The book "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" starts with the line – "Mr and Mrs Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much. " Hasn't J.K. Rowling used too many commas? Instead, had she written "Mr and Mrs Dursley of number four Privet Drive were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much."; wouldn't it be better?
Also, what does she try to indicate by writing 'thank you very much' ?
Best Answer
The air of formality created by the maximal punctuation of their address (as they would themselves have stated it) helps establish the bourgeois respectability of Durselys.
This is cemented by telling us they were proud to say that they were perfectly normal.
thank you very much (for asking about it) is a piece of sarcastic excessive politeness stereotypical of petty English snobbery.