rj_anderson (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
rj_anderson) wrote2003-05-17 12:53 pm
rj_anderson) wrote2003-05-17 12:53 pm
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Poor Draco?
So in preparation for OotP coming out, I'm re-reading the HP books from the beginning -- something I haven't done in quite a long while -- and noticing all kinds of things I hadn't seen before.
About ten minutes ago I came across this, from the first meeting between Harry and Draco in Madam Malkin's robe shop:
In this quote from canon, however, the situation looks quite different. "My father's next door buying my books"? Draco makes him sound like Lucius is his servant, running errands for him because he's too busy getting his robes fitted. "I'm going to drag them off..." He evidently has no doubt that he can get both his parents to do whatever he wants. "I think I'll bully my father..."
How utterly different from the usual fanonical picture. Would fanon Draco even dream of trying to "bully" fanon Lucius into anything? Would most fanfic authors and readers even dare to imagine that Draco could do so?
And then Harry draws his own conclusion: Draco reminds him of Dudley. A spoiled, manipulative, demanding brat, who knows both his parents dote on him and has no doubt that they will indulge his every whim. And I can't see any reason to believe that appraisal of Draco isn't valid.
Oh, you might say, but Draco is playing tough, trying to look good. And Harry dislikes him, so he's assuming the worst about him, thinking he's just like Dudley. But there's no reason for Harry to be prejudiced against Draco at this point, because he knows nothing about the wizarding world in general or Slytherins in particular. Neither is there any reason for Draco to want to impress Harry by pretending he can bully Lucius around, because Harry hasn't any idea who Draco's father is.
Before I re-read this bit of PS/SS I was almost prepared to buy into the idea that Draco's deepest desire is to please his father and make Lucius proud of him, and that all his detailed reports and attempts to assist his father in Dark activities were efforts toward that end. Now, however, I really begin to doubt that has anything to do with it.
I don't think Draco is afraid of Lucius at all, much less desperate to measure up to him. I think that he wants to be part of Lucius's Dark activities for the same reasons Dudley and his gang liked to beat up on Harry at school -- because terrorizing the weak and helpless is such a lark really, and why should Daddy have all the fun?
About ten minutes ago I came across this, from the first meeting between Harry and Draco in Madam Malkin's robe shop:
"My father's next door buying my books and mother's up the street looking at wands," said the boy. He had a bored, drawling voice. "Then I'm going to drag them off to look at racing brooms. I don't see why first years can't have their own. I think I'll bully father into getting me one and I'll smuggle it in somehow."This struck me as extremely interesting. In fanon, Lucius is frequently portrayed as a cold and strongly domineering father with cripplingly high expectations of his son, while Draco is often revealed to be secretly struggling with resentment of Lucius and the feeling that no matter how hard he tries he can never measure up. He idolizes his powerful father, and he fears him, and he works hard to please him, but he's always in Lucius's shadow, and it's implied that the real Draco might have been a different and probably nicer person if it weren't for his father constantly pushing him to be a perfect little Death Eater-in-training.
Harry was strongly reminded of Dudley.
In this quote from canon, however, the situation looks quite different. "My father's next door buying my books"? Draco makes him sound like Lucius is his servant, running errands for him because he's too busy getting his robes fitted. "I'm going to drag them off..." He evidently has no doubt that he can get both his parents to do whatever he wants. "I think I'll bully my father..."
How utterly different from the usual fanonical picture. Would fanon Draco even dream of trying to "bully" fanon Lucius into anything? Would most fanfic authors and readers even dare to imagine that Draco could do so?
And then Harry draws his own conclusion: Draco reminds him of Dudley. A spoiled, manipulative, demanding brat, who knows both his parents dote on him and has no doubt that they will indulge his every whim. And I can't see any reason to believe that appraisal of Draco isn't valid.
Oh, you might say, but Draco is playing tough, trying to look good. And Harry dislikes him, so he's assuming the worst about him, thinking he's just like Dudley. But there's no reason for Harry to be prejudiced against Draco at this point, because he knows nothing about the wizarding world in general or Slytherins in particular. Neither is there any reason for Draco to want to impress Harry by pretending he can bully Lucius around, because Harry hasn't any idea who Draco's father is.
Before I re-read this bit of PS/SS I was almost prepared to buy into the idea that Draco's deepest desire is to please his father and make Lucius proud of him, and that all his detailed reports and attempts to assist his father in Dark activities were efforts toward that end. Now, however, I really begin to doubt that has anything to do with it.
I don't think Draco is afraid of Lucius at all, much less desperate to measure up to him. I think that he wants to be part of Lucius's Dark activities for the same reasons Dudley and his gang liked to beat up on Harry at school -- because terrorizing the weak and helpless is such a lark really, and why should Daddy have all the fun?
no subject
(Anonymous) 2003-05-18 06:50 am (UTC)(link)But I wasn't really surprised at the villifying of Lucius in fanfiction, because it's a standard kind of thing to do - in order to redeem the son, you have to make the father more evil. Because mistreating your offspring sows the seeds for them to rebel against you. And I agree that Lucius does not crush Draco with his high expectations, and spoils him in a way that benefits them both - as in, getting Draco on the Slyterin team presumably makes Draco happy and upholds the family honor. It's not as if Draco really never wanted the position, or buying his way onto the team was considered unworthy by his father.
The evidence for the contary view, I think, comes from episodes like the one in CoS where Lucius tells him off for not doing as well as Hermione. I mean, obviously he has expectations for his son - but I don't believe that Draco has lower expectations for himself. Maybe. I'm no authority on this topic.
Um, but, primarily, Draco in canon strikes me as very, very childish. He does the things he does not out of some deep-seated conviction about what is right for him, he merely parrots - he was raised to look down his nose at halfbloods and he goes on with it because it makes him feel superior. He plays annoying and mean-spirited tricks but he never does anything that is actually *evil*. One can only assume that Lucius is steering him that way.
And I don't think he imitates his parents because they've intimidated him into it, but because they have spoilt him, and, from his position, there's really no disadvantage for him in being what they want him to be.
Which is why, to redeem him, you need a catalyst, something to make him rethink his life, because in canon he's too narrow-minded a character to change his views just by philosophying on morality.
~Chresimos
no subject
Oh, well, sign me up for the forces of evil, then, because it was at that point that I went from being intrigued and amused by Mad-Eye Moody to flat-out adoring him. Pity it wasn't really him...
And I don't think he imitates his parents because they've intimidated him into it, but because they have spoilt him, and, from his position, there's really no disadvantage for him in being what they want him to be.
Exactly. You put it much better and more clearly than I did. Thank you.