EY and Quirrell couldn’t have spelled it out more clearly.
Shouldn’t this have occurred to Harry as well? When does he make the connection to that discussion?
Harry has repeatedly shown that he’s blind to Quirrell’s darker motives. It seems to be a necessary contrivance: if he turned against Quirrell before he came fully into his power, he’d lose. I can think of a fictional justification for it, though. He applies the same rationalization to Quirrell’s actions that we use when explaining our own, and he does it because he’s a copy of the person he’s making excuses for. It’s probably not psychologically realistic, but it’s neat enough that I could suspend my disbelief if it turned out to be the case.
All sorts of biases are at work in Harry towards Quirrell. Halo effect from his power, knowledge, competence, and rationality. Gratitude for saving Harry’s life. For helping against the bullies. For sharing the outerspace spell.
Respect for Q because he seems to respect Harry, and plays to his vanity. The Uber Competent adult mentor takes him seriously and tells him he is destined for great things, and includes in his plotting and actions. He’s the Dad Harry has always wanted.
Besides Hermione, he’s the only friend Harry has ever had. He didn’t quit in Azkaban because he couldn’t lose Quirrell.
I think that’s enough justification for a blind spot in this regard. It would just show that for all his brilliance, Harry is a human being,
So I guess I’m answering my own question. It’s reasonable for Harry to have this blind spot, and narratively useful for an author who wants to pontificate about biases. At some point, Harry’s going to have a talk with himself, or maybe even Quirrell, about how Quirrell spelled it all out to him, but he didn’t listen.
And to be fair to Harry, he does question Quirrell’s motives a good deal. His values him, while not entirely trusting him.
I haven’t been able to find the article at the moment, but there is evidence that we rationalize for friends, family, and allies in the same way we rationalize for ourselves. If you consider someone on ‘your side’, your brain can go through exceptional mental gymnastics to explain their behavior.
Harry has repeatedly shown that he’s blind to Quirrell’s darker motives. It seems to be a necessary contrivance: if he turned against Quirrell before he came fully into his power, he’d lose. I can think of a fictional justification for it, though. He applies the same rationalization to Quirrell’s actions that we use when explaining our own, and he does it because he’s a copy of the person he’s making excuses for. It’s probably not psychologically realistic, but it’s neat enough that I could suspend my disbelief if it turned out to be the case.
All sorts of biases are at work in Harry towards Quirrell. Halo effect from his power, knowledge, competence, and rationality. Gratitude for saving Harry’s life. For helping against the bullies. For sharing the outerspace spell.
Respect for Q because he seems to respect Harry, and plays to his vanity. The Uber Competent adult mentor takes him seriously and tells him he is destined for great things, and includes in his plotting and actions. He’s the Dad Harry has always wanted.
Besides Hermione, he’s the only friend Harry has ever had. He didn’t quit in Azkaban because he couldn’t lose Quirrell.
I think that’s enough justification for a blind spot in this regard. It would just show that for all his brilliance, Harry is a human being,
So I guess I’m answering my own question. It’s reasonable for Harry to have this blind spot, and narratively useful for an author who wants to pontificate about biases. At some point, Harry’s going to have a talk with himself, or maybe even Quirrell, about how Quirrell spelled it all out to him, but he didn’t listen.
And to be fair to Harry, he does question Quirrell’s motives a good deal. His values him, while not entirely trusting him.
I haven’t been able to find the article at the moment, but there is evidence that we rationalize for friends, family, and allies in the same way we rationalize for ourselves. If you consider someone on ‘your side’, your brain can go through exceptional mental gymnastics to explain their behavior.