Well, there are two ways to approach this question: am I supposed to think of the female character that I hate the most, or the characterization that I was least impressed by? I guess I’ll go with the former, it seems more fun. Plus, let’s be honest, I’m pretty soundly impressed by everything JK has written about any character.
Okay, so obviously my hatred for Dolores Jane Umbridge extends disturbingly deep – it’s actually kind of alarming how repulsed I can be by a fictional character. I think what makes Umbridge so bloody awful is the fact that she tip-toed the line between nastily twisted and unequivocally evil for so long before finally leaping over it completely in Hallows. In my opinion, it’s the more subtle things that she does that make her character so memorably wretched. Although her hatred for Muggleborns, her willingness to use the Cruciatus curse and that horrible torture quill on students, and her support of the Ministry of Magic under Voldemort’s reign are perhaps the worst of her offenses, it’s the details that stick in my mind (courtesy of JK’s brilliance for such things, as always). I can never look at a decorative cat plate again without wanting to smash it, and the word “simper” has a permanent connotation with toads for me from now on. But honestly, the one scene that stands out from all others with Umbridge is her treatment of Hagrid during his teaching evaluation – it’s a perfect example of how internal prejudices can start to have external consequences, beginning with taunts and condemnation and resulting in perpetrating violence against those very same victims. Thanks, Umbridge, for serving as a symbol of all pompous, cruel, twisted people who hide behind a mask of superficial decency (whether it comes in the form of cat plates, tea with extra sugar, or pink cardigans and black hair bows). You are truly a repulsive human being character (ahem…).
