The Prejudice of Molly Weasley

[brokenquill92]

Molly despite her acceptance of Hermione and skim knowledge of muggle technology is rather prejudice against muggles

When Arthur got bitten and tried to use stitches though they understandably didn't work she scoffed when Hermione told her they worked just fine on non magical wounds

She calls Arthur's love of non magical things time wasting and rubbish

She thought learning to drive was foolish

[ykickamoocow]

That is something i have always noticed as well and i do wonder if even without realising it one of the reasons Molly was so quick to turn on Hermione in GoF was because Hermione was muggle born.

Still Molly will have to suck it up as Ron and Hermione get married so she will have to accept a muggleborn being part of the family.

[Kitty279]

And Harry's thinking more like a muggleborn, too, even though he's halfblood.

Considering how Molly acted about Fleur, I'd say there was a good deal of prejudice included, too. And where did Ron get his reaction to Remus being a werewolf from?

[viralic1]

She treated Fleur like shit, it's entirely possible she's the one who taught Ron his prejudiced against Slytherins, She seems to think Muggles are entirely below her, etc.

[blackt3rr0rz]

yea that's entirely possible, for example even though Remus had been professor all year and had proven to be the best teacher they ever had(though not really hard when compared to the two idiots) Ron completely flips out on Remus when he finds out he is a were-wolf.

[viralic1]

Yeah he really did. He even calls him a werewolf instead of his name.

[brokenquill92]

I find it odd no one ever calls her out on any of this especially Harry or Hermione

[viralic1]

It's a huge plothole. Especially when it comes to Hermione, who should never put up with Molly's bullshit. Harry had already been beaten down, and he might have even accepted it, simply because he wanted a family, and he was scared she would reject him. Hermione might have even for the same reason, but I can't see her being so down when it comes to this.

[brokenquill92]

Kay. Maybe they wouldn't call her out but what about Ron hes said some really not okay stuff when he doesn't even know what he's talking about and I quote
"Doctors? You mean those muggle nutters who cut people open? Nah, these are Healers."

How the hell is Hermione okay with that statement her PARENTS are DOCTORS

[viralic1]

Yeah, I don't understand that. I mean, I guess I can see her letting it slide in the same way that one would allow a friend to let an insult slide if they are from a different language/culture.

[Kitty279]

It's still a bit strange - Hermione is usually the one most vocal about things. How comes that she's on that SPEW crusade to free the elves - something she doesn't even really understand - but never defends the world she comes from? Why does she get more worked up about something she can't really change, but doesn't even try to defend and explain the world she grew up in?

[sprigofmoonlace]

Jul 29, 2012 5:33:12 GMT -5 Kitty279 said:

It's still a bit strange - Hermione is usually the one most vocal about things. How comes that she's on that SPEW crusade to free the elves - something she doesn't even really understand - but never defends the world she comes from? Why does she get more worked up about something she can't really change, but doesn't even try to defend and explain the world she grew up in?

I think she was trying to separate herself from the muggle world to try and lessen the prejudice against her from being a muggle-born. Maybe her logic was "don't identify too much with the muggle world and people will ignore (or forget) that she's a muggle-born". After all in every book there's always at least one comment about her blood status *cough*malfoy*cough*. And there's the fact she spends 10 months away from her family to go to a school and then abandons them to go the Burrow/Grimmauld Place during the holidays. So she sees her parents for four weeks in a year?
If Molly was where Ron got his prejudice from, maybe Hermione started to parrot those beliefs too. Hermione obviously takes every adults word for gold.

I was shocked at Ron's comment at Remus too. I mean, the guy taught them for a year! I'm usually disappointed when reading a RtB fic, and no one comments on that.

[Chameleon]

I agree about Hermione tried to adapt to the wizarding world. And I believe as she grew up, she became more and more 'a witch', rather one who was 'once' a muggleborn first year. She's off course still muggleborn, and proud of her heritage. (Her reactions to 'Mudblood'). But it must be difficult to handle the prejudices because of her birth for a child suddenly. She may have been teased about her intelligence (Children are cruel after all). Then suddenly she's also teased about her birth.

Hermione then tries to adapt to the wizarding world, and why shouldn't she? She knows she's a witch, and is only in the muggle world for a couple of months. She might be furious when it comes to the house elves and rights, but the wizarding world's opinions will slowly overtake her. Not on everything, of course, but on some things. Which is why I think she lets the opinions about muggles and other things slide.
And of course, as you say, sprigofmoonlace, adult's words are the law in her eyes.

[Kitty279]

That makes sense, though it's sad that she thinks she needs to adapt to wizard society to such a degree even with her friends and even Harry, who grew up like her.
Indeed, adults are authority figures and to be believed at all costs. Particularly Molly and Dumbledore *sigh*

[Chameleon]

Harry had the advantage, when we think about blood, that he was a halfblood, unlike Hermione. People didn't look upon him because of his blood... Not that it mattered much, as he was the Boy-Who-Lived. (Now I suddenly imagine the Death Eaters rage of a muggleborn child defeats the Dark Lord xD)

[Kitty279]

Yes, but Hermione knew how Harry grew up, though it doesn't seem to make a difference to the wizards for her.
Imagine rather their reaction when they find out that their adored Dark Lord and shining beacon of pureblood superiority campaign is in truth the son of a mudblood and a near-squib ... ;D

[Chameleon]

Ah yes... That would be funny to watch, but I think they would be to terrified to say anything. Voldemort isn't much without his followers, but he's still very powerful.

I find it strange that the wizarding world (especially the pureblood bigots didn't make anything about Harry's childhood with muggles).

[teflonbilly]

With the books I don't take all things solely on face value.

Many of these kind of head scratching type of events are usually there for laughs or to juxtapose the muggle and wizarding worlds more starkly.

I absolutely know that Hermione would take Ron to task for making that Doctor crack if she hadn't been at St. Mungo's (I beleive, I'm trying to remember) right outside patient wards.

But keep in mind, IMO, Hermione shows a couple of glaring incidents of prejudice as well. House-Elves, in so far as they are presented in the text, are not humans they are not the same, they maybe sentient but is pretty clear that both culturally and IMO metaphysically they exist to serve wizarding homes (hence the names House-Elves).

But Hermione just won't accept this. I'm certainly not saying that House-Elves should be abused, I'd look at preventing this to be some wizarding equivalent of a intermediate office of the ASPCA and Child Services. For all sentient but non-human life there would be an office devoted to investigating and punishing people for sentient being cruelty and other abuses. However, that does not change the fact that Hermione just blithely assumes that they are just brainwashed and don't know what they want, no matter how many times the Elves themselves tell her that.

Also, Dobby may have been a unique elf but if you look at his behavior in the books he only was driven to have the ethos of wanting be free after years of Malfoy abuse (and witnessing their abuse of others.) But his core behaviors, slavishly devoting himself to the service of wizards (in this case particularly Harry Potter) and the upkeep of their hearth and home.

I realize JKR was trying to add a slavery morality subtext here but it doesn't really work for the creatures she created.

Couple that with Goblins and Centaurs being just as bigotted against wizards as vice verse, but again only Hermione's opinion that Wizards were in the wrong and the other beings are justified instead of vice verse.

TB

[thepurplepen]

I don't really see it as prejudice, more as having no interactions at all with them.

Molly is a pureblood, she would have had no chances in her childhood to interact with Muggles - her father was a Prewett, a pureblood family, and her mother was a Black, traditionally Muggle-hating. She clearly doesn't hate Muggles.

With the stitches, I can understand her reaction. I'd imagine the thought of sewing your skin back together, especially with the availability of magic to be a fairly horrific concept - it certainly is to me.

I'll agree that Molly was horrible to Fleur, but I wouldn't necessarily put that down to prejudice, more to the fact that her eldest son was marrying her and she wasn't quite sure about the wedding.

The same with Ron's reaction to Lupin in PoA. He had just had his leg broken by Sirius Black, the man reportedly trying to kill his best friend and had threatened it (in their minds). Lupin had proceeded to run in, disarm the students and make weird, vague comments that made no sense to any of them, and "embrace Black like a brother". He had taught them for a year and after being attacked by his two predecessors, Lupin must have seemed like a dream come true. It was as if he was on their side, making fun of Snape, helping Harry, until he turns around and is suddenly in league with the mass-murderer. I'd imagine Ron felt some betrayal - not as much as Harry - but some. Lupin obviously didn't like being a werewolf, so Ron used it to hurt him and hopefully fend off an enemy who started to walk towards him after noticing he was injured. Maybe it was irrational, but in that context I can't blame Ron and his disgust certainly didn't carry on from that point, even after Lupin transforms in front of him.

Molly has flaws - all Rowlings characters do - but I wouldn't necessarily say prejudice is one of them.

[teflonbilly]

Also, I've said this before and I'll just say it again, Werewolves ARE DANGEROUS.

Lupin may be nice, he may be a great guy, but if he doesn't take his medication (potion) he turns into a infectious homicidal maniac.

And it's already been shown that werewolves are violent even in their human form (and not just Greyback, although he was their greatest evangelist.)

It is a two way street on this, wizards need to bring werewolves in from the cold, but conversely werewolves are going to have to accept restrictions/regulations on their lifestyle. Lycanthropy IS NOT AIDS, I'm sorry JKR you screwed up (again) on this allegory.

TB

[ykickamoocow]

Connsidering the situation Ron was in when he said "warewolf" to Remus i think Ron was somehow justified as from Ron's perspective Remus was acting evil, exactly like the warewolf stereotypes said he would.

[Kitty279]

Jul 29, 2012 19:18:29 GMT -5 thepurplepen said:

Molly is a pureblood, she would have had no chances in her childhood to interact with Muggles - her father was a Prewett, a pureblood family, and her mother was a Black, traditionally Muggle-hating. She clearly doesn't hate Muggles.

Just out of curiosity, where did you get that from? I know that Arthur was the son of Septimus Weasley and Cedrella Black, but I've never seen anything about Molly's parentage.

[thepurplepen]

Just out of curiosity, where did you get that from? I know that Arthur was the son of Septimus Weasley and Cedrella Black, but I've never seen anything about Molly's parentage.

I could be wrong of course, but I always thought Molly's parents were Lucretia and Ignatius Prewett. Anyway, even if they weren't all the Weasley children were Pureblood, which meant Molly herself had to be.

[lucyolsen]

According to the wikia, that is her aunt and uncle. I couldn't find anything on her parents.

[thepurplepen]

Ah, oops then. But my point still stands, Molly is a pureblood and would have had no interaction with Muggles at all while young.

[lucyolsen]

It's an easy mistake to make, being as the only reason the wikia has them as her aunt and uncle instead of her parents was because of the way Sirius said he was related to Lucretia, and how he was related to the Weasleys. They extrapolated from that.

[Kitty279]

Yeah, if they were Molly's parents, he'd probably have said something. That - besides the age - is why I doubt that Charlus and Dorea are Harry's grandparents; Sirius would most definitely have showed his godson how they are related!

[viralic1]

I dunno, maybe Sirius just thought that Harry knew that already. Sirius never really struck me as an extremely perceptive character (If you ask someone to move in, they should give it some thought. He should have known something was wrong with how desperate Harry was to leave) and while he knew Harry didn't know much about Lily or James, maybe he thought he knew his ancestry.

[Kitty279]

He should have suspected, yes, but seeing how his situation changed after the rat escaped, I guess he pushed it aside Besides, even if he tried, the MOB would have denied him anything. We know that Dumbledore thought the abuse perfectly acceptable as long as these questionable blood wards existed. So Sirius couldn't really do anything, even if he wanted, seeing that he was still hunted. Sure, he should have talked to Harry about it, but I suspect Molly had a lot to say about pestering the poor little kid with baseless suspicions if she found out what he planned. And she kept them busy all the time.

If Harry knew that Cedrella and Charlus were his grandparents, then he should have known more about the Black family, too, and not been so surprised about the Malfoys and Lestranges, don't you think?

[viralic1]

Maybe he only learned their names, but not his full ancestry. Wasn't the Malfoy and Lestrange only related because of marriage? (Narcissa to Lucius, Bellatrix to Rodolphus)

Therefore, he wouldn't have necessarily made the connection, unless he had a family tree right in front of him that included the marriages. If he'd asked someone, he would have just got their names, and nothing else.