Petunia's eyes
Aug. 18th, 2004 10:19 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
louiseluxJKR goes out of her way in OotP to advertise the fact that Petunia's eyes are nothing like her sister's eyes, to the extent of putting the thought in brackets when Harry is looking at her.
Petunia's eyes are large and pale, like Luna's and Mrs Norris's, or even Narcissa's. Come to think of it Petunia and Narcissa both share a certain superior attitude towards the world, even if, if they ever met, Narcissa would consider Petunia the scum of the earth, being both a muggle and terribly middle class to boot.
Or are Vernon and Petunia social-climbing lower middle class? I'd guess the latter, I think. I bet Vernon used to work on the shop floor of that drills factory he now runs. They're so desperate to make sure everyone knows their status, as though they're hiding slightly less impressive beginnings.
Anyway, to get back to the point, JKR certainly seems to be making some sort of point about Petunia's and Lily's eyes being very different, but what it might mean I've no idea.
Petunia's eyes are large and pale, like Luna's and Mrs Norris's, or even Narcissa's. Come to think of it Petunia and Narcissa both share a certain superior attitude towards the world, even if, if they ever met, Narcissa would consider Petunia the scum of the earth, being both a muggle and terribly middle class to boot.
Or are Vernon and Petunia social-climbing lower middle class? I'd guess the latter, I think. I bet Vernon used to work on the shop floor of that drills factory he now runs. They're so desperate to make sure everyone knows their status, as though they're hiding slightly less impressive beginnings.
Anyway, to get back to the point, JKR certainly seems to be making some sort of point about Petunia's and Lily's eyes being very different, but what it might mean I've no idea.
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Date: 2004-08-20 03:05 am (UTC)Actually, this theory's not as crazy as it sounds, considering that JKR has made a real feature of the way wizards treat house elves, both in Hermione's campaign and in Kreacher's betrayal of Sirius. There's the whole notion of wizarding superiority over any other species, which even people like Sirius, one of the good guys, takes for granted, and which is the heart of Voldemort's pureblood ideology. Maybe the revelation that the Boy Who Lived is part house elf will help get rid of this inequality for good, or make the wizarding world become less closed and secretive.
Also, house elves have magical powers, which in some respects can be stronger than wizarding powers. Did Lily use some of her house elf powers to protect Harry?
Against: well, like you say, scary imagery abounds! Watch me skirt around the question of how Lily got her house elf blood (my mind is turning horribly to below stairs shagging).