Good-looking heroes; bad-looking villains

[RosieWildsmith]

Originally Posted by arithmancer

I think Rowling made a point of having, among her more developed characters, every possible combination of good/bad looks and goodness/evil.

But I think she also relied on this sort of stereotype to give us instant pictures and ways to think about very minor characters, which is what gives rise to the suggestion she furthers stereotypes. We know we are supposed to despise Millicent Bulstrode (a character that is mentioned on a few occasions in CoS) because she is big, e. g.

I think as regards Snape, JKR used this traditional narrative device against her readers...well not against, exactly, but traditionally you'd expect someone described that way in literature to be a bad guy. I know it's a corny convention but it's one that's pretty ingrained in society. Think about the ways she describes Snape with his "greasy hair" and "hooked nose" - they don't lead you to warm to the character, do they? (I speak as someone who completely fell for it and genuinely believed Snape was evil all the way through ) then of course JKR pulls the rug from under us, after setting us up to hate Snape all the way through, and reveals him to be a man of rare courage and loyalty. I for one wasn't expecting it, and I think that's partly to do with the way she describes him physically.

I think we need to separate the books from the movies when thinking about the looks of characters. I always imagined Hermione as not being particularly attractive. I seem to remember she was always described with "prominent teeth" and "bushy hair". Then in the movies we have Emma Watson. I know it's a matter of opinion but she seems pretty photogenic to me! Ugly people don't sell cinema tickets - that's the blunt, sad truth.

I don't think Harry or Ron are described at any point as being particularly attractive or unattractive. I see that Mad-Eye has already been mentioned as an ugly good guy.

Again with the book/movie distinction - I'm pretty sure Lucius Malfoy is never described in the books as attractive or unattractive. I don't recall much of a description of him or Draco being given at all. (Apart from the bit about Draco's "pale, pointed face.") Whether people find Jason Isaacs or Tom Felton attractive is kind of a different point altogether.

Was Tom Riddle actually described in the books as being attractive before all the soul-splitting shenanigans? Or again, was that purely the casting decision of the movie makers? I can't remember.

The only description I ever remember about Bella is her "heavy-lidded eyes". Every time she appears, we're reminded about the heavy-lidded eyes

[ItsOnlyDallis]

Well I don't think any of the good characters are described to be exceptionally good looking in any way. If I recall, the only two characters whose looks are really noted are Lockheart and Krum, and neither of them turned out to be exceptionally good like Harry did. Harry was described as very average looking. Even lanky. Hermione was pretty, but not in a Fleur-like way. And Ron's good looks are never really mentioned at all. Again, he's just fairly average.

As far as Voldemort goes, yes, he is described as very unattractive but I think JK made him the way he was to show how little human he had left in him. He has no nose, no hair, he barely looks like a man anymore. I think that's what she was going after. He was more monster then man by the end.

[padfootrules]

Originally Posted by Pearl_Took

Overall, I think JKR overcomes the stereotypes ...
He is just like James, of course: James was not as handsome as Sirius, but still, not bad-looking.

And then there's Regulus: not as handsome as Sirius, we're told! (Nobody is allowed to be as handsome as Sirius. )

Ha ha ha. I actually laughed when I read that line. I think a lot of good looking people are not necessarily good in the series and I think that is an awesome thing. And someone like Luna, who is quite odd, is actually one the bravest characters in the series. Ron himself is quite plain compared to the rest.

I think Rowling made Sirius really handsome only because every war has that rock and roll, bike riding reckless hero who every girl falls in love with and in the HP series, it is our Sirius Black And as a fangirl, I would not have it any other way

[arithmancer]

Originally Posted by RosieWildsmith

I think as regards Snape, JKR used this traditional narrative device against her readers...well not against, exactly, but traditionally you'd expect someone described that way in literature to be a bad guy. I know it's a corny convention but it's one that's pretty ingrained in society. Think about the ways she describes Snape with his "greasy hair" and "hooked nose" - they don't lead you to warm to the character, do they? (I speak as someone who completely fell for it and genuinely believed Snape was evil all the way through )

Me too! I was sure he was the bad guy in PS/SS (and thought less of the book as a result). Not only the looks, but also that he was not nice to Our Hero. It reminded me of Nancy Drew books that I used to read as a kid. The ending of that book showed it was not that type of series!

Was Tom Riddle actually described in the books as being attractive before all the soul-splitting shenanigans? Or again, was that purely the casting decision of the movie makers? I can't remember.

Yes, he was.

HBP Merope had got her dying wish: He was his handsome father in miniature, tall for eleven years old, dark-haired, and pale.

The only description I ever remember about Bella is her "heavy-lidded eyes". Every time she appears, we're reminded about the heavy-lidded eyes

She is described as beautiful, or formerly so, and this reminds Harry of her (also formerly handsome) cousin Sirius.

OotP Her face had leapt out at him the moment he had seen the page. She had long, dark hair that looked unkempt and straggly in the picture, though he had seen it sleek, thick and shining. She glared up at him through heavily lidded eyes, an arrogant, disdainful smile playing around her thin mouth. Like Sirius, she retained vestiges of great good looks, but something - perhaps Azkaban - had taken most of her beauty.

[RosieWildsmith]

Thanks for providing the quotes, arithmancer. I can never be bothered to dig out my books and go through them and I never remember whereabouts the parts I want are, anyway. My partner comes in handy for that, he seems to have an encyclopaedic knowledge of the HP series and if I say "Where's the bit with the Department of Mysteries? Where's the bit where the hippogriff attacks Draco?" He picks up the book and goes straight to the right page. It's kind of scary

I'm so glad someone else though Snape was the bad guy right until the reveal. My partner is so smug because he's like "I trusted Snape all along!" Well I didn't!! I still remember reading the bit where Snape killed Dumbledore and sitting there shouting at the book "I KNEW IT! I knew you were evil!" and some more words which aren't suitable for reprinting here

But I give JKR all credit for that; she set it up so well. She set Snape up as the character we loved to hate, and she knew exactly what she was doing. So I don't feel too bad for being misled, it just shows what a great writer she is.

[ohsnap801]

[quote=I'm so glad someone else though Snape was the bad guy right until the reveal. My partner is so smug because he's like "I trusted Snape all along!" Well I didn't!! I still remember reading the bit where Snape killed Dumbledore and sitting there shouting at the book "I KNEW IT! I knew you were evil!" and some more words which aren't suitable for reprinting here

But I give JKR all credit for that; she set it up so well. She set Snape up as the character we loved to hate, and she knew exactly what she was doing. So I don't feel too bad for being misled, it just shows what a great writer she is.[/QUOTE]

Haha. My brother just got hooked on the HO world, and he heard that Snape was evil, then that he wasn't, so he kept asking me, "Helena, is Snape evil? Helena, is he evil? Is Snape evil, Helena?". It got really annoying.

I always thought Snape was evil. JKR is truly a great author =)

Hey, what happened with my quote?

[RosieWildsmith]

Originally Posted by ohsnap801

Haha. My brother just got hooked on the HO world, and he heard that Snape was evil, then that he wasn't, so he kept asking me, "Helena, is Snape evil? Helena, is he evil? Is Snape evil, Helena?". It got really annoying.

I always thought Snape was evil. JKR is truly a great author =)

Hey, what happened with my quote?

You should have given him a different answer every time just to confuse him! Or else told him something ridiculous (riddikulus?) like "Snape turns out to be a woman in the end."

[lumoshemuttered]

I have to admit that, superficially, I like to imagine the trio as the extremely attractive Dan, Rupert, and Emma, but I never got the impression from the books that they were all that beautiful. Until the Yule Ball, Hermione was always described as having bushy hair and large teeth, Ron is gangly with a large nose, and Harry is thin and scrawny with unruly hair. None are ugly, of course, but I didn't think of them as showstoppers.

Among the villains, we have Lucius, extremely sleek and put-together, and then Wormtail. The Carrows are described as pretty ugly, but Bellatrix has, at the very least, traces of a former beauty. I think JKR did a good job being realistic and not stereotypical with the heroes and villains as attractive and unattractive respectively.

[ohsnap801]

Originally Posted by RosieWildsmith

You should have given him a different answer every time just to confuse him! Or else told him something ridiculous (riddikulus?) like "Snape turns out to be a woman in the end."

Oh My G! I should have! That would have been hilarious!

[RosieWildsmith]

Originally Posted by ohsnap801

Oh My G! I should have! That would have been hilarious!

Well he does look strangely attractive in Neville's grandmother's clothes

[Nikkolas]

Umbridge is the only character to ever have her breast-size talked about.
Her "large bosom" is commented upon a couples times I believe but I mainly remember it from Book 7 during the hearing.

Take that as you will.

[PotterHead42]

Well i have to say over the years Ron got very - and i mean VERY - appealing And i think people like the fact he is so protective of Hermione

Plus JKR made Snape seem Evil and Sly all the way through the series basically to the point where we despised him.. But when he was exposed as a loyal , Strong , brave character most of us felt ... Well, guilty to be honest that we doubted him

[LupinsHowl786]

There is a good share of ugly and pretty on both sides, to be honest. JKR wrote Lord Voldemort in his youth to be very attractive and charming that people would be just completely lured into whatever he was saying (Hepzibah Smith, Horace Slughorn, etc). And then there are Wormtail and Bellatrix who are not very pleasing to the eyes. Just as everyone has said above Sirius was described as a very good-looking man whereas Moody, not so much.

[SlytherinZolf20]

It seem that the more you get into the dark arts and embrace your darkness, the worse your physical features will start to look. When you immerse yourself into the darkness, it begin to eat away at your outer and inner features making you less human. In a way, it is similar to Darth Sidious looking so horrific after so many years of using the dark side of the force or Morgoth in LOTR losing more power as he committed atrocites.

[silver ink pot]

JKR really threw a curve ball when she made Andromeda Tonks look almost exactly like her sister Bellatrix. Harry doesn't like her and sees her as arrogant just because of the way she looks, but then he realizes Andromeda is just worried about her daughter.

Kreacher even looks better to Harry when he is in a good mood.

It's all filtered through Harry's rather naive eyes, and I think that's why Snape appeared to be a villain just on appearance, plus the fact that Harry doesn't like him. But it helps lead up to the big reveal at the end because Snape wasn't what he seemed at all.

And Dumbledore wasn't always a kindly old grandfather either.

[merrymarge]

I never thought Snape was evil. Bad, annoying, complex, not evil. but he was not good looking. Lucius was more evil, but I thouught he was good looking, from what I remember in the books. Until, the last book, then he looked pasty and his eyes were sunken and his skin sallow. Bellatrix was evil but she seemed handsome, or a former beauty. Narcissa wasn't evil, just stuck up and I guess she was still good looking.
Harry became better looking over time, simply because of the time he spent at the Burrow and Hogwarts. He got plenty to eat, he was cared for at the Burrow, and he seemed to blossom like a plant.
I always thought that Hermione was good looking and that wasn't because of the movies.
Ron was also good looking. We know what happened to Tom Riddle, tearing his soul apart made him ugly.

[DanaSnape]

I agree with all the posters who say that there seemed to be a pretty even mix. I mean, when Tom Riddle was young, he was very charismatic and good looking and he turned out to be the worst of all the characters, obviously. The trio is described in a way that makes them seem average, and they are considered to be the heroes. Bella and Sirius are/were beautiful and they are polar opposites. (Of course, there was a slip up with Snape in the movies. He's supposed to be greasy and ugly, yet they cast Alan Rickman, who is, IMO, one of the most charismatic and unconventionally handsome actors alive. Good thing he plays the perfect Snape, because looks-wise, it's all wrong, lol!)

[Always_Snape]

I've always thought of Draco being good looking, Tom Riddle obviously before becoming Voldy because we're told that in the books. I've never thought Snape to be necessarily good looking (but Alan Rickman does his looks justice) I see him as mean and rude, but more personality than anything. I assume Harry grows into himself and becomes handsome, Ron has always been not bad looking, and Hermione also grew into herself becoming beautiful as she grew up. I always thought of Dumbledore (until I found his sexual preferences) as being a grandfather with a purpose. McGonagall as the grandma that was stern, but you could tell from her face that she truly does mean good.

[PianoPlaya]

No I don't see it that way. Voldemort is obviously not attractive (although he was before he became all snake like), and Bellatrix isn't. However, Draco is hot (but it turns out at the end that hes not really a villain and more of a coward so idk if that counts), and his mum and dad aren't ugly either. Actually, besides a few of them... most death eaters or Voldemort supporters aren't really "ugly". As for the good side, most of them are just regular looking students / people (with a few exceptions). I guess Hagrid is kind of... different lol but that's about it. So no I don't really see that happening with this series.

[RemusLupinFan]

I'm going to agree that not all the heroes are good-looking and not all the bad guys are ugly. There are a couple of characters who do fit the bill, such as Lily, Sirius (as a young man), James, Ginny (heroes and pretty); and Umbridge, Voldemort, the Dursleys (villains and ugly). Then there's Lockhart (who I wouldn't call a villain, but he's not a good guy either), who is described as being very good-looking but also fraudulent and shallow.

One thing that does bother me is the fact that quite a few of the Slytherin students are described as being ugly. Someone earlier mentioned the example of Pansy Parkinson, who is described as having a face like a pug. Then there's Crabbe and Goyle, who aren't described as looking very good (I recall one of them had "gorilla arms"). Although there are a few good-looking Slytherins like Draco, and there are some whose descriptions I don't remember (like Blaise Zabini and Marcus Flint).

There are also a fair number of characters who are some described as being neutral. I think the trio falls under the neutral category, a fact that I really like. I especially like that Harry wasn't the handsome, dashing hero that every girl falls in love with upon sight. He was just an ordinary-looking kid with a humble upbringing. Also, the fact that Hermione and Ron don't have outstanding looks is excellent because the reader focuses on their character traits rather than their looks.