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Give her hell from us, Peeves!

30 Days of Harry Potter - day 6: Favorite villain

This isn't a question I've really given much thought to, so to answer the question, first I tried to remember who all the villains are. There are probably some minor villains¹ (and perceived villains²) that I forgot, but this is what I came up with:

1. Quirinus Quirrell
2. Voldemort (via diary)
3. Peter Pettigrew
4. Barty Crouch, Jr.

Hem, hem
5. Dolores Umbridge, Voldemort and Death Eaters
6. This is a weird one. I suppose Draco could be considered a villain, and you're led to believe that Snape is one too, but there isn't really a central villain in the way that there is in the other books.
7. Voldemort, Death Eaters, etc.

I guess if I were going to pick my "favorite villain", it would be the one who's most useless and worst at stirring up evil, and therefore less of a threat to the characters we love. That's probably Draco Malfoy, with his half-assed attempts on Dumbledore's life in Half-Blood Prince and extensive sneering throughout the other books.

But from a literary standpoint, I'd say my favorite is probably Dolores Umbridge, because she's the kind of character you don't see much in fantasy novels and movies: the power-mad bureaucrat. It's notable that while every other villain has some connection to Lord Voldemort, she represents only herself and the Ministry of Magic. This makes her the kind of villain who could actually exist in our own universe. She has her mandate from the Ministry to watch over Hogwarts and Dumbledore, but she's sadistic because she chooses to be. I think I would probably be interested in reading a life about the early life of Dolores Umbridge if J.K. Rowling were to write one. What turns someone into an Umbridge?

srah - Saturday, 6 November 2010 - 12:10 PM
Tags: 30 days of harry potter, harry potter, nablopomo, nablopomo 2010

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