I am reeeeally doubtful of whether Harry's meant to be seen as a) representative of Gryffindor moral mentality & b) therefore prudish. :P I think Harry's proven he's not prudish in HBP... or rather, his chest monster did.
As far as I'm concerned, HBP wonderfully validated that fic about how all the houses approach sex. Quidditch in Bed being the Gryffindor playbook, and Slytherin being the sensual house. Slytherin scores!!!
Something I haven't thought of in my last comment (and btw, um, sorry if that sounded anti-Slytherin-- I'm not, I promise) is that with Blacks specifically-- not Slytherins, but Blacks-- it's canon that they're mentally unhinged/vulnerable.
I suspect that's the Gothic idea of madness coming from incest/obsession with sameness. Which is why Tonks, who is a Black, isn't unhinged. We really don't know about too many of them. Maybe it's more than they're high strung? I'm thinking of Sirius, for instance, having a breakdown over James and Lily but actually keeping his sanity in Azkaban. Draco's dealing with some prolonged stress throughout the year and while he reaches his end of his tether by the end, when Dumbledore throws him a lifeline I think he improves.
They're quite high strung, those Blacks. The Weasleys are just...whatever they are. It's interesting that of course all the families we see as families are Purebloods.
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As far as I'm concerned, HBP wonderfully validated that fic about how all the houses approach sex. Quidditch in Bed being the Gryffindor playbook, and Slytherin being the sensual house. Slytherin scores!!!
Something I haven't thought of in my last comment (and btw, um, sorry if that sounded anti-Slytherin-- I'm not, I promise) is that with Blacks specifically-- not Slytherins, but Blacks-- it's canon that they're mentally unhinged/vulnerable.
I suspect that's the Gothic idea of madness coming from incest/obsession with sameness. Which is why Tonks, who is a Black, isn't unhinged. We really don't know about too many of them. Maybe it's more than they're high strung? I'm thinking of Sirius, for instance, having a breakdown over James and Lily but actually keeping his sanity in Azkaban. Draco's dealing with some prolonged stress throughout the year and while he reaches his end of his tether by the end, when Dumbledore throws him a lifeline I think he improves.
They're quite high strung, those Blacks. The Weasleys are just...whatever they are. It's interesting that of course all the families we see as families are Purebloods.