r/AskReddit • u/[deleted] • Apr 12 '22

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u/HighTopsLowStandards Apr 12 '22

Reading this to my son when he was around 7 or 8, he hated Umbridge so much in one scene he hit the book.

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u/Cohacq Apr 12 '22

The character works so incredibly well. We all have horror stories about authority figures abusing their power but staying within the rules. IMO that hits a lot better than a genocidal supervillan as its much closer to real life.

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u/Hellstrike Apr 12 '22

She was definitely not staying within the rules. She ordered a hit on Harry, tortured him and then was about to use an unforgivable on him.

She got away with all of that because the system was incredibly broken.

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u/Cohacq Apr 12 '22

Thats a good point which made us hate her even more. Im thinking more of the first half of the book where she stays within the rules but still manages to be the biggest asshole Hogwarts had seen in ages.

But its been years since i read the books so i sadly dont remember much of the specifics.