Let's talk Butterbeer and the approach to alcohol consumption in J.K. Rowling's magical world. I'm not saying I have a real problem with it; I'm just saying I find it interesting.
As we all know, the children who attend Hogwarts drink Butterbeer almost from the day they first arrive at the school. Butterbeer is a staple at all student celebrations described in the novels, be it a Quidditch victory, a Triwizard tournament success or whatever.
When students go to Hogsmeade, they all seem to make a beeline for Madame Rosmerta's establishment for a cold one.
As a result, I guess I just assumed that Butterbeer, like the root beer enjoyed by Muggles, did not contain alcohol.
How wrong I was. My colleague and I are both reading The Order of the Phoenix again and she pointed out the passage in that novel where the hero trio visit Dobby in the Hogwarts kitchens and encounter a drunk Winky. She's gotten hammered on Butterbeer, we're told.
Maybe, I thought, House Elves were susceptible to some other ingredient in Butterbeer. But then there's Ron, telling me that, even though Butterbeer isn't very strong, it does contain alcohol.
Stopped me in my tracks. Kids from age 11 are drinking alcohol at Hogwarts. No, they're not drinking Firewhisky or any of the other stronger alcoholic beverages we see the adults consuming but they are drinking Butterbeer.
Interesting. Also interesting is the fact that Rowling takes pains to show us that Harry, Hermione and Ron DO NOT consume the stronger beverages, except in very particular circumstances.
When the hero trio arrives at the Hog's Head for the organising meeting of Dumbledore's Army, for example, Ron announces that he's going to order a Firewhisky, since the disreputable barman would likely serve it to him, despite his age. Hermione has to remind him that he's a Prefect and should be setting a better example.
And, in The Deathly Hallows, Harry has a particularly strong reaction to the Firewhisky he drinks in the group's solemn toast to the recently killed Mad-Eye.
So the rule seems to be: Butterbeer, with its low alcoholic content, is okay for kids but you have to be much older, and under the supervision of adults, to drink anything stronger.
Showing posts with label Butter beer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Butter beer. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Friday, January 13, 2012
Hermione and the Library that is Google
I saw an article recently that asked why, especially in the later books, Harry, Hermione and Ron didn't just "google" stuff to find out what was going on. For example, when they needed to know about the Deathly Hallows, why not just search "Deathly Hallows" on the internet.
The article pointed out that the later novels were written well after the internet matured into the world-dominating form it now takes so it would make sense that Harry would use it. Even more importantly, it would make sense that Hermione would use it as a back up to the Library.
It's a funny question and one that is, at first at least, interesting. But the simple answer to it is provided in the books themselves: the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy.
There is no way the Ministry of Magic would allow information about the magical world to end up on the web. There are probably Ministry staff members who are paid to search the internet and remove any such information or, better still, someone who won a magical award for services to the community for coming up with a web-scouring spell that monitors the web and instantly removes any web entries that breach the Statute.
I know, a bit of a "straw man" when the question can be answered so easily but interesting none-the-less.
In related news, a colleague at work recently visited the Wiarding World of Harry Potter in Orlando. He reports that the Butter Beer is delicious and the memorabilia available in the shops is not as outrageously priced as I feared. A wand, complete with case like the boxes in Olivander's, was just thirty bucks. A quidditch jersey like Harry wore in the films was just twenty five. And a Gyffindor scarf, machine made but similar to the one my sister handmade for me, was forty five. Probably nowhere near as nice and warm but still...
The article pointed out that the later novels were written well after the internet matured into the world-dominating form it now takes so it would make sense that Harry would use it. Even more importantly, it would make sense that Hermione would use it as a back up to the Library.
It's a funny question and one that is, at first at least, interesting. But the simple answer to it is provided in the books themselves: the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy.
There is no way the Ministry of Magic would allow information about the magical world to end up on the web. There are probably Ministry staff members who are paid to search the internet and remove any such information or, better still, someone who won a magical award for services to the community for coming up with a web-scouring spell that monitors the web and instantly removes any web entries that breach the Statute.
I know, a bit of a "straw man" when the question can be answered so easily but interesting none-the-less.
In related news, a colleague at work recently visited the Wiarding World of Harry Potter in Orlando. He reports that the Butter Beer is delicious and the memorabilia available in the shops is not as outrageously priced as I feared. A wand, complete with case like the boxes in Olivander's, was just thirty bucks. A quidditch jersey like Harry wore in the films was just twenty five. And a Gyffindor scarf, machine made but similar to the one my sister handmade for me, was forty five. Probably nowhere near as nice and warm but still...
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