Markup View

Author: Anbalsilfer

Feb 23rd 2013 at 5:02:09 AM

I realized Franchise/HarryPotter contains a variation of this trope. Here it is the four houses of Hogwarts academy that correspond to different moral ideals (and implicitly, the vices that often go with them):
* Gryffindor represents courage and chivalry, the knightly virtues. Weaknesses include brashness, overconfidence and pride.
* Ravenclaw represents wisdom, knowledge and honesty. Weaknesses include arrogance and aloofness.
* Hufflepuff represents humility, loyalty and diligence. No clear moral weaknesses seem to accompany these traits, yet Hufflepuff is the house which is most frequently looked down on in disdain by the others. A commentary on how humility can be misinterpreted as weakness or passivity?
* Slytherin represents ambition, personal as well as collective. As a trait of utility rather than morality, it can sometimes overshadow traditional moral values, which is why most "evil wizards/witches" in the world come from this house. Yet its relevance as a positive trait cannot be denied. Where would the others be without it?

It seems the trope should perhaps be "embiggened", for use of another cromulent word, to include cases where organizations or even inanimate objects are seen as representations of virtues or vices.