I recently read a defense of Ron's and Hermione's relationship that troubled me, mostly because of the way it characterized Hermione's and Ron's characters. The article described Hermione as "high-strung and domineering," as someone who "takes things too seriously,"and a "type-A woman." This is clearly an appropriate first impression of Hermione, but an incredibly inaccurate characterization for those fans who have read the entire series.
Hermione begins the series by taking her academics, Hogwarts' rules, and her relationships seriously. But that does not mean she takes them "too seriously." Hermione was the first in her family to be magical, and the first to be admitted to Hogwarts. She is not unlike many students who are the first in their family to go to college or graduate school. This inspires her to seek to make her parents proud and do well in school.
Yet, calling Hermione "high-strung," "domineering," or "type-A" is incredibly inaccurate. While she works hard and catches on to doing spells quickly, she is an incredibly giving person who is happy to share her notes with Ron and Harry even in her first-year at Hogwarts. She wants to succeed academically - calling her ambitious would be accurate - but she is not willing to step over others to get ahead. She reminds Ron and Harry about upcoming exams because she genuinely cares about their success, and what comes off as her being "domineering" initially is just her love for her classmates and her desire to see them all happy and successful.
As the series progresses, Hermione's giving nature becomes increasingly apparent. From helping to save Buckbeak in book 3 to championing for the rights of house-elves in book 5 to changing her parents' memory in book 7 so that they can survive, Hermione repeatedly goes to great lengths to use her talents to help others. For Ron and Harry, she is willing to fight Voldemort's army although she could have gone underground with her parents instead.
The article also mischaracterizes Ron as "easy-going and relaxed" and "kind, charismatic, and supportive." If only Ron was all of these... Sadly, although Ron projects a facade of being easy-going, on the inside he is more ambitious that Harry and Hermione, and his constant insecurities cause him to treat others poorly and threaten to disband the trio. Dumbledore was so aware of Ron's instability that he left Ron a Deluminator.
Ron's ambitions to become Quidditch Captain and Head Boy in the very first year of Hogwarts become apparent when he stands in front of the Mirror of Erised. Even as a first-year, Ron was the ambitious one in the series who wished to outshine his classmates, while Harry only saw his dead parents in the mirror and desired love. Throughout the series, Harry and Hermione have to constantly soothe Ron's ego as they succeed and Ron feels left behind, like when Harry gets chosen as a seeker or his name comes up in the Goblet of Fire... and Ron throws childish fits. Ron's ambitions also become clear when he favors the powerful Elder Wand of the three deathly hallows, while Hermione prefers the practical and defensive protection of the Cloak of Invisibility, and Harry favors lost love provided by the Resurrection Stone.
As the series progresses, Ron's threat to the trio becomes increasingly clear. While Hermione helps Ron on several occasions, Ron's insecurities about himself cause him to disparage her. Ron asks Hermione out to the Yule Ball by reminding her of her lack of attractiveness and that she probably has no other alternatives than Ron. Ron's lack of respect for Hermione reaches its climax in the seventh book, when all of his insecurities surface while he tries to destroy the locket. Ron sees Harry and Hermione together in the locket, because he is unable to see the good he can offer to the world, and his inability to see how he can be attractive to a girl like Hermione causes him to disrespect her.
While Ron is ultimately a hero who is able to rise from his insecurities (and saves the trio on several occasions), I have often wondered if an incredibly giving person like Hermione might not deserve a person who is able to return her unconditional love without all the drama and insecurities that Ron brings to the relationship. I understand why J.K. Rowling may think Harry might return to Hermione the genuine affection she feels for people and have an honest and open relationship with her. While I personally see Harry and Hermione more as siblings, I just cannot fault J.K. Rowling for feeling a little guilty about not giving Hermione the type of unconditional love she deserved.
Personally, I really liked Krum with Hermione. Krum was confident of his athletic abilities without being insecure about his lack of... intelligence. Krum was also the first character in the series to see beauty in Hermione even before she got her make-over for the Yule Ball. And not only did he find Hermione attractive, unlike Ron, he conveyed such feelings to her. He let Hermione know that she was beautiful in her own right, that her talents made her attractive, and that her love for everyone was being noticed. Krum boosted Hermione's confidence, while Ron made her feel like an isolated unattractive loser during the Yule Ball. And I enjoyed the Austinian romance of Krum and Hermione's long letters to each other. Ultimately, Hermione felt good about herself with Krum, and could trust Krum to be there for her in a responsible adult manner.
Yet, calling Hermione "high-strung," "domineering," or "type-A" is incredibly inaccurate. While she works hard and catches on to doing spells quickly, she is an incredibly giving person who is happy to share her notes with Ron and Harry even in her first-year at Hogwarts. She wants to succeed academically - calling her ambitious would be accurate - but she is not willing to step over others to get ahead. She reminds Ron and Harry about upcoming exams because she genuinely cares about their success, and what comes off as her being "domineering" initially is just her love for her classmates and her desire to see them all happy and successful.
As the series progresses, Hermione's giving nature becomes increasingly apparent. From helping to save Buckbeak in book 3 to championing for the rights of house-elves in book 5 to changing her parents' memory in book 7 so that they can survive, Hermione repeatedly goes to great lengths to use her talents to help others. For Ron and Harry, she is willing to fight Voldemort's army although she could have gone underground with her parents instead.
The article also mischaracterizes Ron as "easy-going and relaxed" and "kind, charismatic, and supportive." If only Ron was all of these... Sadly, although Ron projects a facade of being easy-going, on the inside he is more ambitious that Harry and Hermione, and his constant insecurities cause him to treat others poorly and threaten to disband the trio. Dumbledore was so aware of Ron's instability that he left Ron a Deluminator.
Ron's ambitions to become Quidditch Captain and Head Boy in the very first year of Hogwarts become apparent when he stands in front of the Mirror of Erised. Even as a first-year, Ron was the ambitious one in the series who wished to outshine his classmates, while Harry only saw his dead parents in the mirror and desired love. Throughout the series, Harry and Hermione have to constantly soothe Ron's ego as they succeed and Ron feels left behind, like when Harry gets chosen as a seeker or his name comes up in the Goblet of Fire... and Ron throws childish fits. Ron's ambitions also become clear when he favors the powerful Elder Wand of the three deathly hallows, while Hermione prefers the practical and defensive protection of the Cloak of Invisibility, and Harry favors lost love provided by the Resurrection Stone.
As the series progresses, Ron's threat to the trio becomes increasingly clear. While Hermione helps Ron on several occasions, Ron's insecurities about himself cause him to disparage her. Ron asks Hermione out to the Yule Ball by reminding her of her lack of attractiveness and that she probably has no other alternatives than Ron. Ron's lack of respect for Hermione reaches its climax in the seventh book, when all of his insecurities surface while he tries to destroy the locket. Ron sees Harry and Hermione together in the locket, because he is unable to see the good he can offer to the world, and his inability to see how he can be attractive to a girl like Hermione causes him to disrespect her.
While Ron is ultimately a hero who is able to rise from his insecurities (and saves the trio on several occasions), I have often wondered if an incredibly giving person like Hermione might not deserve a person who is able to return her unconditional love without all the drama and insecurities that Ron brings to the relationship. I understand why J.K. Rowling may think Harry might return to Hermione the genuine affection she feels for people and have an honest and open relationship with her. While I personally see Harry and Hermione more as siblings, I just cannot fault J.K. Rowling for feeling a little guilty about not giving Hermione the type of unconditional love she deserved.
Personally, I really liked Krum with Hermione. Krum was confident of his athletic abilities without being insecure about his lack of... intelligence. Krum was also the first character in the series to see beauty in Hermione even before she got her make-over for the Yule Ball. And not only did he find Hermione attractive, unlike Ron, he conveyed such feelings to her. He let Hermione know that she was beautiful in her own right, that her talents made her attractive, and that her love for everyone was being noticed. Krum boosted Hermione's confidence, while Ron made her feel like an isolated unattractive loser during the Yule Ball. And I enjoyed the Austinian romance of Krum and Hermione's long letters to each other. Ultimately, Hermione felt good about herself with Krum, and could trust Krum to be there for her in a responsible adult manner.
I agree that the other article completely mischaracterized Ron and Hermione. You put forth a convincing argument that Ron and Hermione may not have been right for each other (I'm still a little unconvinced about Krum though… ).
ReplyDeleteMy biggest issue with JKR's recent comment, though, is why now? Why, after writing seven books over a decade and building a billion dollar franchise, is she regretting her decisions to put them together? And if she is regretting it, I just don't understand why she would say it publicly. It's pretty idiotic for an author of JKR's caliber to destroy her own legacy.
I think that's a fair point. There is a way of analyzing literature in which author's intent is really emphasized. And there are Ph.D. students and scholars who pour through private letters and conversations of old authors to see what the author thought of his or her book, especially as time passed or the author learnt of the readers' responses. This exercise can help in better understanding the characters of the book. For instance, J.K. Rowling's this comment to me stood as her concession that she thought Ron was intended to be a tragic hero - one who has great strengths as well as deep flaws. I find value in that, but I can also see how it is incredibly tacky and self-absorbed.
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