'Tis a Puzzlement

[kerravonsen]

Oh, Harry Potter fans and Brits, and those who happen to be both, lend me your wisdom!
I've come across a couple of things in HP stories I've read recently, things which puzzle me.

A. Dementors
The assertion that "Dementors feed on happy thoughts". When I came across this the first time, I thought it was an aberration, a misinterpretation, but when I came across it a second time, it obviously isn't a solitary one. Where did people get this idea? To me, it seems the complete opposite of what canon tells us. Dementors don't feed on happy thoughts, they feed on despair. Or, more precisely, they create despair and feed on souls.
How could Dementors feed on happy thoughts when happy thoughts (in the form of a Patronus) drive them away?
How could they feed on happy thoughts when people who have lots of unhappy thoughts (such as Harry) are more vulnerable to them?

Is it that people give that interpretation because they think that "evoking worst memories" is equivalent to "destroying happy thoughts" which is equivalent to "feeding on happy thoughts"? But I don't think that's the case at all.

My personal theory about Dementors is that Dementors bring up people's worst memories because they need to induce despair, suicidal despair, in order to more easily consume someone's soul.

B. Forms of Address

"Miss Granger" versus "Granger" versus "Hermione":
1) "Miss Granger" is the most formal (yes)
2) "Hermione" is the least formal and most friendly (yes)
3) "Granger" is less formal and more friendly than "Miss Granger" (huh?)

That last is what puzzles me, though I've come across it more than once in Severus Snape/Hermione Granger stories; that Snape calling her "Granger" is a form of respect and/or friendliness, and that when he goes back to calling her "Miss Granger" it's an indication that their relationship has gone a step backwards.
Maybe my puzzlement is due to the fact that I'm not British, but I thought that the Surname form of address is less friendly than the full honorific; certainly Snape doesn't mean it in any friendly manner when he addresses Harry as "Potter". I thought the Surname form of address is one that emphasises the Teacher-Student dynamic, while the Honorific-Surname form of address, while being more formal, is also more polite, and thus in some ways is more friendly.

Any Brits care to enlighten me?

Comments

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

in a girls' boarding school, I would probably expect mistresses to use Miss Surname.

According to the old school stories I used to read, many of which were pre-war, the girls were always first name only, to the teachers as well. It was so at the Marlow girls' school, Kingscote, which was post-war, and at by boarding school for that matter. What did they do at yours?

I would be angry too. Being addressed as Miss or Mrs also annoys me. It should be Ms, making it the same as Mr: merely an honorific and not an indication of one's relationship to a man.

I thought much the same about Hermione; she'd appreciate the indication of equality. :-)

[watervole.livejournal.com]

"Being addressed as Miss or Mrs also annoys me. It should be Ms, making it the same as Mr: merely an honorific and not an indication of one's relationship to a man."

People should have the choice. I actually prefer being 'Mrs'. But I'd be quite happy to have an equivalent for men that indicates they are married.

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

:-) So would I, but it's extremely unlikely they'd go for it. However just using no titles (unless it's Doctor or Professor) is much easier.

[kalypso-v.livejournal.com]

I answer to Miss, Mrs and Ms, as I think there's a case for all three (and after all, all three are an abbreviation of Mistress). I accept Miss, because I'm an unmarried woman; and Mrs, because at one time - certainly up to the seventeenth century - that was the form of address for all women, married or not, and I think that's a sensible practice (cf modern use of Frau for a woman and Fraulein for a girl); and Ms as that's the current convention. If pressed, I generally go for Miss, but I'd rather skip titles altogether and stick with forename (or initials) plus surname.

I found out recently that the reason why my brother always uses forename plus surname in emails - which does seem a bit odd between siblings - is that his Quaker school taught him that that formula addressed the whole person.

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

I'd rather skip titles altogether and stick with forename (or initials) plus surname.

That's what I do, and it seems to be becoming quite widespread here.

I've known people, usually called John, who were always addressed by both names.