Ah, but nowhere did you make a distinction between what the treaty with the Generous Ones (or whoever) says and the system that the Elect set up between themselves. As a matter of fact, given the characterization of the Configuration figures we know about, I highly doubt that they would have chosen to sacrifice their own children. It's much more likely (and much more human nature) that the Elect would decide that becoming one of the Elect would exempt their children from the lottery - no one is going to put their own child at risk if they can put some other person's child at risk.
Also, you strongly implied that non-pureblooded children couldn't or wouldn't be sacrifices - when Alex accuses Mr Chu of having married a Muggle for that very reason. The pureblood predjudice of the people running the Confederation would not allow them to sacrifice a "valuable" pureblood child when a "lesser" non-pureblood child would do.
Is it possible that the Elect are so self-sacrificing as to behave differently? Not impossible, I suppose, but I don't buy it. If they really were that kind of noble people, I doubt that even Abraham Thorn would have taken up arms against them. They are written too much like regular stereotypical Muggle politicians: Looking out for themselves first, their families second, their backers third, and the rest of us not at all.
So, the only thing that makes sense is that the treaty requires a pureblood child of the Elect - otherwise, they'd sacrifice some other, lesser person's child.
-jblakew
PS - Not that I'm asking you for the answers to some of the questions that I (and others) have posed (although we wouldn't mind :)), can you tell us if we will, at some point, find out the answers to some of them? (JKR, after all, did promise that we would eventually find out the reason for the gleam in Dumbledore's eye after the Triwizard Tournament, although it took almost to the end of DH to actually find that out.)
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Re: Something Mr. Chu said is sticking in my mind....
Date: 2010-06-26 05:34 pm (UTC)Also, you strongly implied that non-pureblooded children couldn't or wouldn't be sacrifices - when Alex accuses Mr Chu of having married a Muggle for that very reason. The pureblood predjudice of the people running the Confederation would not allow them to sacrifice a "valuable" pureblood child when a "lesser" non-pureblood child would do.
Is it possible that the Elect are so self-sacrificing as to behave differently? Not impossible, I suppose, but I don't buy it. If they really were that kind of noble people, I doubt that even Abraham Thorn would have taken up arms against them. They are written too much like regular stereotypical Muggle politicians: Looking out for themselves first, their families second, their backers third, and the rest of us not at all.
So, the only thing that makes sense is that the treaty requires a pureblood child of the Elect - otherwise, they'd sacrifice some other, lesser person's child.
-jblakew
PS - Not that I'm asking you for the answers to some of the questions that I (and others) have posed (although we wouldn't mind :)), can you tell us if we will, at some point, find out the answers to some of them? (JKR, after all, did promise that we would eventually find out the reason for the gleam in Dumbledore's eye after the Triwizard Tournament, although it took almost to the end of DH to actually find that out.)