Petunia Evans Dursley : Character Analysis

[cool_chick_div]

I actually pity Petunia. I do feel for her.

I wonder what her parents did to make her think they favoured Lily. Maybe they continuously went on and on about her being special like how Snape stated it bluntly that Petunia was just jealous that Lily was special and she was not. I think her parents reinforced that by their excitement of Lily being a witch. It is quite sad. It reminds me a bit of Ron and his insecurities and how it led to jealousy. Petunia probably never felt she was special and always felt she was in Lily's shadow and that Lily was better than her. Maybe Vernon was the first person to make her feel special that's why she married him. According to Pottermore, she did not want Lily as her bridesmaid beause she did not want to be overshadowed by her again. Its really sad, I don't condone her treatment of Harry but I do see her point. She would have been a wonderful aunt had she let go of her jealousy.

I feel Harry was indeed a reminder of Lily and the world she was rejected from. Her bitterness would certainly come out. Harry was neglected by the Dursleys and he lacked confidant at first. He certainly did not feel he was special. Petunia probably felt the same way. After all, in her mind its as if Lily was Dudley and Harry was her. She would not want Dudley to feel the way she felt so she made him feel special and made Harry feel bad like how she felt. I'm sure she did not want her son to feel a magical child was better than him.

In Goblet of Fire this stood out for me. After getting over the Weasley Twins' prank on Dudley I noticed that Petunia kind of shielded Dudley from Mr. Weasley when he was trying to undo it. I think she does harbour some fear of magic. Petunia shielding Dudley reminds me of what Lily did for Harry. I felt it was one of her few admirable moments even though Mr. Weasley was not a threat. i'm sure from a muggle perspective the prank made them deteste magic more just like what Hagrid did by giving Dudley that tail. From their perspective it is quite awful.

I wonder if Lily ever did a lot of magic home. Petunia mentioned her turning teacups into frogs. Maybe Petunia felt Lily flaunted her magic and showed off making her feel worse.

[MerryLore]

Originally Posted by cool_chick_div

I feel Harry was indeed a reminder of Lily and the world she was rejected from. Her bitterness would certainly come out. Harry was neglected by the Dursleys and he lacked confidant at first. He certainly did not feel he was special. Petunia probably felt the same way. After all, in her mind its as if Lily was Dudley and Harry was her. She would not want Dudley to feel the way she felt so she made him feel special and made Harry feel bad like how she felt. I'm sure she did not want her son to feel a magical child was better than him.

I agree with this. Plus, Petunia, when she realized she'd never be magical like Lily, chose to reject the wizarding world outright and immerse herself completely in the muggle world. Harry would have been an unexpected and unwelcomed surprise, and Petunia would never want Dudley to feel second rate, like she did.

I also think she loved her sister, and Lily died young, because of magic. I think Dumbledore spoke with Petunia about the danger Harry was in, and by association the danger they all were in, and his magic scared her and she wanted to suppress it - and him - and would do what she thought was necessary. Yes, Voldemort was gone, but there were still Death Eaters who were hoping Harry would be the next Dark Lord, and there were other wizarding folk who regarded Harry as a hero. I think Petunia had an awareness of this on some level, and didn't like it.

[Goddess_Clio]

Originally Posted by cool_chick_div

I wonder what her parents did to make her think they favoured Lily. Maybe they continuously went on and on about her being special like how Snape stated it bluntly that Petunia was just jealous that Lily was special and she was not. I think her parents reinforced that by their excitement of Lily being a witch. It is quite sad. It reminds me a bit of Ron and his insecurities and how it led to jealousy. Petunia probably never felt she was special and always felt she was in Lily's shadow and that Lily was better than her. Maybe Vernon was the first person to make her feel special that's why she married him. According to Pottermore, she did not want Lily as her bridesmaid beause she did not want to be overshadowed by her again. Its really sad, I don't condone her treatment of Harry but I do see her point. She would have been a wonderful aunt had she let go of her jealousy.

Sibling jealousy can be a really powerful thing; I know first hand what it feels like to live in the shadow of a sibling who seems to be adored way more than you are and it can screw with your head, your confidence and your self-perceptions for your entire life.

I suspect that Petunia's jealousy of Lily didn't only extend to the realm of magic, I thought that Lily was generally the more likeable of the two girls; I think Lily was probably prettier (Petunia is always described as horsey, which is never what a young girl strives to look like), possibly had a sweeter personality (Petunia seems to default to meanness when encountering Snape as a child, for instance) and was more willing to give people the benefit of the doubt more (she seemed willing to give young Snape a chance where as Petunia didn't want anything to do with him because he came from Spinner's End). All those things could combine to make Petunia simply less likable and perhaps more difficult that Lily was, leading to a bit of unequal treatment between the sister from the parents.

Originally Posted by MerryLore

I think Dumbledore spoke with Petunia about the danger Harry was in, and by association the danger they all were in, and his magic scared her and she wanted to suppress it - and him - and would do what she thought was necessary.

Dumbledore never spoke to Petunia about Harry; he left Harry on the Dursley's doorstep with a note telling Petunia that her sister had been killed and that she could seal a magical spell to protect Harry by taking him in and caring for him. And she did.

[merrymarge]

Dumbledore didn't speak to Petunia, but I think his letter was more than the fact that her sister was dead. I wonder if Dumbledore told Petunia that by taking Harry in she would be sealing a magical spell. If I was Petunia, I would be very scared to take in my nephew if I knew I would have to seal a magical spell.

[Goddess_Clio]

Originally Posted by merrymarge

Dumbledore didn't speak to Petunia, but I think his letter was more than the fact that her sister was dead. I wonder if Dumbledore told Petunia that by taking Harry in she would be sealing a magical spell. If I was Petunia, I would be very scared to take in my nephew if I knew I would have to seal a magical spell.

Before DH came out but after we knew that Petunia had had some contact with Dumbledore (through the letter) I began to suspect that Petunia wanted to participate in magic in some way, being the muggle to a magical sister, and that her lack of magic was at the root of her jealousy. I thought that Dumbledore had indeed told Petunia that by taking in Harry she would be sealing a spell to protect Harry and that she did it so that she could experience magic in even that little way since this would be the only time she would be able to.

[MerryLore]

Originally Posted by Goddess_Clio

I thought that Dumbledore had indeed told Petunia that by taking in Harry she would be sealing a spell to protect Harry and that she did it so that she could experience magic in even that little way since this would be the only time she would be able to.

I see it more like "sour grapes" - she couldn't have it and thus decided she didn't want it. In her mind, it rejected her, so she rejected it. Once that change happened, she wanted no part of the magical world, and chose to marry a man who was as ordinary as possible. I think she didn't want Harry there, but she had loved her sister and took him only for that reason. She went out of her way to spoil Dudley so he'd never feel second rate to a magical child. I also think she wanted to suppress Harry's magic because of the danger he - and by association, they - were in.