Have you all seen this post by Shyfoxling?

[sweettalkeress.livejournal.com]

I'm Dreamwidth friends with her so I noticed she was exploring Pottermore.

What she found was this.

I left a comment at the bottom of the page with my initial thoughts, but now I'm torn between that and WHYYY DID ROWLING THINK THIS NEEDED TO BE EXPANDED UPON?!

Still more credence for the theory that Rowling has the mental maturity of a twelve-year-old?

Comments

[annoni-no.livejournal.com]

If he were actively forced out by the other three for whatever intolerable offense(s), why did they keep his House as part of the school instead of splitting up his students among the three remaining founders? Rowling's original explanation via the Sorting Hat makes so much more sense. Slytherin left on his own due to the schisms that had developed after the school was established. His colleagues still respected him though, and all parties probably had regrets that situation hadn't been resolved more satisfactorily. So his House was maintained as a tribute to their old friend in honor of his contributions.

This idea that all three of the 'good' founders ganged up on the 'evil' (and foreign-sounding!) Slytherin leaves the same nasty aftertaste as, and textually reinforces, the concept that all children sorted into Slytherin at age 11 are inherently and irredeemably wicked.

Can an author be guilty of historical revisionism in her own fantasy world?

[oryx_leucoryx]

Can an author be guilty of historical revisionism in her own fantasy world?

Isn't that called retconning?

Some authors are more open about it than others. "There are no continuity errors in the Discworld novels. There are, however, alternate pasts" - Terry Pratchett. (And of course, in his 'verse there are in-universe reasons for the multiple-pasts.)

[maidofkent.livejournal.com]

Or just hasn't remembered what she originally wrote. This version of events interestingly echoes the 'sacking' of Severus Snape. I notice that Salazar displayed stone snakes as emblems of his power - how unlike a griffin door-knocker on the entrance to the head master's office, or a sword hung up in the same office.


As to plumbing, the first English flush loo was invented in the sixteenth century, but they didn't catch on until the nineteenth, and modern sewerage systems were also nineteenth century. Bazalgette designed the London sewers after the 'Great Stink' of 1858. Before that, people had earth closets, garderobes, cesspits, or used open sewers to discharge into rivers. I can't imagine why wizards didn't use chamber pots, and why vanishing of waste was discarded in favour of a plumbing system which appears to end up polluting the lake.

Is there anything wizards have in day to day use that they haven't copied from Muggles?

[kahran042]

Or just hasn't remembered what she originally wrote.

Considering that she apparently doesn't reread her writing, that would make sense.

[aikaterini.livejournal.com]

/This idea that all three of the 'good' founders ganged up on the 'evil' (and foreign-sounding!) Slytherin leaves the same nasty aftertaste as, and textually reinforces, the concept that all children sorted into Slytherin at age 11 are inherently and irredeemably wicked./

Which once again leads to the question of how and why Slytherin still exists, if all of its students are supposedly evil. If that’s the case, if their House is so tainted by the bigotry of its Founder that all of its students must be inherently evil, then why even *have* Slytherin House anymore? Why not just stop those kids from learning magic if they’re supposedly so evil? Or Sort them into other Houses so that the other kids can "reform" them?

[oryx_leucoryx]

The others are keeping their enemies close. They want to watch them, but not be involved with them.

Except when things are different, of course. Pansy and Parvati were on first name basis in 1st year, and in GOF the Hufflepuffs collaborated with the Slytherins in the 'Potter stinks' campaign.