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Chatting last night I came up upon one of my least favorite theories--that Draco Malfoy really needs to be smacked, hard and often. I've been doing a lot of wondering, therefore, why I find this idea so distressing...not to mention why I don't have this idea myself. It's not like I don't understand where it comes from: he's a rotten kid, he calls people names, he's a snob and a bigot, he whines, he blames other people for things he's responsible for. I don't admire any of these things at all--most of them really bother me as character traits. Yet still I feel wildly protective of this kid. And so I have lost another Sunday afternoon to explaining why in many many words...
First, the most practical reason: it only makes him worse. Smacking him, therefore, is more about giving satisfaction to other people rather than doing much about Draco himself. The reader enjoys watching Draco suffer because he's a little jerk and has made people they like suffer. But I never feel satisfied when he's brought low, probably because he's never been high to begin with. He barely gets to his feet before he's knocked down again, harder. I don't always feel badly for him when this happens, since he often brings it on himself, but it doesn't usually make me happy either because I know it will just make him meaner in response. I'd love to see Draco suffer on the way to some kind of new understanding, but I get nothing out of inflicting pointless pain on him, even when it's funny as it sometimes is.
Basically, he strikes me as a scapegoat in the series. He's an easy and politically correct target: he's blonde, rich (a sure sign of evil!)and bigotted and therefore can be freely despised. I'm suspicious of any character that offers people the chance to feel both vindictive and smug at the same time. Almost anyone can feel superior to Draco. But should they feel superior? I just don't think so. Draco is his father's son. Like Harry and Ron in the series, he is "just like" his father. So why does it speak so well of Harry and Ron that they turned out as better people? In all three cases I think there's a combination of nature and nurture going on. Despite having no memory of James, Harry has been shaped by the Dursleys into being just like James--he certainly had no incentive to be like them. Ron and Harry happened to have good fathers but Draco did not. Both in their different ways were taught good values.
Eventually everyone is responsible for his own actions. If Draco ends up a murderer he'll have to pay the price. However, I will always consider the school somewhat guilty if that happens because it's never done anything to try to put him on a different path. Given how much this kid has been mistreated (because I do think that systematically teaching a child to be hateful and bigotted is mistreatment) is it too much for someone to make the slightest effort to try to correct that early training? It's asking quite a lot to expect Draco to, upon faced with "normal" people for probably the first time in his life to suddenly change everything about his outlook, an outlook that's been clearly impressed on him his whole life by the man he loves most. Isn't teaching about getting rid of ignorance? What could Draco possibly see in the good guys that would inspire him to want to be like them?
The general consensus seems to be that Draco really isn't worth making the effort for, that even without the genocidal leanings he's not as good a person as Harry anyway. Again, I don't really think so. The basic reasons for thinking that way appear to be that Draco is weak while Harry is strong, Draco is cowardly while Harry is brave, Draco mindlessly listens to his father while Harry is a better judge of character. But is Draco really these things and nothing else?
Draco as Weak
When I think of Draco being weak I usually think of scenes like the one in B&B when he's whining and blaming teacher favoritism for his own shortcomings as a student. This is certainly the sign of a weak character: he can't take responsibility for his own failures. However, look at the exchange. Lucius makes a rather unnecessary comment (in front of a shopkeeper) about how if Draco's grades won't improve he will be good for nothing but petty theft which seems to have no other point other than shaming him. (This is not the way a parent shows concern over their child's grades) . Obviously Draco's failure as a student is a fact in the Malfoy household because Draco doesn't deny it, although I am in the camp that sees evidence that he's not in any way a bad student. Draco says the teachers just play favorites, like Hermione Granger, whom he calls by name. Lucius correct him by referring to Hermione as a Muggle-born, overriding Draco's natural instinct to see her as just a witch. Then he tells him he ought to be ashamed for letting a Muggleborn beat him in every exam (which does, imo, indicate Draco gave Hermione some competition). Draco obviously wants to defend himself and feels Lucius' criticism is unfair. But what is he to say? The correct thing would be for Draco to say Hermione is just a super good student, very smart and obsessed with studying. Nobody can beat her. But this is not an option for Draco. In his world the idea that a Muggleborn could just be better is simply untrue. It would be like saying the sky was pink. So there's only two options left: either Draco really is better but the teachers are sabotaging him or Draco isn't trying. Lucius suggests the latter. It's not surprising that Draco goes for the former. In his mind he might even feel like it's true--how could he try his hardest and be beaten by a non-pureblood? Even if in his heart of hearts Draco knows he was just fairly beaten he can hardly admit that to Lucius. He clearly hasn't been given permission to fail. Being a pureblood, at this point, is pretty much the only thing Draco has that makes him worth something. If he believes everything Lucius says about purebloods is true, admitting he's not good enough becomes a much scarier prospect. (In CoS we hear he was reemed out by Marcus Flint but his only response seems to be that he "doesn't look very happy" about it.)
Then there's the fact that Draco takes a lot of abuse in these books and just comes back for more. I don't know how many kids could have been turned into a ferret and bounced painfully on a hard wood floor and come out of it as defiantly as he does. To me, it seems like this kid is used to be insulted and probably smacked around (I can't see Lucius refraining from giving him a slap when he thinks it's deserved--he was ready to hit Harry in CoS). Maybe he's just a little punk but I think he's pretty tough in his way. He's never treated with anything but disdain in the books by anyone but Snape and he seems to just take it. He's at his most dramatic (and funny, imo) when wounded by the hippogriff.
Draco as a Coward
Draco appears to be a coward in several scenes: several times he runs away from something scary, we're often told that he's frightened, he has two friends who seem to be bodyguards. But I don't think these things indicate that he's incapable of courage. First, the scenes where he runs away. Well, in a couple of those Harry too is terrified and it just manifests differently (he's too afraid to run in the FF, he passes out in front of the Dementors). Being frightened is certainly no proof of cowardice--one must be able to feel fear to overcome it and often Draco stands his ground despite being afraid. That connects to the third item about Crabbe and Goyle, since Draco has not only never sicced them on anyone and has also been known to challenge the Trio when he was alone despite keenly feeling how he is outnumbered 3 to 1. In GoF he finally gets to face Harry without the usual "he's really shaking in his boots" line. (Also I don't think C&G are just bodyguards, but that's a different overly-long post.)
Still, he's certainly not strong or courageous the way Harry is. However, why is it that Harry is courageous? Some people get off on showing bravery just for it's own sake--and yes, those are the people who end up in Gryffindor but it's not always a positive trait. Harry isn't really one of those people. He, like most people, shows bravery when inspired by some reason. Harry certainly has good reason to be brave and strong whenever he is. He wants to survive against Voldemort, he feels anger when he meets anyone who reminds him of his enemies, he wants to prove himself to his new friends, he wants to avenge his parent's deaths, he wants to protect his friends, he wants to find out who he is. It's these things that give him strength beyond what he usually has. Draco, as far as I can see, has been given very little reason to be strong or courageous so far in the books. The closest he probably comes is when his hatred of Harry pushes him to challenge him even when he's outnumbered. Beyond that, what incentive (and there's always incentive) has he ever had to do much of anything for anybody? It's easy for us to say, "He should just do it because it's right," but given his position doing something "just because it's wrong" is equally logcial. Like it or not Harry, the Trio and all the good characters are rewarded for their moral behavior in ways they appreciate. To turn Draco at all one would need to offer some reward that makes sense to him.
Draco as Mindless
Something that I think gets dismissed a lot with Draco is that he adores his father. And why wouldn't he? Given Draco's personality type--and I think he's a very recognizeable type--the one thing he responds to above all else is power. Lucius has power (as does Snape). Draco challenges everyone upon meeting them. Those who hit back get his respect. Anyone who gives away power (like Hagrid in CoMC, for instance) is despised. From what we see and know of Lucius I think it's safe to say that he's kept strict control over Draco's life. His pov has always defined the world. In order to love Lucius Draco must accept these things as true. Another person might be able to love Lucius as a father while recognizing his dreadful flaws, or to simply get along without loving him. But from the little we see of Draco I don't think he's that type of person. He's emotional and passionate, especially when it comes to people. If Lucius changed sides tomorrow Draco would change right along with him--it's not the bigotted ideas he loves, it's Lucius.
If that love drives him to be a criminal he will still be a criminal and so guilty. At this point, though, he's just a kid with a lot of strikes against him. Would Harry have turned out so very differently had he been born into the Malfoy family? He might not be exactly the same, but I'm not so sure he would be so different either. Look how passionately Harry longs to live up to James--a man he's never even met. And look how quickly and fiercely he clings to Hagrid simply because he's the first person who ever told him he was worth something and gave him a birthday cake. He's ready to fight over Hagrid at Madam Malkin's in ways I certainly would not have been.
A final act of strength that I see in Draco, which is why I like him, is probably the very thing that makes him more pathetic to most people. I think it's a small triumph that he seems to have remained as emotional and furious to please someone as he is. He's not numb or sociopathic. He's also not a fanatic, imo. Despite his loving to crow about the Dark Lord coming to get Mudbloods his real problems with them rarely have anything to do with them not knowing their place. Despite his horribleness he still manages to send out signals, to me, that he could be different. He's essentially a social creature who wants to be valued, respected and loved. There's a lot of ways to go with someone like that. It's a shame that so far the only people we know are taking advantage of those "weaknesses" are bad guys.
First, the most practical reason: it only makes him worse. Smacking him, therefore, is more about giving satisfaction to other people rather than doing much about Draco himself. The reader enjoys watching Draco suffer because he's a little jerk and has made people they like suffer. But I never feel satisfied when he's brought low, probably because he's never been high to begin with. He barely gets to his feet before he's knocked down again, harder. I don't always feel badly for him when this happens, since he often brings it on himself, but it doesn't usually make me happy either because I know it will just make him meaner in response. I'd love to see Draco suffer on the way to some kind of new understanding, but I get nothing out of inflicting pointless pain on him, even when it's funny as it sometimes is.
Basically, he strikes me as a scapegoat in the series. He's an easy and politically correct target: he's blonde, rich (a sure sign of evil!)and bigotted and therefore can be freely despised. I'm suspicious of any character that offers people the chance to feel both vindictive and smug at the same time. Almost anyone can feel superior to Draco. But should they feel superior? I just don't think so. Draco is his father's son. Like Harry and Ron in the series, he is "just like" his father. So why does it speak so well of Harry and Ron that they turned out as better people? In all three cases I think there's a combination of nature and nurture going on. Despite having no memory of James, Harry has been shaped by the Dursleys into being just like James--he certainly had no incentive to be like them. Ron and Harry happened to have good fathers but Draco did not. Both in their different ways were taught good values.
Eventually everyone is responsible for his own actions. If Draco ends up a murderer he'll have to pay the price. However, I will always consider the school somewhat guilty if that happens because it's never done anything to try to put him on a different path. Given how much this kid has been mistreated (because I do think that systematically teaching a child to be hateful and bigotted is mistreatment) is it too much for someone to make the slightest effort to try to correct that early training? It's asking quite a lot to expect Draco to, upon faced with "normal" people for probably the first time in his life to suddenly change everything about his outlook, an outlook that's been clearly impressed on him his whole life by the man he loves most. Isn't teaching about getting rid of ignorance? What could Draco possibly see in the good guys that would inspire him to want to be like them?
The general consensus seems to be that Draco really isn't worth making the effort for, that even without the genocidal leanings he's not as good a person as Harry anyway. Again, I don't really think so. The basic reasons for thinking that way appear to be that Draco is weak while Harry is strong, Draco is cowardly while Harry is brave, Draco mindlessly listens to his father while Harry is a better judge of character. But is Draco really these things and nothing else?
Draco as Weak
When I think of Draco being weak I usually think of scenes like the one in B&B when he's whining and blaming teacher favoritism for his own shortcomings as a student. This is certainly the sign of a weak character: he can't take responsibility for his own failures. However, look at the exchange. Lucius makes a rather unnecessary comment (in front of a shopkeeper) about how if Draco's grades won't improve he will be good for nothing but petty theft which seems to have no other point other than shaming him. (This is not the way a parent shows concern over their child's grades) . Obviously Draco's failure as a student is a fact in the Malfoy household because Draco doesn't deny it, although I am in the camp that sees evidence that he's not in any way a bad student. Draco says the teachers just play favorites, like Hermione Granger, whom he calls by name. Lucius correct him by referring to Hermione as a Muggle-born, overriding Draco's natural instinct to see her as just a witch. Then he tells him he ought to be ashamed for letting a Muggleborn beat him in every exam (which does, imo, indicate Draco gave Hermione some competition). Draco obviously wants to defend himself and feels Lucius' criticism is unfair. But what is he to say? The correct thing would be for Draco to say Hermione is just a super good student, very smart and obsessed with studying. Nobody can beat her. But this is not an option for Draco. In his world the idea that a Muggleborn could just be better is simply untrue. It would be like saying the sky was pink. So there's only two options left: either Draco really is better but the teachers are sabotaging him or Draco isn't trying. Lucius suggests the latter. It's not surprising that Draco goes for the former. In his mind he might even feel like it's true--how could he try his hardest and be beaten by a non-pureblood? Even if in his heart of hearts Draco knows he was just fairly beaten he can hardly admit that to Lucius. He clearly hasn't been given permission to fail. Being a pureblood, at this point, is pretty much the only thing Draco has that makes him worth something. If he believes everything Lucius says about purebloods is true, admitting he's not good enough becomes a much scarier prospect. (In CoS we hear he was reemed out by Marcus Flint but his only response seems to be that he "doesn't look very happy" about it.)
Then there's the fact that Draco takes a lot of abuse in these books and just comes back for more. I don't know how many kids could have been turned into a ferret and bounced painfully on a hard wood floor and come out of it as defiantly as he does. To me, it seems like this kid is used to be insulted and probably smacked around (I can't see Lucius refraining from giving him a slap when he thinks it's deserved--he was ready to hit Harry in CoS). Maybe he's just a little punk but I think he's pretty tough in his way. He's never treated with anything but disdain in the books by anyone but Snape and he seems to just take it. He's at his most dramatic (and funny, imo) when wounded by the hippogriff.
Draco as a Coward
Draco appears to be a coward in several scenes: several times he runs away from something scary, we're often told that he's frightened, he has two friends who seem to be bodyguards. But I don't think these things indicate that he's incapable of courage. First, the scenes where he runs away. Well, in a couple of those Harry too is terrified and it just manifests differently (he's too afraid to run in the FF, he passes out in front of the Dementors). Being frightened is certainly no proof of cowardice--one must be able to feel fear to overcome it and often Draco stands his ground despite being afraid. That connects to the third item about Crabbe and Goyle, since Draco has not only never sicced them on anyone and has also been known to challenge the Trio when he was alone despite keenly feeling how he is outnumbered 3 to 1. In GoF he finally gets to face Harry without the usual "he's really shaking in his boots" line. (Also I don't think C&G are just bodyguards, but that's a different overly-long post.)
Still, he's certainly not strong or courageous the way Harry is. However, why is it that Harry is courageous? Some people get off on showing bravery just for it's own sake--and yes, those are the people who end up in Gryffindor but it's not always a positive trait. Harry isn't really one of those people. He, like most people, shows bravery when inspired by some reason. Harry certainly has good reason to be brave and strong whenever he is. He wants to survive against Voldemort, he feels anger when he meets anyone who reminds him of his enemies, he wants to prove himself to his new friends, he wants to avenge his parent's deaths, he wants to protect his friends, he wants to find out who he is. It's these things that give him strength beyond what he usually has. Draco, as far as I can see, has been given very little reason to be strong or courageous so far in the books. The closest he probably comes is when his hatred of Harry pushes him to challenge him even when he's outnumbered. Beyond that, what incentive (and there's always incentive) has he ever had to do much of anything for anybody? It's easy for us to say, "He should just do it because it's right," but given his position doing something "just because it's wrong" is equally logcial. Like it or not Harry, the Trio and all the good characters are rewarded for their moral behavior in ways they appreciate. To turn Draco at all one would need to offer some reward that makes sense to him.
Draco as Mindless
Something that I think gets dismissed a lot with Draco is that he adores his father. And why wouldn't he? Given Draco's personality type--and I think he's a very recognizeable type--the one thing he responds to above all else is power. Lucius has power (as does Snape). Draco challenges everyone upon meeting them. Those who hit back get his respect. Anyone who gives away power (like Hagrid in CoMC, for instance) is despised. From what we see and know of Lucius I think it's safe to say that he's kept strict control over Draco's life. His pov has always defined the world. In order to love Lucius Draco must accept these things as true. Another person might be able to love Lucius as a father while recognizing his dreadful flaws, or to simply get along without loving him. But from the little we see of Draco I don't think he's that type of person. He's emotional and passionate, especially when it comes to people. If Lucius changed sides tomorrow Draco would change right along with him--it's not the bigotted ideas he loves, it's Lucius.
If that love drives him to be a criminal he will still be a criminal and so guilty. At this point, though, he's just a kid with a lot of strikes against him. Would Harry have turned out so very differently had he been born into the Malfoy family? He might not be exactly the same, but I'm not so sure he would be so different either. Look how passionately Harry longs to live up to James--a man he's never even met. And look how quickly and fiercely he clings to Hagrid simply because he's the first person who ever told him he was worth something and gave him a birthday cake. He's ready to fight over Hagrid at Madam Malkin's in ways I certainly would not have been.
A final act of strength that I see in Draco, which is why I like him, is probably the very thing that makes him more pathetic to most people. I think it's a small triumph that he seems to have remained as emotional and furious to please someone as he is. He's not numb or sociopathic. He's also not a fanatic, imo. Despite his loving to crow about the Dark Lord coming to get Mudbloods his real problems with them rarely have anything to do with them not knowing their place. Despite his horribleness he still manages to send out signals, to me, that he could be different. He's essentially a social creature who wants to be valued, respected and loved. There's a lot of ways to go with someone like that. It's a shame that so far the only people we know are taking advantage of those "weaknesses" are bad guys.
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I am in love with your brain.
Exactly. That's why I love him. That's why I think he could be redeemed. (and I agree with you about Crabbe and Goyle, as well.)
I love it that Draco hasn't given up, too, in the face of all you show him to be up against. He's still mean, still fighting, and still *alive* and nobody's puppet, not really. That's why I think he could be redeemed. That's why I'm terribly afraid for him, because he does have those emotions and they can be used against him too.
The fear and the - almost admiration for his irrepressibility and the affection and all of it... You make it make sense. Muah!
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Really fabulous!
I'm in the camp that Draco doesn't need redemption because he hasn't done anything that bad. Redemption is way too strong a word, I think. Growing up is better maybe?
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Seriously, it seems to me that if you really want to breed dark wizards, the thing to do is to collect all the kids with those leanings into one house and then treat them, and allow them to be treated, like Slytherin is in the books.
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I don't think that Draco's a coward or weak because he just doesn't give up, despite being humiliated again and again. He just keeps trying to get Harry's attention, to prove that he's the better Quidditch player or that he's in the better house. I can't imagine someone with a weak character to play this game four years long, and not to lose his fierceness, his haughtiness, his ability to piss people off. Despite being turned into a ferret and humiliated in such a cruel way, Draco remains confident. A coward would just leave Harry and his friends alone. Draco clearly doesn't care that he may be punished for insulting and molesting them, and that's not a cowardly behaviour at all. That's why I love him the most - he never gives up, he keeps trying to achieve whatever his target is. And yes, I think that his target is Harry. I'm pretty sure that he wouldn't waste his breath on Ron and Hermione, if they weren't Harry's best friends. He insults them with the single thought to get to Harry. A match made in heaven, if you ask me :).
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