Comments | hp_essays: What Would Dumbledore Say?

sparkly_stuff in hp_essays

What Would Dumbledore Say?

Nov 25, 2005 16:07

Since the release of Half-Blood Prince, there has been a lot of unrest in fandom about the way the Remus/Tonks relationship is played out in the Hospital Wing scene in Chapter 29. Many feel that Tonks acted inappropriately in this scene, is a "bad role model" for girls, and her love for Remus is one-sided. This has caused many fans to strongly ( Read more... )

pairings:remus/tonks, characters:remus lupin, characters:nymphadora tonks

Comments 186

dharmavati November 25 2005, 22:23:08 UTC

Great points. I think you hit it right on the nail.

Besides, doesn't it say that the funeral was too dreary and somber to be worthy of Dumbledore (Harry thinks "Nitwit Blubber, Oddment, Tweak" would be a more fitting speech). I simply can't see why being as Dumbledore would like Tonks to be is more insulting than drowning the audience with petty words of honor and just making everyone sleep, like all the eulogies of the speakers did.

sparkly_stuff November 26 2005, 01:01:44 UTC

Exactly. :)

patagonian November 25 2005, 22:39:52 UTC

I hadn't even considered that Tonks's pink hair at the funeral was inappropriate until fandom exploded with a huge amount of Tonks hate. And I completely agreed with your assessment of what the pink hair meant - she was back to herself.

As for her actions in the hospital scene, I do agree with some in fandom that it wasn't quite the best place, best time, but I do not blame Tonks for her reaction. She has been under an incredible amount of stress since the end of OoTP. Sirius had died, she was losing or had lost Remus, had just battled with Death Eaters, had lost several other members of the Order through the year, and Dumbledore had just died. How the hell anyone can think that a person would act rationally and appropriately under those circumstances is beyond me. I think that Tonks telling Remus that she didn't care was more of a knee-jerk response, and very analogous to Bill and Fleur's situation and she didn't get particularly unreasonable, she didn't keep harping on it after the subject was closed.

antonia_east November 25 2005, 22:47:16 UTC

Same. I never thought it was remarkable until fandom went pop about it. I love Tonks for wearing her pink hair at the funeral. It just shows that her spirit is unbroken.

rj_anderson November 25 2005, 22:49:48 UTC

You mean people are really blaming Tonks for this? Oy, HP fandom is insane. The idea that Tonks wasn't showing proper respect/grief for D. never even occurred to me, and I'm not even that big on Tonks as a character.

Well argued, anyway.

polygonia November 25 2005, 23:14:15 UTC

I never even heard folks complain about that. That is a bit ridiculous as I was happy for Tonks having been in that position myself too many times. Plus that whole scene leaves me in danger of tears anyway.