Comments | deathtocapslock: Marietta's Real Crime

mary_j_59 in deathtocapslock

Marietta's Real Crime

Oct 12, 2011 00:43

In the discussion about "The Centaur and the Sneak", Dracasdiablo made a very interesting point. She stated that Marietta was a bad friend to Cho. After thinking about this for a while, I have to admit that I actually agree. The quotes that follow will, I hope, make clear why I think this. ( Read more... )

dumbledore's army, cho chang, c.s. lewis, hermione, literary comparisons, friendship, ootp, marietta, author: mary_j_59

Comments 34

wolf_willow31 October 15 2011, 02:53:39 UTC

One could compare Marietta getting into the DA and later changing her mind and betraying them, with Snape getting into the DE's and later changing his mind and betraying them. Snape was enthusiastic, however, where Marietta was cautious, and he got in much deeper before he woke up to what he was doing, but I don't think that many people would argue that he should have kept faith with the Dark Lord and kept his mouth shut, instead of going to Dumbles. (Which also proved to be a bad idea, IMO, but that's beside the point.)

Marietta was uncertain, but Cho encouraged her, and she decided to try it out. Was her curiosity such a crime, really? It was just a study group, after all. But when it became illegal she got worried, and when she realized that it threatened her mom, she finally gave in and ratted them out. Was this "weak", or was this what a normal person might do under those circumstances? Was it what you might want your kid to do?

mary_j_59 October 15 2011, 03:07:51 UTC

Yes, exactly. In condemning Marietta, Brad is assuming a lot of things the text just doesn't support - that the Wizarding World was at war; that it was common knowledge that Voldemort was back AND that Umbridge went along with the Dark Lord's agenda; that it was appropriate for a bunch of teenagers to style themselves "Dumbledore's Army", and so on. But, really, Marietta, within the story world, probably didn't know any of that. What she knew was that Umbridge wasn't teaching information the kids had to know for a standardized test, and that she was joining a study group.

I don't think her curiosity was a crime. I do think it's pretty clear that she gave in to peer pressure, and that she had mixed feelings, at best, about coming to the meeting and very mixed feelings about signing that parchment.

I just can't see her as an evil person for going along with her friend and then changing her mind.

oryx_leucoryx October 15 2011, 03:15:43 UTC

I just can't see her as an evil person for going along with her friend and then changing her mind.

Especially as in-story she was silenced by her Obliviation. She is no longer able to say what she believed at the time about the DA (or Umbridge, or Voldemort). Clearly Cho believed Harry's version, but this does not mean that Marietta necessarily shared those beliefs.

wolf_willow31 October 15 2011, 03:59:22 UTC

And we should keep in mind that the books would have judged her to be "evil" if she had turned her back on Cho and refused to join, too. She was damned either way. The only "right" way would be to join wholeheartedly and keep faith with a group of junior vigilantes, despite any possible consequences to her family. "Damn the torpedoes! Full speed ahead!" Words to live by, if you're a Gryffindor. But Marietta wasn't.