So what do we think of the Malfoy family?
J.K seems to go to some lengths to ensure that we know they survive the war and become a part of the post-Voldemort world:
- After the great war is over and Voldemort has been killed, we find Draco and his parents, Narcissa and Lucius, sitting in the Great Hall at Hogwarts with the rest of the war survivors, "huddled together as though unsure whether or not they were supposed to be there";
- And Draco even appears in the Epilogue to Book Seven, 19 years later with his wife and young son, Scorpius.
What is Rowling trying to tell us?
At one point or another in the seven books, Lucius and Draco tried to kill Harry at least once each. As one of the lead Death Eaters, Lucius was likely responsible for the deaths of any number of people.
And yet, after all that, through no great act of contrition whatsoever, there they are at the end, alive and well.
What do we make of that? What is Rowling trying to say?
That, after any war, we all must find a way to co-exist, get along with our former enemies? That, in a war, our behaviour is not necessarily a true indication of our character?
Voldemort rose, gathered followers and did enormous harm to his society, killing hundreds of people along the way. After the Dark Lord's power collapsed in his confrontation with baby Harry, society attempted to heal itself by putting the worst of Voldemort's followers in prison but also by repatriating the vast majority of the Death Eaters into the community.
The magical world forgave most of the enemy.
Imagine the feelings of anger and betrayal when, less than two decades later, those same people to whom society once offered forgiveness and a new chance rejoined the forces of evil and attempted once again to destroy the society entirely.
I can't imagine that Lucius Malfoy was so easily forgiven this time.
Is it possible that Rowling expects us to assume that Lucius was sent to prison again for his repeated crimes and that Draco alone, as a result of his several somewhat noble acts (like refusing to kill Dumbledore, failing to identify Harry to Bellatrix at Malfoy Manor) was himself forgiven and welcomed back into magical society?
This is an old blog, but for whomever comes and reads this, i want to leave an explanation, because this is a tremendously important point jkr maybe even unintentionally made. It makes the areogant lucius malfoy easily make my top 10 characters ever.
ReplyDeleteThe very point is that the answer to your question - is it possible to forgive him - is as follows: "you have no choice".
Lucius malfoy was not simply 'forgiven', he had found his way out of the web and theres nothing that can be done. It is what makes his presence, as well as draco's, in the books so remarkably important: they teach you that there's a-holes in life and that you cant get them all, no matter how hard you try. You have to learn to live with them, stay careful, but not let them ruin your day.
Maybe it takes actually living through a war to know the full meaning of this moral. Once its over, tenths of thousands of people who were on the Other side will walk, and continue to live their lives as if nothing happened. They killed people, maybe even people you knew and loved. But now its over and both, you and them, have to live as if nothing happened. Can you? Well if you cant, it is YOUR life that is going to suffer.
So thats it, my 2 cents. I dont take hp to be technically great read, specially the final books, but some points jkr made there are quite amazing.