As every other person of my generation. I am a Potterhead. An avid fan of J.K.Rowling’s most brilliant series ever written. The books that helped me find the power of imagination far beyond any. Harry Potter.
While reading the series, there are many characters you instantly like or hate… For example the Awesomeness of Sirius Black, the Dogfather and Nymphadora “Dont-call-me-that” Tonks and the utterly Pitiful Peter “Wormtail” Pettigrew and Severus Tobias Snape.
But one character has always eluded my understanding. Petunia Dursley. By all perspectives except that of an Aunt and a Mother, she appears as a typical Housewife, who does what any average housewife is expected to do: Cook, Clean, Care, Go to Kitty Parties, Gossip and etc. (All Right all Feminists stop right there. I am not talking about Women or.. well I am but I am talking specifically about Housewives and their usual habits as per the books. You can take your hate and shove it up your… In case you need more reference points go read my Study in Pink post).
Despite being “Normal” in every other way. Her hatred for her nephew has confused me. Yes, I understand that she was jealous of her sister and that she might’ve been more special because of her Talent. But I don’t think her parents loved Petunia any less than they did Lily. Her treatment of her nephew reflected far more than just hatred born out jealousy. It showed how utterly despicable and small minded she was to emotionally abuse a child which never even knew his parents much like Snape though even Snape had more reason (Not enough to justify his treatment but still more than Petunia) to hate his childhood enemy’s doppelganger.
And yet. At the end of 6 books. She casually throws out a statement that she lost a sister too… And this is the part which is confusing. The true remorse and emotion you feel at that moment. If she was truly sad about the loss of her sister why not treasure her legacy. Why treat it like an unwanted pet which you can’t kick out for the fear of being blamed for its death. Instead of raising him like she would raise her own son, she raised him like a House-elf.
The turmoil inside of Petunia Dursley only starts expressing herself from the 5th Book of OoTP where she mentions Snape indirectly and that’s where you truly see how hard she has tried to escape the wizarding world. Going so far as to avoid even mentioning someone who lived in the same neighborhood because he too was a part of that world. Her utter horror at saying “They guard the wizard prison, Azkaban” shows how much her jealousy has already affected her life.
Even when the series is (And I am yet to rejoin Pottermore so I don’t know their fates yet) at an end, the curiosity of what happened to them is still present at the back of my mind..
CHEERS!
Piece From Chaos 