of keeping their society hidden from the âcommon folkâ. The wizards who do show any interest in muggles, do it in the most condescending way possible. Arthur Weasley, who has spent years working in the ministry of muggle-affairs, cannot pronounce the word electricity or know what a rubber duck is. How exactly does someone work for muggle-affairs if one is completely ignorant of said affairs? Why are mugglebornâs not automatically working for muggle-affairs? How is it, that muggleborns all simply choose to embrace the wizarding culture without there being any underground muggleborn culture running counter the pureblood establishment? Hermione Granger wants to be seen as one of the witches, not as someone whose cultural knowledge of muggles could in on itself be a strength. Rowling really wants you to believe that the British wizarding culture is naturally so desirable that no counter-cultures have born inside it, or that there ever could be any other problem expect that muggleborns are restricted from accumulating into it.
And then we come to Harry. Our hero. At first look, he appears to be the underdog fighting against the unjust establishment of the wizarding world. However, if one takes a closer look at the story, Harry Potter is not an underdog at all. In the beginning of the story, he acquires a great inheritance from his exceedingly wealthy parents. (Philosopherâs Stone p.85) In every other character exceeding wealth seems to be a negative trait, but curiously Harryâs status as an heir to a fortune is never properly addressed in relation to Harryâs moral character. Harry is also a son of esteemed and powerful magical parents, both highly regarded in the wizarding society. From his fatherâs side, Harry can claim a connection to an old pureblood house, giving him a claim to the pureblood wizarding establishment. Both the wealth and the bloodline inherited from the Potter family guarantees a place in the upper class of the magical society for young Harry. Even the extremely racist Draco Malfoy in the first book seems eager to make friends with Harry. (Philosopherâs Stone p.120). It is only Voldemort who has robbed him of his natural heritage and privileges and forced him into hiding with his brutish and cruel (muggle) relatives.Â
The story of Harry Potter is not of someone who fights for acceptance, but of someone who returns to his rightful place on top of the wizarding society. characters who do not naturally have this privilege, gain prestige by being helpful and loyal to Harry. It is a deliberate choice by Rowling to make Harry a heir to an prestigious family fighting for the rights of muggleborns and those lower than him in the wizarding societal ladder. He is the archetypical English gentleman hero, because he has both the privilege and the proper character to carry that privilege. Voldemort, Malfoy, and other âdark-sidersâ from the pureblood establishment have abused this privilege and are therefore unworthy of it.
Another important part of Harryâs character is that all his powers and abilities that help him champion against Voldemort are either inherited or inherent. Harry does no need to labour for his victory. His mother gives him âblood-protectionâ, his father and mentors give him magical items to help him on his journey, and he simply has skills that others donât. His flying abilities making themselves known the first time he hops on a broom, and his inexplicable talent to resist the imperio-curse is never explained expect with âa strong willâ. He even learns the patronus, a spell that for adult characters is explained as a very rare and impressive talent, in a matter of days. What he is good at, he doesnât need to work for, and what he is not good at, he doesnât need to improve on. If there is something he doesnât have the innate talent for, he has friends who will do it for him. When Snape claimed that all of Harryâs successes were due to luck and more talented friendsâŠhe wasnât wrong. And the kicker is, that thatâs the point. Harryâs main strength is the fact that he is good at networking and having a brave heart. That is the ideal that thousands of young Englishmen tried to mould themselves into during the imperial days. Harry doesnât need to be the âsmartest wizard of his ageâ, he needs to be charismatic enough that others will follow him into the battle. He doesnât need to be shrewd, or ambitious, or smart, or even kind, he needs to know how to apply his inheritance correctly and how to manage those in the lower position than him, in order to return the status quo of the wizarding world to what it was before Voldemort.Â
When both Harryâs already existing place in the magical society, and the question of how the books treat the magical creatures are considered, the main conflict in the book seems to be reduced to an inner struggle between the higher classes of wizarding society. Voldemort and the death eaters are evil because they misuse their power over the lower classes, and because they discriminate against other witches and wizards. Therefore, it is the duty of Dumbledore and Harry Potter to return the wizarding world to its former and rightful order. The narrative supports the idea that now that the proper people, the naturally noble-minded heroes, are once again in power all the social issues of the wizarding world will disappear. Those on the top of the social pyramid will treat those under them with tolerance, and those at the base of the pyramid will stick to their place.In other words, the world of Harry Potter has fulfilled the colonialist fantasy of the British empire, where everybody has their place in society, and the inferior races truly are without ambitions or nuances.  Â
The wizarding world has the structures that the British empire had, but none of the problems that come with those structures. In the end, the wizarding world returns to peace. âall was well.â The house-elves are given laws that punishes a master that mistreats their slave. The goblins continue in their segregation. The centaurs and merfolk are given a promise of no genocide. The British muggleborns are promised a place in the dominant society, as long as they perfectly emulate their pureblood peers and donât bring muggle culture (or values) with them. The superiority of British wizardingkind has been proven, and they benevolently reside over their less evolved subjects, making sure that they are allowed to fulfill their roles in the society, as they naturally desire, in peace. There are no troublesome creature-rights activists causing havoc on streets. There are no muggleborns who would wish to side with muggles against the wizards. There is no empire, there is only the natural order of things. Â
What do you think of Bellatrix? Would you have liked to explore more dynamics about her?
I *love* unpacking sibling dynamics and toxic relationships, so of course I find Bellatrix fascinating. (Also "Bellatrix Lestrange" might be my favorite name in a series full of very good names. 10/10.)
To me, what's key about Bellatrix is that she's the oldest of the three Black sisters. She could have been written as the indulged, attention-seeking bratty baby... but that would be a less interesting character.
Growing up, I think Narcissa was probably the quiet, passive child. That's her strategy when Voldemort shows up and she's once again living with a powerful, unstable authority figure. (I mean we have no info about what Cygnus Black was like, but he's Walburga Black's younger brother, and I imagine they probably enforced each other's extremism and intensity after their brother got blasted off the tapestry.) Narcissa's strategy is fade to the background, don't react, don't let them see what you're thinking, let them ignore you.
(I also think it's very believable that she went subtly went low contact with the Blacks after she married Lucius. The Malfoys have *always* been much more squeamish about violence, and much more politically moderate. I think Narcissa likes that.)
Andromeda you can take in a couple of different directions, but she was probably the problem child/scapegoat. And if she wasn't before she married Ted, she DEFINITELY was after. She also looks so much like Bellatrix that Harry does a double take, which I think... would have really bugged Bellatrix growing up, and informed their dynamic. Bellatrix sees herself as SO exceptional that she wouldn't want to be compared to anyone... but if she were, then it would be important that any casual comparisons come out in HER favor. (Which can't have been fun for Andromeda.) It's interesting that Voldemort underlines the connection between the two sisters as a way to get under Bellatrix's skin, and it works *really* well. She's got a competitive streak.
Because Bellatrix would have 100% grown up the *Golden Child.* Powerful, driven, beautiful in a striking way. The Daddy's Girl energy is off the charts (and she was probably Aunt Walburga's favorite too.) Bellatrix is described as acting like a queen, which is exactly how she sees herself. She grew up in an echo chamber not only telling her that people like her were special and better... but that she was the most Special one within the Special group.
So she meets Lord Voldemort. He's beautiful, driven, brilliant, power levels off the charts. He's Grindelwald born again (but straight) (probably.) He's not just the Dark Lord, he's a King. He wants to rule the world as an immortal god-king. He tells Bellatrix that this is going to happen, and she believes him.
And like - of course she's into that. But also, seeing yourself as a temporarily embarrassed Immortal Goddess Empress requires such a specific self-concept. You are going to need a delusionally high opinion of yourself... but also enough talent/power/beauty/external validation to carry that idea into adulthood.
(also Rodolphus... he doesn't count. Good Marriage was just another box to check as a young woman so Bellatrix could remain Perfect. The rules are different if you're a Immortal Goddess Empress anyway. Any consort she had would be so far below her own power level, or the power level of her King, that he literally would not matter. But she's not going to have a *kid* with Rodolphus. She's Voldemort's favorite, Rodolphus is not good enough. You sire PRINCES with the KING.)
Voldemort of course would know all this. And we see him have so much fun finding ways to creatively torture Lucius. He's a sadist in general sure, but there's something specifically about bringing pureblood royalty low that he gets REALLY into. He *likes* bringing up the werewolf nephew-in-law and and watching Bellatrix scramble desperately for ground, crying, while the rest of the Death Eaters point and laugh. Until he tells them to cut it out, because he's the only one with enough power to do that.
And then Bellatrix goes back to her room and probably constructs a whole narrative about how that was actually Voldemort protecting her, because she's the most Special, and it's all in good fun really. Because the alternative is having to admit that she's not extraordinary, she's just a punching bag (like Lucius Malfoy.) This is where a lot of her anger and instability come from. Every time she's in a situation where someone else is doing something *more* or *better* ... she lashes out.
In the main timeline of the books this mainly shows up in her dynamic with the other Death Eaters (and Narcissa.) Bellatrix tries to give orders in Malfoy Manor and I am sure it really annoys her that Voldemort is using Lucius' house as his HQ. That isn't how it's supposed to go! We even get the fun detail that Dumbledore thinks Bellatrix is going to try really hard to get into Grimmauld place - and of course she does, she wants to volunteer the better HQ. Narcissa is sacrificing Draco for the Dark Lord? Well, Bellatrix would have five sons (hypothetically) and sacrifice them all (happily.) She tries to shift the blame for Department of Mysteries thing 100% onto Lucius, and gets really defensive when Snape implies that he has more emotional intimacy with Voldemort than she does.
But she's still really, really useful, and Voldemort knows this. She is talented, and powerful, and his best enforcer. So he would have so much fun dangling that carrot just out of reach, forever. The prophecy makes such a big deal about Voldemort marking Harry "as his equal," because that's just not a thing he does. BELLATRIX certainly isn't his equal.
A List of All the Clothing Items Harry Potter Likes
(a list of all the clothing he doesn't like would be much, MUCH longer)
1. The Weird Sisters' Concert Outfits
"black robes that had been artfully ripped and torn"
2. Bill Weasley's Whole Look
Bill was â there was no other word for it â cool. He was tall, with long hair that he had tied back in a ponytail. He was wearing an earring with what looked like a fang dangling from it. Billâs clothes would not have looked out of place at a rock concert, except that Harry recognized his boots to be made, not of leather, but of dragon hide.
A very unusual level of detail from Harry (normally only present when describing outfits he hates.) He's paying attention to the specific material of Bill's shoes, and seems to be drawn to a rock-and-roll sort of look.
3. The Cursed Opal Necklace
a magnificent necklace of opals, Caution: Do Not Touch. Cursed
4. Madame Maxime's Opal Necklace/Ring Set
many magnificent opals gleamed at her throat and on her thick fingers.
I guess Harry likes opals.
5. The Bulgarian Minister's World Cup Look
splendid robes of black velvet trimmed with gold
Harry has been known to be a bit of a magpie when it comes to gold things. Like snitches, and that solid gold cauldron Hagrid wouldn't let him buy, and that solid gold set of gobstones Hagrid also wouldn't let him buy.
6. Yaxley's Ministry of Magic Robes
magnificent, sweeping robes, which were embroidered with much gold thread.
+
a long-haired wizard wearing magnificent robes of black and gold
Yaxley's robes are apparently identical to the Bulgarian Minister's robes.
7. Mrs. Weasley's Gold Necklace
spectacular golden necklace
he likes gold things okay
8. Dumbledore's Start-of-Term-Feast Look
magnificent deep green robes embroidered with many stars and moons.
9. Dumbledore's Purple Velvet Dressing Gown
He was wearing a magnificently embroidered purple-and-gold dressing gown over a snowy-white nightshirt
âNice suit, sir,â said Harry, before he could stop himself, but Dumbledore merely chuckled
Honorable mention because of Harry not meaning to say that, and Dumbledore thinking the exchange is funny. Young!Dumbledore is wearing "flamboyant" head-to-toe plum velvet, and Harry is either being sarcastic, or trying very very hard not to say, "That's gay."
11. Slughorn's Funeral Look
magnificent, long, emerald green robes embroidered with silver.Â
12. Draco's Dark Green Robes
a handsome set of dark green robes that glittered with pins around the hem and the edges of the sleeves
SO WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED?
~ Harry's style profile is either "rock star" or "elf prince"
~ He likes shiny things, and appreciates jewelry
~ I think his favorite color might be green?
~ Dumbledore can really put together an outfit.
~ Harry should get some black-and-gold robes.
~ Harry prefers more of an "elf prince" look on Draco
I think even though he likes some of Slughorn's and Dumbledore's robes, Harry would never wear anything like that, he would get too self-conscious. But the black and gold robes I can definitely see him wearing. And dragon-hide boots.
Color-wise, I think you're right, he seems to like green and black best when it comes to clothes (and gold, which is, apparently, Harryâs preferred color for everything. I'll note that he is selective about the shade of green. He doesn't like very bright greens, for example, like Fred and George's "lurid green" jackets).
And, I'm not sure if it counts as clothes he likes, but he thinks Luna looks nice in her odd dress robes choices. He thinks they suit her, even if he doesn't like the attention they attract and would never wear something like them himself. He describes them in positive terms fir him (as you said, he's very judgmental about clothes and appearance):
She was wearing a set of spangled silver robes that were attracting a certain amount of giggles from the onlookers, but otherwise she looked quite nice.
(HBP)
Like her father, Luna was wearing bright yellow robes, which she had accessorized with a large sunflower in her hair. Once you got over the brightness of it all, the general effect was quite pleasant.
(DH)
(I'll note both these times Harry is glad she isn't wearing the radish earrings. He doesn't like them)
can we talk about how harry james potter appreciates the finer things in life? if tom riddle is a magpie, harry potter is a niffler.
an hour into wee harryâs freedom from the dursleysâ clutches, his newfound riches barely warm in his pockets, and heâs decided on a solid gold cauldron
and what are all his riches good for if not treating himself and his new, first ever friend to every kind of sweet on the trolley?
third year, he ponders the wisdom of splashing out on a firebolt and solid gold gobstones, but very admirably chooses to be a responsible spender
harry spots shiny gleaming metal, and he makes a beeline for it. then he proceeds to shell out thirty galleons without blinking an eye because niffler he may be, he also has a heart of gold
itâs no wonder he never misses a tiny, fluttering gold sphere zooming through the air
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