Lily Evans Potter: Character Analysis

[RemusLupinFan]

Originally Posted by Leslie33

have the suspicion their Parents SPOILED Petunia.

I wonder if their parents spoiled Petunia until they found out about Lily’s abilities, and then began to spoil her instead. That would definintely have bred resentment in Petunia!

[anabel]

Originally Posted by RemusLupinFan

I wonder if their parents spoiled Petunia until they found out about Lily’s abilities, and then began to spoil her instead. That would definintely have bred resentment in Petunia!

That would be very bad parenting. I wonder how Lily and Petunia turned out so totally different in personality and in values.

[SofiaR]

Originally Posted by Hinoema

I don't think this literally means her eyes in a physical or magical sense. It is, afais, a resemblance which both keeps her character 'onpage' and allows Harry to benefit from other characters' connections to her- the affections of Slughorn and Lupin being examples.

Exactly. It is a reminder about Harry's parents. As the story went on, we realize he spends time with many people who knew her, who liked her and who see her when they see Harry. It is an emotional connection - although he has been an orphan since he was a baby, he still gets to benifit from his mother's "protection" when he is interacting with people who knew her. Petunia probably dislikes Harry intensely also because each time she looks at him, she is reminded of her "freak" sister, who charmed everyone. Slughorn looks at Harry and is reminded of one of his favorite students, instantly passing his affection on to Harry.

It is the same thing with the resemblance to James. Snape loathes Harry because he is reminded of James Potter, whom he loathed when he was young. At the same time, Sirius was also reminded of James when looking at Harry, so he transfers his feelings about James to Harry.


And we've seen the resemblance to his parents being used for the plot. In PoA, Harry saw his future self but he thought it was his father, so it didn't cause any problem with the time turner. And in HBP, having Lily's eyes also turned out to be a quite important point in the plot since it was in part because of that that Harry managed to get Slughorn's memory. Harry used that emotional connection Slughorn had with his mother to manipulate him into giving him the memory.

It's like Dumbledore said at one point (in PoA, I believe) - his parents are alive in him.

[Fawkesfan1]

1. In both her time at Hogwarts and her time with the Order, Lily has shown that she is willing to stand up for what she believes in, no matter what the neighbors may think. What about her background / family could have caused Lily to grow up to have such a vastly different character than her sister Petunia?
   
   Maybe they treated her as the favorite... maybe that's why Petunia turned out to be so differently than Lily did... hating magic and being jealous of her sister Lily.
   
   
2. Lily defied Voldemort 3 times. When did she find the time to do this and how do you imagine she managed to come away alive each time?
   
   Maybe it was both her love for Harry and her motherly instincts that helped her to come away alive from Voldemort 3 times.
   
   
3. Based on the few things we know about Lily, what sort of friends did she have at Hogwarts. Was she more of the academic type or a jock?
   
   She seemed to be more of an academic type, kind of like both Ginny [Ginny's more of a jock, but she has an academic side to her as well] and Hermione.
   
   
4. The origins of Lily’s relationship with James are for the most part unknown. Why do you imagine she gave him a chance? What about the character of James do you think complimented the character of Lily?
   
   
   She most likely saw the good and him and figured that it would come out more as he matured and got older. I think that it did, two opposites attacted to each other.
   
   
5. It was long assumed, based on her wand, that Lily’s best subject was charms. However, in Half Blood Prince we learn that Lily was a natural potion maker. Which subject do you think Lily preferred. Which do you think she was best at? Did her knowledge in either of these subjects help her in her defiance of Voldemort?
   
   
   
   It seems to me that she liked Potions more, it challenged her more and she got to help Snape out with his potions work and make him a better potions maker. Both of them, she had equal abilities for them. Yes they both most likely did.
   
   
   
   
6. What about Lily’s personality and character led her to sacrifice herself to save Harry? Why did Voldemort give her a choice in the first place, thus allowing her to make the sacrifice?
   
   
   Her kindness, caringness and her love led her to sacrifice herself for her son. I don't know, but I can't wait to see why he did in Book 7 though...
   
   
   
7. The importance of Lily's eyes has long been a sorce of debate and speculation. It is pointed out by nearly everyone who knew Lily that Harry has her eyes. How and why is this connection between Harry and Lily important?
   
   
   I think that it reminds people that knew her what she was like when she was still alive and that she'll never truly be gone, that her essence is inside of her son, making him the good person that he is .

[sulihawk]

I wonder why Prof. Slughorn goes on about Lily but never once mentions what a great potions maker Snape was? We are led to believe that a great part of his animosity towards James is his jelousy of his popularity. If true, he would have also disliked Lily, she was teacher's pet a member of the Slug Club and was stealing his glory in potions. Sorry Lily and Snape shippers, throw in her being muggle-born and there is no way he ever went for Lily.
I really wish Lily's character had been given more play, but JKR wrote just like a Mom, giving attention to everyone else first. In a way she is the most important character here. It was her sacrafice that makes all the rest possible, and she almost took old Voldie out of the picture.

[gertiekeddle]

Originally Posted by sulihawk

I wonder why Prof. Slughorn goes on about Lily but never once mentions what a great potions maker Snape was? We are led to believe that a great part of his animosity towards James is his jelousy of his popularity. If true, he would have also disliked Lily, she was teacher's pet a member of the Slug Club and was stealing his glory in potions. Sorry Lily and Snape shippers, throw in her being muggle-born and there is no way he ever went for Lily.

I like your argumentations and the conclusion, but have to add that we just heard about Lily in HBP when Harry was around. Slughorn probably talked about her so much, because he wanted to talk about Harry's relation to her. The only time Snape was around, too, at Sluggy's christmas party he mentioned him being great in potions, maybe better than Lily. (Sorry, I don't have the correct quote by hand currently).

I really wish Lily's character had been given more play, but JKR wrote just like a Mom, giving attention to everyone else first. In a way she is the most important character here. It was her sacrafice that makes all the rest possible, and she almost took old Voldie out of the picture.

Very good, yes. Lily is important to the plot and I assume we will get to know more about her in 7. There are still such important points missing.

[guad]

Originally Posted by gertiekeddle

I like your argumentations and the conclusion, but have to add that we just heard about Lily in HBP when Harry was around. Slughorn probably talked about her so much, because he wanted to talk about Harry's relation to her.

I agree. Slughorn mentions Lily to Harry because she is his mother. There is no point to fawn on Snapes abilities to Harry, because there is no relation between Harry and Snape, and besides, Slughorn probably assumed that Harry already knows how brilliant Snape is, considering that he was his teacher for 5 years.

I also thought that Slughorn wanted to tell Harry things about his mother to comfort him. Harry never got to know is mother and maybe Slughorn thought that Harry would appreciate any information about her.

The other aspect is that Slughorn not only loved Lily because of her potion abilities, but because she was charming, kind and funny. Her potions abilities made him notice her, but it was her personality that made him be so fond of her.

[sulihawk]

What has my mind a wonder is how she attracted Voldemorts attention, why did he offer to let a mudblood who defied him three times, live? He graduated 20 years beefore she attended Hogwarts so where had their paths crossed before? He had no soft spot for women, he killed Dorcas Meadows and Hepzibah Smith, why not Lily? I just think there has to be some connection there somehow. If it's not magical, could there be a kindred between the Evanses and the Riddles?

Thanks Gertiekeddle, you did give me pause and I went back to HBP[quote=gertiekeddle;4153438]The only time Snape was around, too, at Sluggy's christmas party he mentioned him being great in potions, maybe better than Lily. (Sorry, I don't have the correct quote by hand currently).[quote]
"Instinctive you know - like his mother!" Slughorn tried to give credit to Snape as having taught Harry for five years prior to himself. And after Snape throws out a snide insult then Slughorn points out that Harry made a Draught of Living Death on his first try "Well, then, it's natural ability! never had a student produce a finer on their first attempt, I don't think even you, Severus."
I just imagine the rivalry would be quite intense between Lily and Snape competing for top marks. I also agree with what youre saying about Slug trying to ingratiate himself with Harry and am using the inferrance to find what JKR has not yet said.

[gertiekeddle]

Good catch, sulihawk, I agree.

I just think there has to be some connection there somehow. If it's not magical, could there be a kindred between the Evanses and the Riddles?

That's the only part, where I'm not really convinced. I assume, too, that there could have been some kind of former connection between Lily Evans (or her family) and Voldemort, but I doubt there has been any stronger connection. It's speculation by me of course, we don't know much of this time. But we know that there were at least never connections between both famylies, as neither Tom Riddle nor Harry Potter has any living realtives left (expect aunt Petunia).

So I actually assume it's something about Lily, not their families, what made her special.

[Lord Godric]

Originally Posted by RemusLupinFan

I wonder if their parents spoiled Petunia until they found out about Lily’s abilities, and then began to spoil her instead. That would definintely have bred resentment in Petunia!

I think that Lily was always probably a little more spoiled than Petunia, that is why when Lily was a witch and got more attention it bothered Petunia even more.

[Hermione82]

In both her time at Hogwarts and her time with the Order, Lily has shown that she is willing to stand up for what she believes in, no matter what the neighbors may think. What about her background / family could have caused Lily to grow up to have such a vastly different character than her sister Petunia?
I don't think that Lily was the outcast, I think Petunia was. It sems to me from what Petunia has said that they both had a loving parents, but Petunia resented the attention that Lily got. Maybe Lily was the favorite, or Petunia was just jealous for her own reasons.

Lily defied Voldemort 3 times. When did she find the time to do this and how do you imagine she managed to come away alive each time?
This sounds so funny, like she's busy with work and shopping or something, and needed to find the time to defie him.
Anyway, I believe that both Lily and james are very powerful and would have found a way to get away from him. I don't know if we will ever know how they did it.


Based on the few things we know about Lily, what sort of friends did she have at Hogwarts. Was she more of the academic type or a jock?
She would have been more of an academic type, I can't see Lily as hanging out with Jocks.


The origins of Lily’s relationship with James are for the most part unknown. Why do you imagine she gave him a chance?
He could have changed his attitude, and so could she. Love is a funny thing, we can't help who we fall in love with. I see James as a smooth talker, he could have wooed her over, so to speak
What about the character of James do you think complimented the character of Lily?
Yeah I think so, we only know very little about their characters to see if they complimented eachother though.


It was long assumed, based on her wand, that Lily’s best subject was charms. However, in Half Blood Prince we learn that Lily was a natural potion maker. Which subject do you think Lily preferred. Which do you think she was best at?
She could have been equally good at both subjects, much like Hermione is pretty much good at everything.
Did her knowledge in either of these subjects help her in her defiance of Voldemort? Could have.


What about Lily’s personality and character led her to sacrifice herself to save Harry? She is his mother, if I was in her position I would do the same thing, it's bad enough to lose your husband, but it would be terrible to lose a child and if you could stand in the way of that happening, then why not?
Why did Voldemort give her a choice in the first place, thus allowing her to make the sacrifice?
That's $24 million question isn't it?


The importance of Lily's eyes has long been a sorce of debate and speculation. It is pointed out by nearly everyone who knew Lily that Harry has her eyes. How and why is this connection between Harry and Lily important?
It could just be something for us to know that there is a connection between Harry and his parents. I'm sure we will learn eventually why there is so much empasis (sp?) put on Harry having Lily's eye's.

[Sarapsys]

1. In both her time at Hogwarts and her time with the Order, Lily has shown that she is willing to stand up for what she believes in, no matter what the neighbors may think. What about her background / family could have caused Lily to grow up to have such a vastly different character than her sister Petunia?
Just due to her looks and ability it seems to me that people would probably always have tended to put Lily above Petunia. I think it's likely that Lily's personality is more typical of the family, but that Petunia was made bitter and resentful due to the attention Lily always got, especially after it turned out she was magical.

3. Based on the few things we know about Lily, what sort of friends did she have at Hogwarts. Was she more of the academic type or a jock?
Erm I don't know that I'd assign her to any stereotypical clique--she doesn't seem like the type to conform to a particular social image. On the spectrum, however, I think it's likely she was more bookish than sporty. Given the one glimpse we've seen of her I'm inclined to think she makes friends much like Harry does--friendly to pretty much anyone regardless of their interests or abilities.

4. The origins of Lily’s relationship with James are for the most part unknown. Why do you imagine she gave him a chance? What about the character of James do you think complimented the character of Lily?
Again, we only have one tiny glimpse of them in action, so I'm hesitant to put a label on James. He acted wretchedly in SWM, but I think it's probable that he grew out of that. Inappropriate as his actions were I think they arose from an honest distrust and hatred of the Dark Arts. I think he probably realized what a jerk he was through Lily's reaction to him and seriously rethought his outlook on life. I think the Werewolf Caper also opened his eyes to the seriousness of his and his friends' actions, contributing to his emotional growth. So, relating this back to Lily, I think in their last year of Hogwarts James probably did a lot of maturing, and that Lily, who seems pretty open-minded and fair, gave him a second chance. They both seem to be strong, are firm in their convictions, good-humored--they're sort of a golden pair, so to speak.

5. It was long assumed, based on her wand, that Lily’s best subject was charms. However, in Half Blood Prince we learn that Lily was a natural potion maker. Which subject do you think Lily preferred. Which do you think she was best at? Did her knowledge in either of these subjects help her in her defiance of Voldemort?
I think she probably just had a good understanding of the underlying concepts of magic, and applied them well in general. We know that she was good at potions, but we hear this from her potions teacher, so we don't really see it compared to her prowess in other subjects. I honestly have no idea what she would have preferred.

6. What about Lily’s personality and character led her to sacrifice herself to save Harry? Why did Voldemort give her a choice in the first place, thus allowing her to make the sacrifice?
Umm...she's his mum, and a decent one? I, like others before me, think Voldy gave her the choice due to the influence of another person, but to avoid turning this into a fight I won't go into it

7. The importance of Lily's eyes has long been a sorce of debate and speculation. It is pointed out by nearly everyone who knew Lily that Harry has her eyes. How and why is this connection between Harry and Lily important?
I think it's just the recognition value. It proved useful with Slughorn, it reminds both Harry and readers that he's not just hiw father's son, he's Lily's as well, and I suspect that another person will end up having to realize that in book seven as well. I think it's kind of weird that Harry feels so much more of a connexion to/interest in his father throughout most of the books, considering she's the one who died to give him the protection that saved him from Voldemort, and I thought it was great that he finally found out some interesting things about his mum.

[HagathaChristie]

In both her time at Hogwarts and her time with the Order, Lily has shown that she is willing to stand up for what she believes in, no matter what the neighbors may think. What about her background / family could have caused Lily to grow up to have such a vastly different character than her sister Petunia?
Seeing as how the Evans parents were delighted to have a witch in the family, I think the indication is that they were open-minded, accepting people. Lily and Petunia do seem quite opposite in that Petunia places absolute emphasis on outward appearances, while Lily was probably unconcerned about such trivialness.

Based on the few things we know about Lily, what sort of friends did she have at Hogwarts. Was she more of the academic type or a jock?
Personally I see her as academic, but more of a creative academic.



The origins of Lily’s relationship with James are for the most part unknown. Why do you imagine she gave him a chance?
I imagine she gave him a chance because she thought he had changed, but my hunch is that he had not changed and she found herself dating the giant squid, a' la Ron. *cough*



What about Lily’s personality and character led her to sacrifice herself to save Harry?
She had selfless love for her child.


The importance of Lily's eyes has long been a sorce of debate and speculation. It is pointed out by nearly everyone who knew Lily that Harry has her eyes. How and why is this connection between Harry and Lily important?
I hope it is to remind us of Lily and her role in Harry's life, but also point to a similar outlook on life and love.

[alwaysme]

Originally Posted by MadMagic

In both her time at Hogwarts and her time with the Order, Lily has shown that she is willing to stand up for what she believes in, no matter what the neighbors may think. What about her background / family could have caused Lily to grow up to have such a vastly different character than her sister Petunia?

I think the fact that Lily was special and had magical talent was a point of jealousy for her sister Petunia. I think Petunia grew up whith great resentment for Lily perhaps feeling left out by her parents.

Lily defied Voldemort 3 times. When did she find the time to do this and how do you imagine she managed to come away alive each time?

I think between the time of the telling of the prophecy and the night at Godric's Hollow would have been ample amount of time for Lily to have defied Voldemort. It is said that Dumbledore had a spy that tipped him off which helped the Potter's go into hiding. I believe that this spy could have tipped Dumbledore off more than once resulting in near misses for the Potter's which would have most likely been considered defying Voldemort.

Based on the few things we know about Lily, what sort of friends did she have at Hogwarts. Was she more of the academic type or a jock?

I think Lily was an academic student. I see her as very bright and friendly. I don't see her as someone who was superficial or part of cliques. I think she was probably friendly with almost anybody. Somewhat Like Harry being friendly with Luna.

The origins of Lily’s relationship with James are for the most part unknown. Why do you imagine she gave him a chance? What about the character of James do you think complimented the character of Lily

This is a mystery to me. We are told that James changed and Lily started to date him in the 7th year but I am not still not sure how this relationship blossomed.

It was long assumed, based on her wand, that Lily’s best subject was charms. However, in Half Blood Prince we learn that Lily was a natural potion maker. Which subject do you think Lily preferred. Which do you think she was best at? Did her knowledge in either of these subjects help her in her defiance of Voldemort?

I think Lily was obviously good at both. I am going to say charms was her best subject since her wand was good for that. I am not sure how she would have used either subject to defy Voldemort.

What about Lily’s personality and character led her to sacrifice herself to save Harry? Why did Voldemort give her a choice in the first place, thus allowing her to make the sacrifice?

This is another mystery. My favorite theory is that Voldemort could have used this as blackmail against Snape to keep him in line. Being a Snape/Lily believer,I could see this.

The importance of Lily's eyes has long been a sorce of debate and speculation. It is pointed out by nearly everyone who knew Lily that Harry has her eyes. How and why is this connection between Harry and Lily important?

I think the whole aspect of Harry having Lily's eyes means that Harry sees the world as Lily did. I think that Harry looks like James on the outside but on the inside he is very much like his mother. I think Harry's eyes are a reminder of this,also a reminder of her sacrifice.

[gertiekeddle]

Originally Posted by alwaysme

I think the whole aspect of Harry having Lily's eyes means that Harry sees the world as Lily did. I think that Harry looks like James on the outside but on the inside he is very much like his mother. I think Harry's eyes are a reminder of this,also a reminder of her sacrifice.

I like this explanation. Harry has a great character especially since he grew up under bad circumstances. All what we know from Lily seems to show her as an very great person, too, who never resists to help the threatened, is loved by almost everyone, but is nonetheless not arrogant at all. Just like Harry uses to be, too.
There are good parts of Harry's character which lead to James in my opinion, too, but I will better run to the next thread to point that out.

[cruplover]

In both her time at Hogwarts and her time with the Order, Lily has shown that she is willing to stand up for what she believes in, no matter what the neighbors may think. What about her background / family could have caused Lily to grow up to have such a vastly different character than her sister Petunia?

Sometimes, siblings are just night and day. Without more information, I can't even really hazard a guess. I envision Lily as the sunny, happy child, while Petunia was always fussy. (Not very insightful, but my opinion, nonetheless!)

Lily defied Voldemort 3 times. When did she find the time to do this and how do you imagine she managed to come away alive each time?

Harry has certainly encountered Voldemort with some regularity. I'm sure Lily had plenty of time between graduation and her death to manage three instances of defiance. I suspect she came away alive because of The Order and her own wits.

Based on the few things we know about Lily, what sort of friends did she have at Hogwarts. Was she more of the academic type or a jock?

I see Lily as a friend to many, but lacking a lot of truly CLOSE friends. I suspect everyone who knew her found her friendly enough, but I don't see her as a part of a particularly tight group, because they simply aren't mentioned, and I don't believe she would forsake close friends for James and the Marauders.

I think she was plenty bright, but not necessarily bookish. As others have suggested, I think that Lily did very well in the subjects that came naturally to her, and/or those in which she excelled. (Potions and Charms, particularly.) I don't see her as a jock; I think Lupin or Sirius would have mentioned it if she had played Quidditch with James.

The origins of Lily’s relationship with James are for the most part unknown. Why do you imagine she gave him a chance? What about the character of James do you think complimented the character of Lily?

It's hardly original, but I see James getting his chance after saving Snape from the werewolf prank. James strikes me as the big man on campus, and perhaps Lily was drawn to his wild man persona, but I also think that Lily had a way of seeing the good in people, especially when it was concealed. I suspect that Lily would have seen a James Potter with charm, brains, and the world at his feet.

It was long assumed, based on her wand, that Lily’s best subject was charms. However, in Half Blood Prince we learn that Lily was a natural potion maker. Which subject do you think Lily preferred. Which do you think she was best at? Did her knowledge in either of these subjects help her in her defiance of Voldemort?

I think it's highly likely both were favored subjects, and Lily performed well in both Charms and Potions. I see no reason to think one might have been more to her liking than the other. I'm sure Lily used everything at her disposal to defy Voldemort.

What about Lily’s personality and character led her to sacrifice herself to save Harry? Why did Voldemort give her a choice in the first place, thus allowing her to make the sacrifice?

As I stated above, I think Lily was a very noble, giving person. I suspect she was a very loving, ideal mother. Instincts took over with Harry, and she just did what she felt any mother would do.

As for why Voldemort gave her a choice... Oh, how I wish I knew!! I suspect her talents for Potions and Charms, or some other yet to be seen asset she possessed were desired by Voldemort for his own purposes, but I can't discount the idea(s) that she was so connected to another character (Snape? Dumbledore?) that Voldemort wanted her alive for that reason.

The importance of Lily's eyes has long been a sorce of debate and speculation. It is pointed out by nearly everyone who knew Lily that Harry has her eyes. How and why is this connection between Harry and Lily important?

Well, I think it has at least a couple of meanings. I think Lily looked at the world with very non-judgemental eyes, and Harry has shown some potential there too. Harry might need to learn to look at EVERYONE as I think his mother did, giving the benefit of the doubt, searching out the good in everyone. Then, there are the more physical hints. The color green appears significant somehow throughout the books. Maybe Lily's eyes allowed her to very literally see through the windows of others' to their souls?

[Hermione82]

Originally Posted by alwaysme

I think the whole aspect of Harry having Lily's eyes means that Harry sees the world as Lily did. I think that Harry looks like James on the outside but on the inside he is very much like his mother. I think Harry's eyes are a reminder of this,also a reminder of her sacrifice.

I too think this is a great explaination.
I never thought of it like that, but I can really see it now. He does seem to have that caring side that we see in Lily.

[sulihawk]

Brilliantly put, alwaysme! I've been thinking about why Voldemort spared Lily and it may not be such an important issue at all. She was simply incidental to his purpose that night. James's murder already split the sixth and final piece of sole needed for his horcrux purposes and Harry's would have fulfilled the prophesy as he knew it. Lily was just an unnecessary obstacle to him and he did not need to split his sole further.

[felixsaysss]

I wonder if Lily knew Severus loved her...
ITS SO SAD.

[guad]

Originally Posted by felixsaysss

I wonder if Lily knew Severus loved her...

Well, we don't know if this even was the case. And if it was the case I in Snapes place, would be more concerned about what Lily would say if she knew who delivered the prophecy or how her only son was treated by him.

Originally Posted by Hermione82

He does seem to have that caring side that we see in Lily.

I think that is a very good point. Specially in SWM we see that Lily does the right choice and that Harry immediately feels that Lily was right, not James. His instinctive feeling of what is right or wrong seems more like Lilys (having the same age).