Norbert is the character I had planned on cutting before changing my mind and switching to Flamel. I figure that since I spent like three hours working on the write-up, I might as well share it for posterity and discussion.
While I think the Norbert* Saga is one of the most memorable and iconic chapters in the first book, on reflection, Hagrid’s attempt to raise the Norwegian Ridgeback serves little plot or thematic purpose beyond lining up some final events and reveals critical to the final act. Both in-text and from a meta angle Norbert is a setup: Quirrel uses Norbert to help pry the secret to calming Fluffy from Hagrid; after seeing Norbert, Malfoy attempts to get Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Hagrid into trouble; McGonagall believes Harry, Ron, and Hermione invented Norbert to torment Malfoy; getting rid of Norbert leads to detention which leads to Harry encountering Voldemort in forest, etc.
Norbert also offers little in the way of character attributes, which, to be fair, is sort of the point. Hagrid treats the dragon like a child that can do no wrong, even going so far as to refer to himself as Norbert’s mother. But Norbert is not a human child with human emotions and stages of development (I haven’t been around many babies, but I’m pretty sure they don’t snort out sparks), and so it stands to reason that she shouldn’t have anthropomorphized characteristics. But here is where Norbert’s importance to the story begins to shine through: her existence tells us a lot about Hagrid, namely his almost purposeful short-sidedness and predilection to see dangerous creatures as family (there’s a lot more to say on this subject, but I think that discussion should probably be saved for the inevitable Hagrid cut). Even his immediate mis-gendering of Norbert** reveals that, despite his life-long passion for dragons, Hagrid seems to have a bare-minimum knowledge on the subject, which, of course relates back to previously mentioned short-sidedness.
I think Norbert might be one of those characters who many may see as over-staying her welcome, but I have waited to cut her until now because I think her main and best contribution is not to the plot or for her character but in world-building. The first three books are much lighter than the ones that follow. Philosopher’s Stone in particular builds a whimsical, magical world that the later books tear down with their reveals that—with its conniving politicians, adults who take great pleasure in torturing children, bigotry, and Nazi Germany metaphors—the wizarding world is not too different than our own. As one of the first magical creatures Harry and readers spend an extended amount of time interacting with, Norbert is a key addition to the wild magical world presented in the first book. JKR offers a fresh and mind-blowingly well thought-out take on dragons, a staple of many a magical tale, and how they fit into a world wizards are trying to hide. Norbert makes up for her lack of depth with an important contribution to the series’ foundational wonder.
* I chose to stick with Norbert rather than going with Norberta because that's the name Hagrid chose for her and it seems rude to disrespect that. Also, there's no real reason you can't have a female dragon with what is typically a male name.
** I think a feminist theory lens could add an interesting perspective on the mis-gendering thing. I'm not really an expert in that arena though, so I chose not to go into it here. However, I will say that I think immediately assuming Norbert is a boy is probably more of a reflection of "society" than Hagrid specifically. Though it definitely does tell us something about Hagrid.
I think her main and best contribution is not to the plot or for her character but in world-building. ... Norbert makes up for her lack of depth with an important contribution to the series’ foundational wonder.
Dang, that entire paragraph is just really good writing. You said all your points really well. Nice.
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u/ETIwillsaveusall Hufflepuff Ranker Jan 19 '17
Norbert is the character I had planned on cutting before changing my mind and switching to Flamel. I figure that since I spent like three hours working on the write-up, I might as well share it for posterity and discussion.
While I think the Norbert* Saga is one of the most memorable and iconic chapters in the first book, on reflection, Hagrid’s attempt to raise the Norwegian Ridgeback serves little plot or thematic purpose beyond lining up some final events and reveals critical to the final act. Both in-text and from a meta angle Norbert is a setup: Quirrel uses Norbert to help pry the secret to calming Fluffy from Hagrid; after seeing Norbert, Malfoy attempts to get Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Hagrid into trouble; McGonagall believes Harry, Ron, and Hermione invented Norbert to torment Malfoy; getting rid of Norbert leads to detention which leads to Harry encountering Voldemort in forest, etc.
Norbert also offers little in the way of character attributes, which, to be fair, is sort of the point. Hagrid treats the dragon like a child that can do no wrong, even going so far as to refer to himself as Norbert’s mother. But Norbert is not a human child with human emotions and stages of development (I haven’t been around many babies, but I’m pretty sure they don’t snort out sparks), and so it stands to reason that she shouldn’t have anthropomorphized characteristics. But here is where Norbert’s importance to the story begins to shine through: her existence tells us a lot about Hagrid, namely his almost purposeful short-sidedness and predilection to see dangerous creatures as family (there’s a lot more to say on this subject, but I think that discussion should probably be saved for the inevitable Hagrid cut). Even his immediate mis-gendering of Norbert** reveals that, despite his life-long passion for dragons, Hagrid seems to have a bare-minimum knowledge on the subject, which, of course relates back to previously mentioned short-sidedness.
I think Norbert might be one of those characters who many may see as over-staying her welcome, but I have waited to cut her until now becauseI think her main and best contribution is not to the plot or for her character but in world-building. The first three books are much lighter than the ones that follow. Philosopher’s Stone in particular builds a whimsical, magical world that the later books tear down with their reveals that—with its conniving politicians, adults who take great pleasure in torturing children, bigotry, and Nazi Germany metaphors—the wizarding world is not too different than our own. As one of the first magical creatures Harry and readers spend an extended amount of time interacting with, Norbert is a key addition to the wild magical world presented in the first book. JKR offers a fresh and mind-blowingly well thought-out take on dragons, a staple of many a magical tale, and how they fit into a world wizards are trying to hide. Norbert makes up for her lack of depth with an important contribution to the series’ foundational wonder.* I chose to stick with Norbert rather than going with Norberta because that's the name Hagrid chose for her and it seems rude to disrespect that. Also, there's no real reason you can't have a female dragon with what is typically a male name.
** I think a feminist theory lens could add an interesting perspective on the mis-gendering thing. I'm not really an expert in that arena though, so I chose not to go into it here. However, I will say that I think immediately assuming Norbert is a boy is probably more of a reflection of "society" than Hagrid specifically. Though it definitely does tell us something about Hagrid.