The truth about Slytherins
Ever since J.K. Rowling took up a stance against recognising transwomen as women, I've felt a little hesitant about making references to Harry Potter. But then, Harry Potter was such a phenomenon that I don't think there's any escape from it. Those Hogwarts Houses, now. They're practically horoscopes for people who don't believe in horoscopes.
But here's the thing I've been wanting to talk about, and which I haven't felt comfortable talking about in a while.
I think everyone's got Slytherin House wrong.
They say Slytherin is about ambition, cunning, and resourcefulness. But I don't think that's true. I think Slytherin is about POWER. Getting it, holding it, keeping it, increasing it. Power. Everything else is a means to that end: Ambition is valued as the drive to get it, while cunning and resourcefulness are valued as effective tools to get it. But at the end of the day, none of those things are as valuable as power itself.
Once you accept that Slytherin is about power, the House's emphasis on blood purity makes sense. I'd always thought it counter-intuitive that a House that values ambition should also value breeding. Wouldn't a Muggleborn tend to have a greater desire to make it in the wizarding world than someone who's already made it, and therefore be more ambitious? But the House is actually about power, not ambition. The theory is that you can potentially go farther if you start out several metres ahead of the crowd. You can inherit your parents' power and make it greater. Plus, everyone already knows what your parents are capable of, so investing in your education is pretty much a sure thing.
It explains Crabbe and Goyle, who are portrayed as being not bright enough to be devious and (at least until they turn on Draco) not ambitious enough to be anything more than someone else's lackeys. But they're descended from long lines of known power, and therefore likely to be powerful themselves. Their potential for power is the thing Slytherin really values, and it outweighs their deficiency in the things Slytherin is only advertised as valuing.
I don't know why I'm still talking about personality-sorting as described in a Young Adults book from twenty-odd years ago. But enh, whatever.
But here's the thing I've been wanting to talk about, and which I haven't felt comfortable talking about in a while.
I think everyone's got Slytherin House wrong.
They say Slytherin is about ambition, cunning, and resourcefulness. But I don't think that's true. I think Slytherin is about POWER. Getting it, holding it, keeping it, increasing it. Power. Everything else is a means to that end: Ambition is valued as the drive to get it, while cunning and resourcefulness are valued as effective tools to get it. But at the end of the day, none of those things are as valuable as power itself.
Once you accept that Slytherin is about power, the House's emphasis on blood purity makes sense. I'd always thought it counter-intuitive that a House that values ambition should also value breeding. Wouldn't a Muggleborn tend to have a greater desire to make it in the wizarding world than someone who's already made it, and therefore be more ambitious? But the House is actually about power, not ambition. The theory is that you can potentially go farther if you start out several metres ahead of the crowd. You can inherit your parents' power and make it greater. Plus, everyone already knows what your parents are capable of, so investing in your education is pretty much a sure thing.
It explains Crabbe and Goyle, who are portrayed as being not bright enough to be devious and (at least until they turn on Draco) not ambitious enough to be anything more than someone else's lackeys. But they're descended from long lines of known power, and therefore likely to be powerful themselves. Their potential for power is the thing Slytherin really values, and it outweighs their deficiency in the things Slytherin is only advertised as valuing.
I don't know why I'm still talking about personality-sorting as described in a Young Adults book from twenty-odd years ago. But enh, whatever.