~~ Draco. So misunderstood.
Jul. 20th, 2005 08:20 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
reenkaAll right, here goes rant:
Character love is not something you have to excuse or explain away. Everyone loves characters for different reasons, and nearly every character is misunderstood by someone, in one way or another. This doesn't mean they're secretly sympathetic or 'good' or lovable-- this just means they're not being seen without bias either by Harry or by the reader, and this is unavoidable. It's a fact of readership that we're going to misunderstand characters who're very different from us unless we're prepared to take a rather analytical, unemotional view of the matter.
As long as you care one way or the other, there's a very good chance you'll misunderstand a person or a character. This isn't a bad thing (emotions are... good), but it's a fact of life.
Me, I think Luna's misunderstood by nearly everyone, including most of the people who say they like her. I think Harry's misunderstood. I think Draco's misunderstood. I think Snape's misunderstood, and Dumbledore, and omfg, everyone in the books. Because, you know, I just don't agree with how a lot of people see & interpret canon. And yeah, though Draco was never a 'nice boy, really', Harry was -still- wrong about him too.
This doesn't mean I think Draco's a poor little w00bie who's never meant to do something naughty; hell, Harry has meant to do plenty of naughty & nasty things throughout the books. If you piss Harry off, he a) slams you against a wall; b) slashes you with a Dark curse he has no clue about the effects of; c) tries to Crucio you TWICE; d) spies on you incessantly; e) refuses to forgive you against all logic; f) hexes you when you're outnumbered 3 to a dozen or so; g) feels only a vague sense of pity even when your whole life is ruined; h) wants you to die in revenge (eye for an eye).
And you know, I think the people who really resent Harry for these things and say he's equivalent to his enemies are -wrong-; Dumbledore was right about Harry. And on top of that I adore Harry past all reason. But. Being a nasty bastard and/or a heroic wonderful loving boy doesn't stop you from being both at the same time, doesn't stop you from having facets that other people or readers don't notice but are always there, and doesn't stop you from being misunderstood by pretty much anyone. Nearly nothing is -that- obvious when it comes to someone's character.
You know, I wasn't really surprised by any scene with Harry and Draco in this book. Not a single one; I was happy and gleeful because they were all how it already -was- in my head. It was all how I already saw them. So yes, anyone who didn't see it this way? Had misunderstood the books, because I can definitely see CoS!Draco and PoA!Draco in HBP!Draco, no doubt about it. I can definitely see crying!Draco, clever!Draco, wimpy!Draco, boastful!Draco, needy!Draco-- all those things, I always saw. And everyone who didn't?? You were wrong. I don't think it was -obvious-, but the hints were there in canon, if you wanted to analyze them and think about Draco without prejudice.
That doesn't mean he's a lovely little boy; that doesn't mean anyone who's remotely realistically human is 'lovely' and 'nice' and 'sweet'; there are no such people. In Harry Potter-- or in real life. Everyone's a bastard to someone. That is just how reality works. We all have a dark side, baby, and we all have goodness within us; at some point, even Tom Riddle was innocent (though already sociopathic). This doesn't excuse him, it just makes him human!
I am seriously boggled that people are saying this Draco is 'new' and different and surprising. Or, I would be if I didn't see how people saw Draco before, and it didn't drive me up the bloody wall when I wound up reading fanfic after fanfic with ice-prince!Draco because real!Draco was just a pathetic useless personalityless two-bit villain.
So yeah. I'm a little smug. And yeah-- Draco? Was. And is. Misunderstood.
And that doesn't make him special, really. It just makes him like everyone else.
Character love is not something you have to excuse or explain away. Everyone loves characters for different reasons, and nearly every character is misunderstood by someone, in one way or another. This doesn't mean they're secretly sympathetic or 'good' or lovable-- this just means they're not being seen without bias either by Harry or by the reader, and this is unavoidable. It's a fact of readership that we're going to misunderstand characters who're very different from us unless we're prepared to take a rather analytical, unemotional view of the matter.
As long as you care one way or the other, there's a very good chance you'll misunderstand a person or a character. This isn't a bad thing (emotions are... good), but it's a fact of life.
Me, I think Luna's misunderstood by nearly everyone, including most of the people who say they like her. I think Harry's misunderstood. I think Draco's misunderstood. I think Snape's misunderstood, and Dumbledore, and omfg, everyone in the books. Because, you know, I just don't agree with how a lot of people see & interpret canon. And yeah, though Draco was never a 'nice boy, really', Harry was -still- wrong about him too.
This doesn't mean I think Draco's a poor little w00bie who's never meant to do something naughty; hell, Harry has meant to do plenty of naughty & nasty things throughout the books. If you piss Harry off, he a) slams you against a wall; b) slashes you with a Dark curse he has no clue about the effects of; c) tries to Crucio you TWICE; d) spies on you incessantly; e) refuses to forgive you against all logic; f) hexes you when you're outnumbered 3 to a dozen or so; g) feels only a vague sense of pity even when your whole life is ruined; h) wants you to die in revenge (eye for an eye).
And you know, I think the people who really resent Harry for these things and say he's equivalent to his enemies are -wrong-; Dumbledore was right about Harry. And on top of that I adore Harry past all reason. But. Being a nasty bastard and/or a heroic wonderful loving boy doesn't stop you from being both at the same time, doesn't stop you from having facets that other people or readers don't notice but are always there, and doesn't stop you from being misunderstood by pretty much anyone. Nearly nothing is -that- obvious when it comes to someone's character.
You know, I wasn't really surprised by any scene with Harry and Draco in this book. Not a single one; I was happy and gleeful because they were all how it already -was- in my head. It was all how I already saw them. So yes, anyone who didn't see it this way? Had misunderstood the books, because I can definitely see CoS!Draco and PoA!Draco in HBP!Draco, no doubt about it. I can definitely see crying!Draco, clever!Draco, wimpy!Draco, boastful!Draco, needy!Draco-- all those things, I always saw. And everyone who didn't?? You were wrong. I don't think it was -obvious-, but the hints were there in canon, if you wanted to analyze them and think about Draco without prejudice.
That doesn't mean he's a lovely little boy; that doesn't mean anyone who's remotely realistically human is 'lovely' and 'nice' and 'sweet'; there are no such people. In Harry Potter-- or in real life. Everyone's a bastard to someone. That is just how reality works. We all have a dark side, baby, and we all have goodness within us; at some point, even Tom Riddle was innocent (though already sociopathic). This doesn't excuse him, it just makes him human!
I am seriously boggled that people are saying this Draco is 'new' and different and surprising. Or, I would be if I didn't see how people saw Draco before, and it didn't drive me up the bloody wall when I wound up reading fanfic after fanfic with ice-prince!Draco because real!Draco was just a pathetic useless personalityless two-bit villain.
So yeah. I'm a little smug. And yeah-- Draco? Was. And is. Misunderstood.
And that doesn't make him special, really. It just makes him like everyone else.
