What makes Dolores Umbridge so evil that Stephen King would compare her to Hannibal Lecter, the man widely considered the greatest villain of all time?
Great piece. Reminds me of something our buddy Clive wrote a while back:
“Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience.” ― C. S. Lewis
“'[Umbridge’s] desire to control, to punish and to inflict pain, all in the name of law and order, are, I think, every bit as reprehensible as Lord Voldemort’s unvarnished espousal of evil,' Rowling wrote.
"The author is not wrong; in fact, I’d argue that Umbridge’s evil is worse precisely because of its varnish (so to speak). This is what makes Umbridge’s evil more sinister than Voldemort’s; it is far more real, much like that which Kesey depicts through Nurse Ratched, who torments and dominates the patients in her care (and eventually sees one lobotomized)."
Spot on. Umbridge has always been the most horrifying of Rowling's villains, for this very reason. Her scenes in the films are the only ones I have trouble watching. Because everything else is in the films is fantasy. This isn't.
Excellent post! As a die-hard Harry Potter fan who takes his Ravenclaw House shaker bottle wherever he goes, tyrant was the first word that came to mind regarding Umbridge when I first read Order of the Phoenix at age 12.
OP can also be extended to how the legacy media acts regarding those dissenting from official narratives regarding a particular position or policy. The Daily Prophet went to great lengths to smear Dumbledore and Harry in OP regarding Lord Voldemort's return. Of course, the Ministry of Magic did not believe a word Dumbledore or Harry said, although Harry personally witnessed Voldemort's resurrection. And that divisiveness was on full display when Harry returned to Hogwarts even among the student body.
Great piece. Reminds me of something our buddy Clive wrote a while back:
“Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience.” ― C. S. Lewis
“'[Umbridge’s] desire to control, to punish and to inflict pain, all in the name of law and order, are, I think, every bit as reprehensible as Lord Voldemort’s unvarnished espousal of evil,' Rowling wrote.
"The author is not wrong; in fact, I’d argue that Umbridge’s evil is worse precisely because of its varnish (so to speak). This is what makes Umbridge’s evil more sinister than Voldemort’s; it is far more real, much like that which Kesey depicts through Nurse Ratched, who torments and dominates the patients in her care (and eventually sees one lobotomized)."
Spot on. Umbridge has always been the most horrifying of Rowling's villains, for this very reason. Her scenes in the films are the only ones I have trouble watching. Because everything else is in the films is fantasy. This isn't.
Excellent post! As a die-hard Harry Potter fan who takes his Ravenclaw House shaker bottle wherever he goes, tyrant was the first word that came to mind regarding Umbridge when I first read Order of the Phoenix at age 12.
OP can also be extended to how the legacy media acts regarding those dissenting from official narratives regarding a particular position or policy. The Daily Prophet went to great lengths to smear Dumbledore and Harry in OP regarding Lord Voldemort's return. Of course, the Ministry of Magic did not believe a word Dumbledore or Harry said, although Harry personally witnessed Voldemort's resurrection. And that divisiveness was on full display when Harry returned to Hogwarts even among the student body.