Rowling is writer enough to set up characters whose flaws require sympathy, and then strangely reluctant to afford them any. She either flatly denies that they need any (for flaws anyway) because she has decided, despite evidence to the contrary, that they are perfect, or she refuses sympathy towards the glaring imperfections of characters she sees as weak. Weakness is a particular horror of Rowling’s, and also Harry’s. He is never more anxious and self-pitying (both of which he is a lot) than when he thinks he has detected a weakness in himself, or thinks others have detected a weakness in him (real or imaginary). For instance, he frets for ages in Prisoner of Azkaban, over his inability to withstand proximity to the Dementors. When he confines some of his fears to Remus Lupin, Lupin seems to immediately sense the source of Harry’s anxiety, and to sympathise, because he hurriedly blurts out an excuse for Harry’s vulnerability, saying “It’s nothing to do with weakness!” This is in the context of a storyline in which Lupin’s old school friend Peter Pettigrew (they were in a circle of friends with Sirius and Harry’s father James) is depicted as about the most contemptible entity imaginable, and his wickedness stems fundamentally from his weakness. As we learn more about this circle of friends, we learn that both James Potter and Sirius Black were hateful little shits at school. Giant Quiddich hoops are jumped through in later books to explain why James Potter – despite being an egomaniac and a bully – was actually a great bloke, or at least became one. The key difference between James (who grew up to be a hero) and Peter (who grew up to be a traitor) is that James’ nastiness was at least strong, whereas Peter’s was weak. Weakness is inherently evil, for Rowling. Worse, it’s revolting. There is nothing worse than being weak. Not even being fat is worse… and for Rowling, who absolutely hates fat people, that’s saying something. Of course, it’s not either/or. Peter Pettigrew is fat.
Jack Graham, via Eruditorum Press 'The Anti-Potter, Part 1' (2017)
