Barty Crouches
So, I’ve been reading Elkins’ meta about the Crouch family. I am absolutely fascinated. It doesn’t hurt that Julius and Brutus, and another Brutus, are repeatedly referenced. I have a strong desire to go and write Crouch/Crouch to work out some of my thoughts about their relationship. But since I have deadlines, I can’t. So I started to think about why the younger Barty Crouch appeals to me so much more than his father.
Frail, brilliant blonds with overbearing parents tend to interest me anyway. :) But this particular character is a sadistic, fanatical Death Eater who tortured Draco, and I still like him a lot. Fanaticism I actually find interesting, particularly in this character. He’s massively loyal, if in a misguided way, and has no respect for those he considers to have turned traitor. Which makes it interesting that he said he was innocent at his trial. Terror? A long-term strategy of the kind his family excels at?
I think it’s easy to see where the fanaticism could come from, and how it could attach to what his father fought. Crouch senior seems to have been a tyrant in the home (before his son killed him. Sic semper tyrannis, bitch.) and generally dominant. Since Mrs Crouch managed to take Polyjuice every hour on the hour, while dying, in a place that sends people mad, we can conclude she was hardcore. A frail only child growing up there might well be primed to obey and subsume their own identity into a group - the family, then the Death Eaters. And since young Barty loved his mum and hated his father (insert sexual dysfunction of your choice here) I think his devotion to Voldemort makes perfect sense. A dominant male figure to protect this boy who’s grown up under his father’s thumb, but Barty could still feel rebellious. Bright-eyed, insane devotion to a cause just appeals to me a lot more than Crouch’s stern, self-righteous attitude: he wants to destroy the bad guys, not contain them. Fair enough, but considering civil liberties are my number one political cause, his methods are calculated to rub me up the wrong way.
I’ve been thinking about a lot of other things recently - sort of doggy-paddling, because of the remaining touch of writer’s block. (I think much better when I can write as I do it.) But thinking about motivations for an original, and this whole Crouch thing, made me realise that my own strongest instinct, overriden only by my curiosity, is the instinct to not obey. Not necessarily to disobey, although I do a lot of that. But just to not do as I’m told because it’s what I’m told. This is part of why blind faith is a pet peeve of mine: part of why if I were a Hogwarts student, and one of the few pupils special enough to enter the Headmaster’s office, I would smash it all up within minutes.
I mean, I recently decided to do something which my mother wanted me to. I knew she was going to tell me to do it, so I offered to before she could - specifically because I didn’t want her to think I was doing it because she said so. I do that kind of thing a lot. On Tuesday I had to do what my mum wanted even though I really didn’t want to. I still feel I’m bristling, like some wet and outraged cat, at the mere thought of it.
I tend to blithely disobey my parents a lot, and I have my entire childhood. And I don’t think it’s a result of their parenting: both my younger sisters obey them, and are eager to please in general. I, on the other hand, have never had a school report that wasn’t polarised between effusive and furious, based on whether or not I respected the subject teachers. I clearly remember working out a two-tier respect system when I was eleven. So I’d respect everyone in the sense that I wasn’t randomly rude. The respect due other humans because they’re humans, in other words. And then I’d decide whether the people in my life were competent enough for the vaguely deferent variety.
And I don’t think about it. It’s odd, trying to think about it consciously; this non-submission instinct is very strong, and so strong I’ve never thought about it. It’s particularly odd in that I have no desire to be a leader whatsoever. I don’t have a competitive bone in my body. But any hint of chains and I instantly bristle. (Yeah, yeah. The jokes are too easy.)
Crouch senior used the Imperius curse on his son. For years. UGH. No other word can express my instinctive repulsion. Just... UGH. I am physically hunching my shoulders with ‘eww’ness.
I’d sooner die than live under the yoke of Imperius for years. To quote Christopher Pike, “[I’d] rather be free than happy.” So, poll. Elaborate in comments should you wish. I’ll be especially interested to see if people answer the two questions differently.
Poll Unforgivable
Frail, brilliant blonds with overbearing parents tend to interest me anyway. :) But this particular character is a sadistic, fanatical Death Eater who tortured Draco, and I still like him a lot. Fanaticism I actually find interesting, particularly in this character. He’s massively loyal, if in a misguided way, and has no respect for those he considers to have turned traitor. Which makes it interesting that he said he was innocent at his trial. Terror? A long-term strategy of the kind his family excels at?
I think it’s easy to see where the fanaticism could come from, and how it could attach to what his father fought. Crouch senior seems to have been a tyrant in the home (before his son killed him. Sic semper tyrannis, bitch.) and generally dominant. Since Mrs Crouch managed to take Polyjuice every hour on the hour, while dying, in a place that sends people mad, we can conclude she was hardcore. A frail only child growing up there might well be primed to obey and subsume their own identity into a group - the family, then the Death Eaters. And since young Barty loved his mum and hated his father (insert sexual dysfunction of your choice here) I think his devotion to Voldemort makes perfect sense. A dominant male figure to protect this boy who’s grown up under his father’s thumb, but Barty could still feel rebellious. Bright-eyed, insane devotion to a cause just appeals to me a lot more than Crouch’s stern, self-righteous attitude: he wants to destroy the bad guys, not contain them. Fair enough, but considering civil liberties are my number one political cause, his methods are calculated to rub me up the wrong way.
I’ve been thinking about a lot of other things recently - sort of doggy-paddling, because of the remaining touch of writer’s block. (I think much better when I can write as I do it.) But thinking about motivations for an original, and this whole Crouch thing, made me realise that my own strongest instinct, overriden only by my curiosity, is the instinct to not obey. Not necessarily to disobey, although I do a lot of that. But just to not do as I’m told because it’s what I’m told. This is part of why blind faith is a pet peeve of mine: part of why if I were a Hogwarts student, and one of the few pupils special enough to enter the Headmaster’s office, I would smash it all up within minutes.
I mean, I recently decided to do something which my mother wanted me to. I knew she was going to tell me to do it, so I offered to before she could - specifically because I didn’t want her to think I was doing it because she said so. I do that kind of thing a lot. On Tuesday I had to do what my mum wanted even though I really didn’t want to. I still feel I’m bristling, like some wet and outraged cat, at the mere thought of it.
I tend to blithely disobey my parents a lot, and I have my entire childhood. And I don’t think it’s a result of their parenting: both my younger sisters obey them, and are eager to please in general. I, on the other hand, have never had a school report that wasn’t polarised between effusive and furious, based on whether or not I respected the subject teachers. I clearly remember working out a two-tier respect system when I was eleven. So I’d respect everyone in the sense that I wasn’t randomly rude. The respect due other humans because they’re humans, in other words. And then I’d decide whether the people in my life were competent enough for the vaguely deferent variety.
And I don’t think about it. It’s odd, trying to think about it consciously; this non-submission instinct is very strong, and so strong I’ve never thought about it. It’s particularly odd in that I have no desire to be a leader whatsoever. I don’t have a competitive bone in my body. But any hint of chains and I instantly bristle. (Yeah, yeah. The jokes are too easy.)
Crouch senior used the Imperius curse on his son. For years. UGH. No other word can express my instinctive repulsion. Just... UGH. I am physically hunching my shoulders with ‘eww’ness.
I’d sooner die than live under the yoke of Imperius for years. To quote Christopher Pike, “[I’d] rather be free than happy.” So, poll. Elaborate in comments should you wish. I’ll be especially interested to see if people answer the two questions differently.
Poll Unforgivable