sunnyskywalker (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
sunnyskywalker) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
deathtocapslock2018-05-20 01:36 pm
sunnyskywalker) wrote in deathtocapslock2018-05-20 01:36 pm
Revisiting the Boggart Lesson
When I was a kid, I didn’t think too hard about Lupin’s boggart lesson. It was a cool creature, a DADA teacher finally taught them something useful, and we got a clue to Lupin’s fears and a segue into Lupin teaching Harry the Patronus Charm. Neat, right?
But now I’ve tried imagining myself as one of the students in that lesson. And as Lupin, for that matter. What the hell was Lupin thinking by making the students face the boggart in front of the entire class?
First, even if he could guarantee that every single student had nothing but relatively innocent fears like spiders and mummies, who would want their classmates knowing what scared them most? Especially at Hogwarts, where you know someone will make use of that information to play humiliating and/or terrifying “pranks.”
Okay, Hogwarts is extremely tolerant of public humiliation. McGonagall, Flitwick, and Hagrid all find it an acceptable teaching tool, and young Snape follows their example extremely faithfully. Maybe Lupin just doesn’t use it as much while not seeing anything wrong with it. But…
Second, Lupin knows it’s likely that at least two students have worse fears. Leaving aside the probability that one or more children in the class has been abused, sexually assaulted, stalked, etc., he doesn’t let Harry try because he thinks the boggart might turn into Voldemort. He also was in the Order of the Phoenix with Frank and Alice, and knows that Neville’s boggart might be a Death Eater yelling “Crucio!” or his parents staring blankly. (He probably doesn't know about Uncle Algie.) He’s had at least a day to think about this lesson. So… was he planning to prevent Harry—and possibly Neville too in the original plan—from trying all along? How was that supposed to work?
Third, even if he knows or believes that Neville’s run-in with Snape right before the lesson will make the boggart Snape, the fear most recent in his mind, rather than something deeper… he knows Snape, and he ought to be able to predict the effects of “helping” Neville this way. Really, how does he think Snape will treat someone who publicly humiliates him by putting him in women’s clothes in front of the entire class? With praise and kisses? Or even indifference? Lupin may not know about young Sev’s possible blouse, but he has every reason to know that Snape has, um, issues with his clothing being mocked in public. (Understandably.) Does he really think any possible boost to Neville’s confidence will be enough to shield him against Snape’s anger? I mean, Snape was not nearly as bad as he might have been, since Harry is vague and probably would have mentioned if there were any specific, unusually shocking incidents, but still.
Fourth, even if you posit a chillingly callous Lupin who doesn’t give a damn about the students’ emotional well-being and will happily set Neville up for retaliation as long as he gets the chance to mock Snivellus in public, this lesson is a threat to his secret. He could reasonably predict that he might have to be the person closest to the boggart at some point, and that it would turn into a moon. He could hardly count on no one recognizing the round thing as a moon, could he? And then noticing that he’s sick once a month at the full moon? Wizarding-raised kids who grew up on stories of real werewolves like Fenfir Greyback, who might have been raised to stay inside at full moon and keep track of moon cycles, ought to be able to figure this out easily. Especially when they are all required to take Astronomy for five years, and many take Divination as an elective. Keeping track of the moon is part of their regular homework! Really, he was damned lucky that Hermione was the only kid who figured it out. (Or was it just luck? Insert your conspiracy theory here.)
So. Given multiple compelling reasons to believe that having students reveal their fears in public is a terrible lesson plan, why did he do it? Why didn’t he find a way to demonstrate the procedure that didn’t involve risking outing himself as a werewolf? Why didn’t he handle the individual student attempts the same way as in exams, when each student faced the boggart alone? Was he just unprepared and incompetent, or was their a point to this?
I’m struggling to find a Watsonian explanation. Any ideas?
But now I’ve tried imagining myself as one of the students in that lesson. And as Lupin, for that matter. What the hell was Lupin thinking by making the students face the boggart in front of the entire class?
First, even if he could guarantee that every single student had nothing but relatively innocent fears like spiders and mummies, who would want their classmates knowing what scared them most? Especially at Hogwarts, where you know someone will make use of that information to play humiliating and/or terrifying “pranks.”
Okay, Hogwarts is extremely tolerant of public humiliation. McGonagall, Flitwick, and Hagrid all find it an acceptable teaching tool, and young Snape follows their example extremely faithfully. Maybe Lupin just doesn’t use it as much while not seeing anything wrong with it. But…
Second, Lupin knows it’s likely that at least two students have worse fears. Leaving aside the probability that one or more children in the class has been abused, sexually assaulted, stalked, etc., he doesn’t let Harry try because he thinks the boggart might turn into Voldemort. He also was in the Order of the Phoenix with Frank and Alice, and knows that Neville’s boggart might be a Death Eater yelling “Crucio!” or his parents staring blankly. (He probably doesn't know about Uncle Algie.) He’s had at least a day to think about this lesson. So… was he planning to prevent Harry—and possibly Neville too in the original plan—from trying all along? How was that supposed to work?
Third, even if he knows or believes that Neville’s run-in with Snape right before the lesson will make the boggart Snape, the fear most recent in his mind, rather than something deeper… he knows Snape, and he ought to be able to predict the effects of “helping” Neville this way. Really, how does he think Snape will treat someone who publicly humiliates him by putting him in women’s clothes in front of the entire class? With praise and kisses? Or even indifference? Lupin may not know about young Sev’s possible blouse, but he has every reason to know that Snape has, um, issues with his clothing being mocked in public. (Understandably.) Does he really think any possible boost to Neville’s confidence will be enough to shield him against Snape’s anger? I mean, Snape was not nearly as bad as he might have been, since Harry is vague and probably would have mentioned if there were any specific, unusually shocking incidents, but still.
Fourth, even if you posit a chillingly callous Lupin who doesn’t give a damn about the students’ emotional well-being and will happily set Neville up for retaliation as long as he gets the chance to mock Snivellus in public, this lesson is a threat to his secret. He could reasonably predict that he might have to be the person closest to the boggart at some point, and that it would turn into a moon. He could hardly count on no one recognizing the round thing as a moon, could he? And then noticing that he’s sick once a month at the full moon? Wizarding-raised kids who grew up on stories of real werewolves like Fenfir Greyback, who might have been raised to stay inside at full moon and keep track of moon cycles, ought to be able to figure this out easily. Especially when they are all required to take Astronomy for five years, and many take Divination as an elective. Keeping track of the moon is part of their regular homework! Really, he was damned lucky that Hermione was the only kid who figured it out. (Or was it just luck? Insert your conspiracy theory here.)
So. Given multiple compelling reasons to believe that having students reveal their fears in public is a terrible lesson plan, why did he do it? Why didn’t he find a way to demonstrate the procedure that didn’t involve risking outing himself as a werewolf? Why didn’t he handle the individual student attempts the same way as in exams, when each student faced the boggart alone? Was he just unprepared and incompetent, or was their a point to this?
I’m struggling to find a Watsonian explanation. Any ideas?
Nice! A fanfc that addresses this-
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/2398164/1/My-Slytherins
no subject
no subject
no subject
Well, how is that illogic different from him sitting like a stump and saying nothing while James and Sirius were bullying and humiliating Severus in public right after the Prank, when Severus had every opportunity to threaten his secret?
Honestly, I don't think that many things about the Marauders make sense with a Watsonian explanation. Neville imagined his boggart as Snape in his grandmother's clothes so that readers would laugh at Snape. Remus made the class all face the boggart so that the reader could see what their fears were. Peter didn't jump ship to another country once he escaped from Sirius and Remus because JKR wanted him to be Voldemort's henchman. Snape didn't tell anyone that Lupin was a werewolf while he was being humiliated because then Lupin would've been attacked and possibly killed on the spot. Lupin didn't take his potion because JKR wanted to write the scene where he changed into a werewolf. Sirius changed personalities once he got stuck in Grimmauld Place because he was going to die soon and JKR wanted Harry to stay with the Dursleys. James charged at Voldemort without a wand because JKR didn't want to write a duel between the two of them. And so on and so forth.
no subject
Too right. I can only ever paper over the cracks about halfway. Sure, maybe Peter thought Voldemort would eventually rise again and hunt him down, so it made sense to prove his loyalty by bringing him back instead... but it took him ten years to even try returning the first time, he failed, and no other DEs seemed to be trying to help him. So why not go live in the Bahamas? Voldemort might return eventually, but that might be long after Peter's dead, so what does he care?
So I can see Lupin not recognizing public humiliation as a problem thanks to Hogwarts culture--but what about the other risks? These characters make me tear my hair out.
no subject
Hogwarts seems to be old-fashioned. In much earlier times, it wasn't thought of as wrong to humiliate students in front of the class for wrong-doings. It wasn't wrong to give students swats in front of the class for wrong-doings. It wasn't considered wrong for the teacher to stand over a student and dress them down in front of the class for acting like an idiot or for not doing their homework. The WW seems to still be this way. Lupin is a part of that world. Lupin does what others do and what was probably done to him and to his classmates back when he was in school and doesn't even think of it otherwise.
Just my opinion.
no subject
But we saw him stop Harry from trying because he thought the boggart would turn into Voldemort, so he did see that as a problem. He knew in advance that Harry and at least one other student (and probably a lot more than one, school-wide) might have that or equally terrifying fears. And we saw his boggart briefly, and again he could reasonably expect that he might have to risk showing it and giving a clue to his secret. So what did he have in mind re: those risks? It's strange.
no subject
I'm with Chantaldormand with Lupin's boggart. The curse either made him forget that his might be shown, or it made him arrogant enough to think the classroom boggart wouldn't affect him. He might even have thought he could 'head it off at the pass' and turn it into something benign before anyone saw it. IMO, only a forgetful or arrogant man could have pulled this stunt.
Lupin Boggart
In the movie they changed it to an obvious Moon with clouds in the sky.
Re: Lupin Boggart
Re: Lupin Boggart
The legless spider had vanished. For a second, everyone looked wildly around to see where it was. Then they saw a silvery-white orb hanging in the air in front of Lupin, who said, “Riddikulus!” almost lazily.
~*~
“I wonder why Professor Lupin’s frightened of crystal balls?” said Lavender thoughtfully.
Re: Lupin Boggart
no subject
I don't think that Hermione is the only person who figured out what Lupin is. She is just the only person who was foolish enough to walk up to potential werewolf and accuse him of being werewolf.
And from whom we learn that Snape might have leaked information about Lupin's condition? That's right, from Lupin. Who has interest in not telling truth.
As for Remus' behaviour during the school year?
The best Watsonian explanation I have is the DADA curse: year earlier an accomplished fraud who had in his best interest not interacting too much with academics kept sabotaging his career by constantly giving nonsense advices to people who are experts in subjects they teach. That is not behaviour any conman would exhibit.
Well, any conman who wants to keep his job.
no subject
Lupin is teaching in a school full of pubescent girls, all of them learning how to live on a 28-day cycle, having cramps, running out of tampons, soaking their undies in cold water to get out the stains and forgetting them in the sink… And Hermione is the ONLY one who figures out that their male Defense professor is “getting sick” on a 28-day cycle as well? The boys may all be dimbulbs about it, but I expect pretty much every girl in Hogwarts past menarche has either figured it out or has heard about it from some other girl who has figured it out.
Lily may have missed it because (a) she was a dimbulb, and (b) she had no female friends. Or possibly she was very irregular herself and didn’t notice Remus’s perfect regularity, though that still requires that she have no female friends to gossip about it.
no subject
Hogwarts' rumours must have been fun during this year...
no subject
no subject
no subject