The problem of Lockheart

I really liked Chamber of Secrets on a lot of levels. But one thing really bothered me... again, this might be me misunderstanding how seriously Rowling wants me to take this story.

When Dumbldore is temporarily removed, Ron laments that he was their only hope. I'm sure that Ron assumes that Dumbledore, leading the rest of the competent wizard faculty and staff, was working, unbeknownst to the students, to solve the mystery and save the muggle borns and all that. They have all the resources and knowledge that Harry and Co spend the whole book trying to get. We see that they are preparing the cure for the petrifications. Otherwise, we don't actually see them Professer D and the rest doing anything about the attacks, except making sure everyone avoids walking alone.

Then, when the mystery becomes a real tragedy and Ginny is taken into the Chamber. The teachers all drop any attempt to actually save her in order to get their (long merited) revenge on Lockheart for being an all-talk poser. If they wanted to make a fool of him by sending him into a danger he was terrified of, but wasn't actually life threatening, that would be one thing. But they send him to accomplish a task they know he is perfectly incapable of, when a girl's life is at stake, just because they have grown tired of his bragging. At that point, I can no longer believe that they have been doing anything but reacting to the events. If that is their plan, no wonder Ginny and Tom weren't caught before.

Someone tell me how I am supposed to think of any of the teachers as anything but immature cowards? Are they all terrified because the headmaster isn't around?

I can't think of an explanation that doesn't reflect poorly on the teachers Rowling clearly wants me to at least respect. The other explanation doesn't reflect very well on Rowling herself. She really wanted Lockheart to go down into the chamber with them (he makes great comic relief) and couldn't, or didn't think of another way that would be consistent with the teacher's characters. It might have been okay for Snape, assuming he is truly a heartless villain who wants Ginny dead. But it makes no sense for the rest of them to agree to it, unless they are less intelligent than Ron, who can see through Lockheart's bragging.

Tom and Harry (and more snakes)

It’s common enough to have the main protagonist and antagonist be divergent in a few ways so that certain virtues/vices are spotlighted through the story. In fact it’s so common that it’s cliche (but not a bad cliche, just predictable cliche (then again I have weird tastes)). But let’s reiterate the similarities between Tom and Harry.

• Raised in the muggle world 
• Hated the place where they lived. 
• Half-bloods. 
• Orphans. 
• Parselmouths. 
• Clever. 
• Determined. 

And the difference?

“Because I asked not to go in Slytherin...”  - Harry Potter (CoS chp. 18)

And why did ask that? Because he was not tempted by greatness. It doesn’t matter that he may be mistaken about how evil Slytherin is, he thought it was and was not tempted by the possibility of being great. Partly due to the fact of humility that I mentioned in my last post, while it is quite obvious that Tom is arrogant and prideful, this virtue/vice is what I submit is the real difference between them. Yes it because of Harry’s choice, but vices and virtues are choices, and I wanted to know why he chose ‘not Slytherin’ and I think this the answer.

On another note I would like to point out that snakes are given a pretty awful name is this book. In fact a snake pretty much describes both Slytherin and Voldemort. In the last book we have one (count ‘em one) incident with a benevolent snake. The incident is the first instance in the saga of Harry bonding with anyone else (it’s the zoo incident from Sorcerer’s Stone if you haven’t figured it out). Harry has been associated quite often with the snake, I would even go so far as to say that the series is a fight between the good snake (Harry) and the bad snake (Tom). Again humility versus pride fits well here.

One more thing, it’s about the Dursleys. The opening scene with the outrage at the word ‘magic’ being said kept pushing into my mind the scene in Monty Python’s Holy Grail the knights who say knee. And of course Richard Dawkins. “Oh, no you’ve said it again! Ahh! Now I’ve said it! I’ve said it again!”.


Confused? Querulous? Credulous? Shocked? Yeah, now I’m happy.