Goblet of Fire, Chapter 8: Beware the Veela
Veela are absolutely stunning women with the ability to seduce any man. But when angered by the slightest provocation, they sprout wings and bird-like heads, and lash out accordingly.
I think J. K. Rowling is trying to tell us something.
Pretty girls are dangerous!
Think about it: they are irresistable to men and precariously easy to piss off. You can’t trust them as far as you can throw them. One wrong move, and they’ll start gnawing at your face with their vulture beaks. They had to be forcibly removed from the Quidditch World Cup simply because their team was losing. Dangerous and sore losers. Toxic combo!
So I guess it’s fortunate Fleur Delacour is only 1/4th Veela. The odds of her transforming into a harpy from Hell are dramatically decreased by the watering down of her blood line. Good thing for poor Bill! A werewolf attack is enough – surviving a lifetime with an angry Veela is more than any innocent man should be subjected to.
I’m taking liberties here, of course. There’s no solid evidence half-blood Veela don’t transform into wrathful sirens. I’m just assuming that with only a quarter Veela in her genes, an angry Fleur is less likely to become this:
And probably resembles something more along the lines of this:
I just think maybe there’s a subtle message from Ms. Rowling we’re supposed to pick up on here.
Think about it.
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On a completely different note, anyone remember Winky? Poor little elf wasn’t even offered a movie contract!
What’s nice about this diminutive lady is that she offers an alternate view of Dobby’s newfound freedom. We could go on for weeks about the presence of slavery in the Harry Potter series and the social implications of the house elves, but I’m not feeling quite that ambitious right now. Let’s just keep things simple.
For better or worse, Winky justifies house elf servitude and in doing so, exonerates well-intentioned wizards. Let me stress that: well-intentioned wizards. Barty Crouch, who makes Winky climb up into the spectator’s box even though she is afraid of heights, is not well-intentioned. Lucius Malfoy, who beats Dobby on a regular basis, is not well-intentioned (he should really save some of that rage for his sister-in-law – she makes the Veela look about as terrifying as Big Bird).
On second thought, Big Bird is pretty terrifying...
Winky represents what Ron has been saying all along. Of course, there’s a danger in making sweeping generalizations about any species; Winky may stand for the majority of house elves who want to serve wizards, but that doesn’t make Dobby wrong for wanting his freedom. It’s all so complicated and controversial, even the characters in the story can’t agree.
But it’s also all conveniently left out of the films, so it’s worth noting here as we re-read Goblet of Fire.
They’re always ‘conveniently leaving things out of the movies’! Things that make sense in the books usually get messed up, and they leave out the complicated parts, and you end up going, “Huh?” as you watch the movies. The books make you think about things, the movies… don’t.
I’d forgotten that Fleur was a Veela…
Big Bird is terrifying!! LOL
What’s with you and the lol-able song lyrics lately? You’re on a roll!
I was disappointed they left Winky out of the movies. I wanted to see her drunk on Butterbeer! Also, it would have been cool to see how they could feminize the house elf “look.”
As for Fleur and her Veela heritage, I’m sure the wolfishness in Bill would come in handy if need be. Makes you wonder about their kids, though…
Yes, I wanted to see Winky drunk on Butterbeer too!
Interesting commentary on Veela. Personally, I always thought of them more as a way of mixing the Sirens and Harpies of Ancient Greek mythology with other East European traditions. Vicious women with bird-like bodies attracting and sometimes attacking unsuspecting men; a sexist creation, but an important part of Western literature.
This was the most disappointing movie of the hp series. @Flartus- Now that u bring it up, I do wonder what their kids would look like.
btw love the ‘do I look like the blue bird of happiness?’ picture.
I never thought of veela as just beautiful women of the muggle world, but if a girl has people tripping over themselves to please her, probably starting with Daddy, how else would she react to not getting her way? It would be a bizarre experience for her. Makes me glad I’m plain and/or intidating.
I think Winky is an important character to add the depth to the house elf issue. To point out how complicated an issue it is.
The problem with movies is there is limited time to deal with a topic. While this is an important topic (house elf slavery)in the book(s), there is time to deal with it. The movies are all about fight against Voldemort and that topic rules all.
It is in the books that we can compare and contrast people’s attitude towards Voldemort and their house elves. In the end, the books are how we act publically and privately. Harry is a truly brave man because his behavior remains consistent in both arenas.
I do understand this I just think that the director who did PoA should have done all the movies. He was excellent. I also know how hard this was to put together so i’m deciding which was worse compared to the book, GoF or DH pt1and pt2. Most of the things in DH that made be mad were little things like harry’s wand never getting fixed those were things that could have been there but weren’t. I, personally, even think JKR should have had harry apologize to Snape. I know I wanted to when the story ended. I acknowledge how hard it was to make the movie. The could have made a part 2 though…
Ha ha! Good one! Yeah, I agree about beautiful girls not necessarily being easy to get along with. My husband chose me for a reason!
I, too, miss Winky in the movies, but then I miss a lot of the plot points that didn’t make the cut. I see the House Elves as mostly a commentary on pre-sixties sexism issues. Having been a teenager in the 1960′s, the whole thing sparks my memories. I was more like Winky than Dobby, though (except for getting drunk.) I laughed when feminists complained about men making their wives go get them a beer while they lounge in front of the tv watching football. Such a thing never happened in my home; my dad was always very sweet to my mom.
…and in my dad’s eyes, at least, my mom had Veela beauty with a personality that would make Harry Potter look like a selfish brat.
its funny how ron saw fleur first and then bill came into the picture and it was suddenly ok.
And then there is Kreacher. It seems to me that Regulus was a well-intentioned wizard, and look how well *that* turned out…
So I think in the end, Dobby is right about the end goal, but Winky and Kreacher show the solution would not be as simple as handing out a bunch of clothes.
I personally would have loved to see the Veela’s effect on the men portrayed in the movies. I especially loved when Harry and Ron were about to jump out of the Top Box at the World Cup in an effort to impress the Veelas, however irrelevant It was to the plot. And the part where the referee had to be kicked for trying to do the same would have been funny to watch.