Ignotus and the Mirror: a Response to Terri_Testing and Jodel

[sweettalkeress]

So I have a theory about Ignotus’s connection to the Mirror of Erised, inspired by the recent essay by Terri_Testing, and particularly one of Jodel’s comments. This theory assumes that at least some of the information in the legend of the three brothers is true, but doesn’t require that it be completely true (though it can be). Essentially, Ignotus

Comments

[seductivedark]

Yes, having a family means a lot in the WW, and not just to leave possessions. It all seems very family-oriented, with the parents' enemies becoming the children's, though that may just be my own impression. One reason I wasn't totally convinced that Ignotus made the mirror (at least on his own) was because Cadmus really, really wanted to see his late fiancee. He couldn't recall her from death the way he wanted, so maybe he made the mirror in his despair just to see them standing together. If not, I'll bet he spent a lot of time at brother Iggy's house looking into the mirror.

According to the harrypotter dot wikia dot com site, Cadmus did have an heir, though it isn't clear who the mother was. With his sad obsession with the dead, he was probably a poor father; the Gaunts could well be his direct descendants, what with Marvolo's bad parenting style and all. I know that, when I'm upset or sad, I'm a lot shorter with my kids than I'd like to be, and we learn our parenting the most from our parents.

But, maybe he died young and the child was raised by others. Maybe neighbor Gaunt took it in.

I think the number of Wizards in various times is a case of, 'Oh, maths.' It's possible that there was a larger population in the medieval times, as it seems, from Nearly Headless Nick's story, that being a wizard was more open and accepted back then. It isn't too much of a stretch to imagine that marriage between suitably matched Wizards and Muggles were arranged, based more on social status than magical status. I think you might have written about that (maybe in the same article.) After the witch hunts, I can totally see the WW retreating and withdrawing from Muggle society, even moving away from ancestral homes so they wouldn't be fingered by neighbors as being magical, and so voluntarily limiting themselves to a more restricted gene pool for their matches.

And, after a while, the fear factor disappeared and it became socially enviable to point to a completely Wizarding background. It also bolsters their sense of superiority to say that the burnings and such weren't effective. I'd expect that this pureblood thing is more with the upper class families, like the Malfoys, than it is with the common Wizard. Gaunt and kin would be a special case, then, based more on lineage than on circumstances. I'll bet that the Weasleys are more indicative to attitude, with the only difference being that they're more vocal about their beliefs. Everyone else tucks their heads down and pays lip service, because social pressure is a real thing.