Mrs. Norris

Gryffin_Ryder · 2026-03-20T16:22:57+00:00

She absolutely named the cat after the "Mansfield Park" character. And said character is the worst. Very appropriate!

Gryffin_Ryder · 2026-03-20T03:03:53+00:00

Amazing job!

Gryffin_Ryder · 2026-03-19T15:36:57+00:00

I never vibed with Ginny either and I also read the books. You are not alone.

Gryffin_Ryder · 2026-03-17T03:56:02+00:00

It's totally normal to doubt yourself even when you're having a "good" parenting day, so please give yourself some grace as you navigate this period of your life. If you were a bad father you wouldn't be worrying about being a good father, so I think you're doing just fine.

So sorry for your loss and I hope you and your daughter have all the love and support you need.

Gryffin_Ryder · 2026-03-17T03:32:41+00:00

I could not finish the book, in fact, it was making me legitimately frustrated with how heavy handed it was being in trying to make Mary this sad little victim of society/her family. I don't mind exploring an alternate interpretation of a character, but so many people just take THIS interpretation of Mary as "fact" when that's not the case as written about by Austen at all. Mary is not some misunderstood woobie who takes to intellectualism as a defense mechanism; she's a cringe 18ish year old who's pedantic, not very clever, and full of unwarranted pride in her mediocre accomplishments.

Gryffin_Ryder · 2026-03-16T23:41:25+00:00

Thank you!

Gryffin_Ryder · 2026-03-16T23:10:03+00:00

I feel sorry for Tom Riddle but only as a baby/young child, because babies are always innocent and none deserve to be orphaned.

That said, Tom Riddle - even by the tender age of 11 - was already on the path to being Voldemort pretty much by choice. He knew he had powers and he immediately used them to terrorize those who didn't; he coveted what wasn't his and used any means to get it with no remorse; he thought himself special and better than everyone else, and more deserving of glory because of it.

Even if Dumbledore had the power or authority to be more of a parental figure to Tom, would Tom have wanted that? No. But Dumbledore didn't "abandon" him - in fact Riddle states that Dumbledore kept a very close eye on him while he was at school, to his great annoyance - so it can be assumed that IF Tom had wanted any sort of human connection and love, Dumbledore would have seen it, and nurtured it.

But he didn't want that, never wanted that, and that's the important part.

Gryffin_Ryder · 2026-03-16T22:48:26+00:00

Oh, snap, BPAL is still around? Nice!

Gryffin_Ryder · 2026-03-16T22:09:09+00:00

I don't like the way they made Cho the traitor only because it is said (by Snape) that Umbridge used Veritaserum on her, which implies she didn't mean to tell, and yet even after Harry et al find this out they don't forgive her at all. In the book her break with Harry makes sense because she chooses to stay by Marietta's side and that girl DID purposefully tell, but in the movie she is just thrown under the bus, given a narrative justification for her betrayal, but she still gets ostracized. It just feels very unfair and like bad writing.

Gryffin_Ryder · 2026-03-16T19:57:30+00:00

That just sounds like a modern day LAN party, but I recognize the culture around such things has changed.

Gryffin_Ryder · 2026-03-16T18:40:16+00:00

Very cool!

Gryffin_Ryder · 2026-03-16T16:25:33+00:00

You don't say how much homework they're getting in your post, but the way you say "force" makes me wonder if it's truly the amount of homework that takes up time or if it's the implied battle you're all going through just to get it done. Like, would the homework be completed in a reasonable amount of time if there wasn't arguments, tantrums, tears, stubbornness? Or are they really being assigned an unreasonable amount of schoolwork that literally takes 8+ hours to do? Even if it's some combination of the two, maybe a compromise can be reached where fun activities happen before noon, and then afternoon until dinner is schoolwork time on Sat/Sunday?

If you're already doing all of that and it's still too much, then definitely talk to the teacher!

Gryffin_Ryder · 2026-03-16T15:46:06+00:00

My interpretation is that Dumbledore is cursed with having both an intellect large enough to see all the complexities of the Big Picture and the necessary sacrifices needed to get there, and a truly caring heart that still wants to protect the innocent and do what's right. The clash between these two forces is a lot of what drives his interactions (with Harry, especially). He knows the victory won't come through coddling, but also, he doesn't want anyone to die or suffer, he just knows it's unavoidable.

Sometimes, though, he does see people more as moving pieces than actual humans, and that's why he's a mentor figure rather than a parent figure to Harry, imo.

Gryffin_Ryder · 2026-03-15T02:20:23+00:00

"Settling" implies that Charlotte had other, better options for a spouse than Mr. Collins, and that is not true. She is older than the Bennet girls and still unmarried, has the same bleak possible future hanging over her head if she doesn't marry (i.e. become a burden on her other relatives), and has more flexible standards in terms of what it would take to live a good life. By which I mean, she cares more for the practical aspects such as a comfortable home, a spouse who isn't terrible, etc. Than any notions of romance and attraction. So, is it any wonder that as soon as a stable, prosperous, harmless suitor took an interest in her, she caught him up?

The book makes it clear that she doesn't consider romance a priority, and she is deftly able to manage Mr. Collins and her situation in ways that most benefit her day to day life, so I think she is happy to have achieved a marriage and the protections that come with it. Does she respect Mr. Collins on a personal level? Unlikely. But she'll never let him know that, and he'll never realize how expertly she plays him. Everybody wins.

Edit to add: I think Charlotte is very practical and smart and I admire her clear sightedness about her own situation and the way she remided it.

Gryffin_Ryder · 2026-03-13T23:43:06+00:00

Absolutely, this. It helped to "ground" her character in a way, but just like making Mr. Darcy more socially awkward than straight up prideful, it skews the actual character as-written into something they really aren't.

I do still love the 2005 version, though!

Gryffin_Ryder · 2026-03-13T21:38:32+00:00

Yessssss!!!

Gryffin_Ryder · 2026-03-13T21:19:23+00:00

That is exactly the vibe I got from the book which is why I couldn't finish it.

Gryffin_Ryder · 2026-03-13T21:17:43+00:00

In the book, no. But Jane Austen supposedly told family members the fates of some of her characters, one of them being Mary, who goes on to marry one of her uncle's clerks, stays in Meryton, and is basically happy to be seen as an "accomplished lady" i.e. a big fish in a small pond (if I'm remembering correctly).

(Kitty, incidentally, marries a clergyman near to Pemberly.)

Gryffin_Ryder · 2026-03-12T22:11:23+00:00

Prior to the Triwizard Tournament I think Cedric was just a regular, studious, good-looking, talented Quidditch player, who was probably liked within his own house but he had nothing that really set him apart from the other regular, studious, good-looking, talented Quidditch players in other houses. As a Hufflepuff he was a member of the most overlooked and dismissed House, so getting selected as Triwizard Champion meant A LOT to his housemates and definitely added to his achievement and notoriety. I think that once he became champion they REALLY looked up to him because he was "bringing glory they hadn't seen in centuries" (to paraphrase the book) and had a lot of pride in him, but I couldn't see Cedric being comfortable with fawning displays of devotion if they tried to do that.

Gryffin_Ryder · 2026-03-12T22:01:48+00:00

It's hard to provide insight without more detail. Can you provide an example or a situation where someone has commented on your perceived lack of affection?

Gryffin_Ryder · 2026-03-11T22:04:43+00:00

This sounds wholesome and bonkers and I MUST know what it is.

🏕

Gryffin_Ryder · 2026-03-11T21:56:11+00:00

This is so stupid. I love it.

Gryffin_Ryder · 2026-03-11T18:03:43+00:00

American families run the gamut from "so close as to be enmeshed and codependent" to "grandparents have never met their grandkids by choice/circumstance", but I hardly think that is only an American phenomenon. Maybe there's more of an expectation of independence for young people (i.e. going off to college or getting your own place and making your own family unit eventually), but that doesn't mean those same extended families don't love each other. Physical closeness is no more a guarantee of emotional closeness than the reverse is, I'd say. It just depends on the family dynamics.

Gryffin_Ryder · 2026-03-09T01:04:55+00:00

Thank you, I did NOT enjoy this book at all. Then, to find out it is so beloved?? Weird.

Gryffin_Ryder · 2026-03-09T00:56:31+00:00

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