Remus John Lupin: Character Analysis

[remizwolf]

also showed that harry could talk to remus that way and remus could be like friends with him and like they loved between them because she was showing them getting closer before. in this book also she made them closer leading up to the godfather request and acceptance and then the reunion scene if he called Lupin back because he loved him.

[Drusilla]

Originally Posted by anabel

Of course, I also wanted to smack Remus in the face! Abandoning your pregnant wife is about as low as you can get, not least because she's probably panicking about all the same things, but without the opportunity to bail out!

Well, I think it's hard to blame him for it- he was acting like an idiot all right, but genuinely thought that leaving Tonks and Teddy would be in their best interest- which is what I found so heartbreaking about that scene. It wasn't becoming a father that he was scared of, it's more like he was scared for Teddy- a fear that Harry and Hermione fairly justifiably pointed out was groundless. And he clearly liked being a dad, if his demeanour at Shell Cottage the day Teddy was born is anything to go by

[blue3ski]

Originally Posted by Drusilla

Well, I think it's hard to blame him for it- he was acting like an idiot all right, but genuinely thought that leaving Tonks and Teddy would be in their best interest- which is what I found so heartbreaking about that scene. It wasn't becoming a father that he was scared of, it's more like he was scared for Teddy- a fear that Harry and Hermione fairly justifiably pointed out was groundless. And he clearly liked being a dad, if his demeanour at Shell Cottage the day Teddy was born is anything to go by

I loved that scene at Shell Cottage--it really made me smile that he was so happy about Teddy being born. And coupling this scene with the scene of him showing off Teddy's picture...

I have no doubt that he would have been a terrific father.

[Drusilla]

Also, I did notice a bit of a shift in Harry and Lupin's relationship, most notably with Harry and Hermione calling him by his first name instead of referring to him as 'Professor Lupin' as they used to. I thought it was a nice touch, too.

[wickedwickedboy]

Originally Posted by Drusilla

Also, I did notice a bit of a shift in Harry and Lupin's relationship, most notably with Harry and Hermione calling him by his first name instead of referring to him as 'Professor Lupin' as they used to. I thought it was a nice touch, too.

I agree. I also felt that the mere fact that Harry would speak to Remus in that way was very telling - in fact throughout the book, their conversations were much more equal in nature with Harry feeling free to speak his mind. It was the same way he might speak to Ron or Hermione, or even Sirius, demanding that they explain themselves and readily pointing out what he felt were personal errors. Afterward, Harry felt remorse and bad and such - and I too thought he went a bit overboard, but what he said had the impact he wished and he meant well at heart.

When Remus spoke on Potterwatch, I think it confirmed for Harry that his feelings toward Remus were returned with regard to respecting one another's opinions, instincts or whatever label would be placed on it.

I too liked the godfather scene and Remus' happiness. I also liked that it showed Remus having finally accepted another person in his life close enough to name godfather and care for his child if he and Tonk's were to die (seeing as they were marked by Voldemort, there was a very good chance of that happening). It takes Remus a long while to let people get close enough to him to the point where he can develop love and trust due to his furry little problem and his general tendency to be reticent. So it was nice to see that develop before our eyes.

But as JKR has indicated, Remus does readily allow those in who continue to show friendliness to him once they know he is a werewolf, cuts them a ton of slack, and returns their trust and affection. It was also cool that he made 'friends' in the Order according to JKR's interview on "Dateline NBC" - people who also had accepted him and that his son could visit while growing up (in addition to having his gran and Harry).

[Rell]

Originally Posted by anabel

Of course, I also wanted to smack Remus in the face! Abandoning your pregnant wife is about as low as you can get, not least because she's probably panicking about all the same things, but without the opportunity to bail out! I'm really glad it was only a temporary crisis and he went back again!

Even though I was annoyed at Lupin in this scene, I think that the way Remus responded when he was called out on something he did wrong is very admirable. Most people don't react well to being critisized, but Lupin recognized that he was in the wrong and changed his behavior.

[RemusLupinFan]

Originally Posted by Rell

Most people don't react well to being critisized, but Lupin recognized that he was in the wrong and changed his behavior.

That's one of Lupin's strengths, I think: the ability to recognize he's done something wrong and then change his behavior and learn from his mistakes.

[Ifink2much]

Originally Posted by Drusilla

Also, I did notice a bit of a shift in Harry and Lupin's relationship, most notably with Harry and Hermione calling him by his first name instead of referring to him as 'Professor Lupin' as they used to. I thought it was a nice touch, too.

I'm so happy they started calling him Remus.I understand why they first stuck to Lupin ,he was their teacher first but I'm glad it became Remus in the last book,shows how close they had all become.

[Drusilla]

They still do revert to calling him Lupin at times, but I couldn't help noting the use of the first name. I personally thought Harry said some truly awful things during that exchange at Grimmauld Place, but Remus knew enough to understand that he meant well- he did ultimately go back to Tonks, though it's possible he took a little bit of time out between leaving number 12 and going home, to think about what he'd done too.
To Harry, who never got the chance to know his parents, the idea that a parent can abandon his child is a fairly monstrous one. To Remus, who has lived most of his life being shunned by wizarding society for what he is, the idea of passing on the furry little problem is equally monstrous. It's hard to really hold it against either of them, honestly.

[Ifink2much]

Originally Posted by Drusilla

They still do revert to calling him Lupin at times, but I couldn't help noting the use of the first name. I personally thought Harry said some truly awful things during that exchange at Grimmauld Place, but Remus knew enough to understand that he meant well- he did ultimately go back to Tonks, though it's possible he took a little bit of time out between leaving number 12 and going home, to think about what he'd done too.
To Harry, who never got the chance to know his parents, the idea that a parent can abandon his child is a fairly monstrous one. To Remus, who has lived most of his life being shunned by wizarding society for what he is, the idea of passing on the furry little problem is equally monstrous. It's hard to really hold it against either of them, honestly.

I did find the way Harry said those thing to Remus too,but this is the thing about Remus,I think he ,without Harry explaining to him,understood why he said it,he would have stayed angry(and upset) if the intent had been bad,but it wasn't.We the readers see that harry is immediately regretful.Remus would have been right to stay angry,but it just shows more of his great understanding that he was able to see the situation for what it was and forgive him.

[Drusilla]

Originally Posted by wickedwickedboy

I too liked the godfather scene and Remus' happiness. I also liked that it showed Remus having finally accepted another person in his life close enough to name godfather and care for his child if he and Tonk's were to die (seeing as they were marked by Voldemort, there was a very good chance of that happening). It takes Remus a long while to let people get close enough to him to the point where he can develop love and trust due to his furry little problem and his general tendency to be reticent. So it was nice to see that develop before our eyes.

More so when that person is a generation younger than you though I honestly think he believed that he and Tonks would be around for at least a bit longer. They had no way of knowing that the final battle was just weeks away at that point, they must have been relatively safe (or as safe as Order members can be, anyway) for a while during Tonks's pregnancy, which might be why Lupin looks so happy and un-harassed when he comes to give Bill the news of Teddy's birth.

[BublGumPnkHar]

Originally Posted by Ifink2much

I'm so happy they started calling him Remus.I understand why they first stuck to Lupin ,he was their teacher first but I'm glad it became Remus in the last book,shows how close they had all become.

When Remus first showed up at #12 Grimmauld Place and was challenged by Moody's security measures and Harry (with Ron and Hermione backing him up) on the stairs: he said "It's Remus", not Prof Lupin or just "Lupin".

He gave them the "right" to call him Remus, and they took it, but as most people do, fell back into calling him Lupin when not addressing him personally. They are of age and it was nice/considerate of Remus to include them in his circle of friends and not remain as just their former DADA teacher.

I wonder if that fireside talk he had with Harry at the Weasleys' (at Christmas in HBP) helped him think of them (but especially Harry) more as friends than former pupils.

In the scene at Shell Cottage, nobody called anybody by name except: Bill said "Lupin" and Remus said "Bill", not even when Harry was asked to be Godfather; but at the "walk into the Forest" where Harry apologized to Remus, he called him Remus again. It was a fitting reponse/gesture to the new relationship they had.

I loved it, and had notice the change of address in the first reading (it's unusual for me to notice subtle name differences until the third or fourth read).

[ambulancears]

Remus was born on March 10th, right? That's what I got when I searched. This would be his astrology as a Pisces Gryffindor:

While not the bravest of Gryffindors, the Gryffindor Pisces still exhibits a quiet courage. They aren't afraid to face painful truths, if there really is no way of escaping them. These Gryffindors are deeply compassionate, and full of emotional strength, often becoming the unofficial counselors in the common room who everybody runs to for advice. They are romantic to an extreme; their minds are stuffed full of fairy tales, myths, and legends. They often spend more time daydreaming than doing their homework, to the vexation of their professors. Still, their daydreams do sometimes produce uncanny insights.

What do you think? I like the part about "quiet courage."

[Drusilla]

And he is a bit of a romantic, just not the soppy sort. More like a romantic who wouldn't be above taking part in a food fight when one pops up- only he wouldn't start it (the fight, I mean).

[RemusLupinFan]

Wow, that description fits Remus pretty well! The part about the "quiet courage" is especially fitting- Remus is definitely courageous in that he is willing to fight against the Death Eaters as part of the Order, and he is courageous every month during his transformations. Remus also isn't afraid of painful truths, as he is shown to be willing to own up to the mistakes he's made. He is certainly very compassionate, and I could see him as a counsellor of sorts, as he has a lot of empathy and he has shown himself to be a good mentor to Harry in his own right. He is emotionally strong in some ways, but also insecure.

About being romantic- I don't think he's "romantic to an extreme". He's somewhat romantic, but mostly when it comes to love he's kind of reserved. And we don't know if he was the daydreaming type who didn't do his homework, though somehow I don't think he was. To me he seems a more studious type while James and Sirius were the daydreamers who didn't do their homework.

Thank you for posting that, ambulancears.

[Drusilla]

Well, he's had to deal with much more than your average child anywhere (magical or Muggle) before he even came to school- in some ways a lot like Harry himself. They're both inclined to be reserved about expressing emotion (displaying it only under conditions of extreme emotional duress), and tend to want to push others who try to help, away for fear that they will somehow be harmed by association with them (Harry tries to do that with Ron and Hermione, but they override him a lot of the time, Remus tries that with Tonks and Harry talks- rather rudely, to be sure- sense back into him).

[wickedwickedboy]

Originally Posted by Drusilla

Well, he's had to deal with much more than your average child anywhere (magical or Muggle) before he even came to school- in some ways a lot like Harry himself. They're both inclined to be reserved about expressing emotion (displaying it only under conditions of extreme emotional duress), and tend to want to puch others who try to help, away for fear that they will somehow be harmed by association with them (Harry tries to do that with Ron and Hermione, but they override him a lot of the time, Remus tries that with Tonks and Harry talks- rather rudely, to be sure- sense back into him).

I agree. I think Remus was too hard on himself at times, accepting the viewpoints of society about the 'monster' within him. But in reality, a werewolf is a beautiful magical creature with its own special attributes and place - not within the wizard world during the full moon - but certainly within the wilds of the forest.

That would have been the more healthy attitude for society to take I believe. There are many, many dangerous magical creatures in the forest, any of which may harm humans. A better way for society to have looked upon Remus would have been that he was a part of society (equal and honored) except for 1 day a month - and that on the 1 day a month, not a monster, but a magical creature that joins the others in the forest. Then even before the wolfsbane appeared, werewolves could have adjusted to moving away from society during the full moons and Remus would have had a better out outlook about his persona.

When the wolfsbane came into existence, werewolves could have had the choice of remaining in society full time, merely staying inside and resting while in wolf form or not taking the potion and joining their fellow magical creatures in the forest.

But that was never given a go in wizard society, the prejudice reigned and forced bad attitudes on the werewolves and wizards alike. Remus was caught in the middle and took the wizard view - but retained a desire to make things better for werewolves which was likely very difficult considering how society had forced him to look upon his state as something 'bad and wrong'. Remus was pretty remarkable in that regard.

It is great that Remus was able to find happiness with friends and study in his youth and later as a professor and working for the Order. And of course with his family in the end. It was quite a unique occurrence from what we know and in that regard very courageous of him to push onward within society. He didn't live to see the improvements for werewolves JRK spoke of, but his relations with members of the Order who later ruled the Ministry certainly played a huge role in that happening.

[Drusilla]

We've seen that wizarding attitudes to non-humans aren't exactly the healthiest or most positive, look at Umbridge wanting to round up merpeople and insulting centaurs. Under those circumstances, a werewolf- a magical being with a means of spreading its condition via bites- isn't exactly going to be viewed as a good person by the majority of wizarding society, is he? Most normal people would have become embittered and isolated from society- which is what Lupin describes the werewolf community as being- I suspect most of them weren't even allowed to attend Hogwarts - he wasn't quite one of the abandoned boys, but it made a massive difference, possibly the biggest, in his life- finding friends who were as loyal as the Marauders, for a start.

[blue3ski]

Indeed--Dumbledore's choice to admit Remus made a big difference. He could have easily become disillusioned and joined in Fenrir's pack, but being able to go to Hogwarts gave him a clearer perspective, and gave him a better attitude towards wizards and humans in general.

[wickedwickedboy]

Okay...anyone who read my last post...that last bit about Ron was tacked on in error - so if it left you confused, it should have, I deleted it, and just ignore that bit, lol.