Mr. Pumpkinhead
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Posts posted by Mr. Pumpkinhead
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Here's a bit of an open ended question for Ron/Hermione Shippers. If you had to isolate a favorite trait or personality characteristic of Ron and Hermione relative to their relationship, what would that trait/characteristic for each individual be?
For myself regarding Hermione I consider a trait that might be somewhat controversial to some. Her vulnerability in the relationship. I say that it could be controversial because of the potential negative connotation of the word and the fact that I'm associating it with a powerful female character. It's also a bit of a weird trait to pick for Hermione considering that it could be argued that Ron displayed a lot more vulnerability than Hermione.
The reason I choose Hermione's vulnerability in the relationship is because of how unique the sense of vulnerability was to her. Ron felt vulnerable about a number of things because of his insecurites. Hermione felt vulnerable in very few things. In spite of her intelligence she felt vulnerable to acedemic failure. Hermione expected herself to achieve at such a high level that when she finished somewhere other than first acedemically she could be hurt. I think that vulnerabilty derived from a sense that she was a high achiever. She knew she worked hard and she knew she was smart, so her expectations were high. So her vulnerabilty acedemically was born of certainties she had to live up to.
With Ron, Hermione's vulnerabilty was born of uncertainty. I don't mean to argue that she was not secure in herself. I think she was very confident in who she was and her beliefs. Where she was not confident was in Ron's feelings and compatibility with her. She was certain of her love for him but was unsure of his love for her. I think she was also unsure of their compatibility.
So why do I pick that trait for Hermione? Because it humanizes her. Love is such a unique feeling. As outside observers we often times try to figure out why one person loves another. Sometimes it just doesn't make sense to us and yet it makes perfect sense to the person who is in love. Hermione was likely used to being in control emotionally and intellectually. Harry, Draco or any other boy could not upset the equilibrium she posessed. Ron could. The fact that Ron could made Hermione someone who most any of us can relate to.
Hermione is such a practical person and yet her love for Ron could seem impractical...even to JKR apparently.
Perhaps I'm twisting this a weird way here... but Albert Einstein a verifiable genius who's intelligence is revered world wide is something of an iconic figure that few if any of us can relate to him. And yet... Albert Einstein was head over heals in love... with his cousin. Now don't get me wrong... I'm not saying we're all in love with our cousins or siblings. What I am saying is that we can observe one of the most intelligent and accomplished people in world history and see that when it came to his personal life and love that the puzzle pieces did not fit like a mathematical equation or fall within the logic of a scientific process.
Love is not scientific, it's not mathematical, it's not logical it IS ethereal and illogical and unquantifiable. And for Albert Eienstein and Hermione Granger... it is like it is for the rest of us. That is what makes them relateable. That is what makes them human. That is what makes them like you or I. So that's why Hermione's vulnerability when it came to Ron Weasley is my favorite trait of hers.
When I consider Ron and my favorite trait/characterist of his at it relates to Hermione I think of his attention to her. In some ways I think his attention to her might be described as excessive. Ron was someone who could be distracted. When it came to schooling or Harry's feelings for his own sister or even the hunt for Horcruxes Ron could be distracted. His thoughts were often sidetracked by his insecurities and self evaluation and when he was not sidetracked by insecurities he was often sidetracked by a lack of interest. Now when it came to Hermione those same insecurities and that same self evaluation still existed, but Hermione was the genesis of that self reflection. Hermione held Ron's attention like no one or nothing else could. Hermione was Ron's interest. While outside influences could pull Ron away from a task, they couldn't pull him away from Hermione, or the things she said or the things that interested her. That was evidenced by Ron's ability to recall things that Hermione had said and his sincere sympathy for issues that were important to her like the plight of the House Elves, even if he might joke about it at times.
It was also evidenced by the his actions which were often times a reaction to what Hermione did or what he perceived Hermoine felt. He paid such close attention to her that sometimes he was too close and lacked the perspective neccessary to see her feelings for him. Ron's reactions to Hermione realative to Krum and Cormac blossomed out of that myopia in combination with his own insecurities.
To me, while the level of his focus on Hermione might have been faulted, it is also endearing.
I think the easy answers here are Hermione's intelligence and Ron's devotion/loyalty.
So why did I choose Hermione's vulnerability and Ron's excessive attention?
Because they are characteristics that create grey area. They create depth. They creat mystery. It's the beauty we find in a crooked nose or in assymatry. Perfection is intimidating. It's in the imperfect characteristics that we sometimes find warmth, comfort and yes... love. Hermione loves Ron in part fot the excessive attention and Ron loves Hermione in part because of her vulnerability to him. I want to say that there are limits to that. There are points beyond which those characteristics equate effectively to love. But when it comes to Ron and Hermione his attentiveness and her vulnerability are measured in just the right recipe to make love work between them.
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Happy Birthday Emma!
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I'll sing, "I'm looking over a four leaf clover that I over looked before".
So we're implicating Spotify? Suuuurrreee.... A wee bit too much Bailey's Irish Cream to keep you warm during the snow perhaps Kristin?
Hope you all had a Happy and Safe St. Paddy's Day!
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Thanks Dee and Trixie!
I also tried to edit my previous post to compliment and thank Lumos for the pictures she put together for us. Alas, I was too late and not wanting to double post, I had to wait until now. So I echo the prior sentiments Lumos! Well, other than loving you in a sisterly way that is... we'll call it brotherly love instead.
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Thanks
it seems pretty quiet here?!?!
Do you agree?I think from like 2009 it become really quiet here...
Quiet yes. But there are still really great people here and I think for myself at least, the connections I've made with many of them is what keeps me here, even if I do not frequent the site as I once did. I actually did not become a member until March or April of 2010 and from what I've heard the site at that time was much quieter than it had been a couple of years before. Today the site has less activity in the parts of the forum I tend to frequent then it had even when I first joined. So who knows, maybe I'm to blame? >.<
Obviously changes in social media along with the crowd who used to be here getting older and coming into adulthood has had a big impact on the activity level. I suppose that's to be expected. I'm just glad that dookdookdook has kept it alive, as I believe this place still has an important function for several people. =)
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All that I care is if Rupert is entering Emma's house and if Emma is entering Rupert's house!
Now what number the house is or whether or not the sun is rising or setting? Well I'll let the paparazzi worry about that.
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Thanks!!
I first registered in 2007... 6 years ago 
Did where?
I was referring to the double entendre when I used your name. Baaxxx meaning "welcome Baaxxx" welcoming you in the literal sense... while also the inferred double meaning of "welcome back". So not only was I welcoming you but also your return. If that makes any sense. >.<
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Welcome Baaxxx! <----- see what I did there?
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Oh, please don't feel bad, Jon. I did not take any offense in your words or so. So, no need for an apology. *sends Jon a hug* :-)
I guess part of the reason I ship R/Hr is that JKR - regardless of the reason - has planned and written them as a couple-to-be right from the beginning. The hints were there. I cought on it in the second book and found it soooo cute. Lol. I guess had she written H/Hr, I would have shipped them. I love all of the trio and, while Ron is my fave character, I would have been okay with a different outcome too, if that had been the what was developped throughout the books.
Thanks Sabine! *hugs back* =)
Firstly, I love Rupert.
Secondly, I applaud Jon's post. I totally agree and you put it far better than I ever could. Also Sabine hit the nail on the head with the fact that many of us shipped R/Hr because they are the pairing that were built up through the books. Had that not been the case, I'm sure I would have supported the alternative pairing (or lack of) just as much. That's the consequence of building strong character relationships - the readers invest in them, because of what's on the page.
Lastly...
HAPPY BIRTHDAY RON!!!!!
Thanks Katharine!
Great point about how we (the readers) react to when the writer builds strong character relationships. I'm a bit late to the party >.<, but Happy belated B-day Ron! <----- Weasley's our King! -
Wise words, Jon. I hope my comment about literary reality didn't come across as if I'm denying anyone their emotional connection. Of course I don't, everyone can ship what they want or feel.
But the text is what it is. I guess JKR's words still irk me a bit.
Sabine, I feel badly that I did not explain myself better when I took your words about literary reality. Sometimes I'll read a comment from people who I respect completely and I will isolate the comment and it will set me off on one of my rants. What I was saying here could easily have come off that way and yet it was not remotely one of those cases. I'm not a good enough person to acknowledge that I have not had those moments though in the past.
Your words regarding literary reality did not bother me in the slightest and I've read enough from you over the years to know that you were not denying (nor would you ever deny) anyone the emotional connections they make to characters or who they might ship. This is going to possibly sound like me trying to save face but it's the honest to God sentiment I had in that my response was not reactionary (as in my being against) the words you used as much as it was a self reflective consideration of the term. I have the same feeling you and many others have about the literary reality in respect to the fact that I'm happy that we have the story we have and that it can't be changed. I'm in complete agreement with that and I know that is what you were saying. I simply chose to expand upon my own feelings about as to why the literary reality (when it comes to the end result) is not the most important concept to me. I qualify (when it comes to the end result) because if the literary reality had Hermione and Harry end up together but had developed all the characters in a vastly different way then obviously it would have changed the way I felt. I apologize for anything that may have been implied by my not better addressing that at the time.
http://www.the-leaky-cauldron.org/2014/2/26/rupert-grint-talks-acting-on-stage-and-ronhermione
Here's Rupes reply to the R/Hr debate. He said it's done unless JKR does a remake.
Dee, I think that Rupert was very diplomatic in his comments. He acknowledged that it could have gone differently and his apprehensions over portraying a romantic relationship when he was younger but he truly came across as if he agreed with the end result when he said that Ron and Hermione made sense to him. It was a nice way to express what he thought while also being respectful of what JKR had to say.
ROMIONE LIVES FOREVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ;-)
I know isn't it freakin awesome how this thread and the fandom never dies???
Our love for Ron/Hermione is something so strong that it brings our passion out and protection for them and of them full throttle. What everyone here says is so beautiful...ROMIONE was put together for a reason and that reason was LOVE I just have nothing else to add to that novel I wrote a few days ago ;-)ROMIONE FOREVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ITA Kristin Ron and Hermione as a couple live on forever. Their love for one another and their compatibility has been so wonderfully expressed by so many here. I remember a long time ago I made a post about Hermione seeming to be perfect to me. At the time, many of our fine shippers here did a remarkable and revealing job of describing Hermione's faults, while not raking her over the coals for them. You did that so effectively in your "novel"
as well. I think that there are a lot of HP readers who tend to overlook Hermione and Harry's faults or at the very least diminish the things that they needed to work on. Why is that? I think it's because Harry and Hermione's good qualities are shinier and more appealing than Ron's. Harry's a hero and Hermione is a genius. Who do we like to associate ourselves with? The smart/heroic people. We're ego-centric (most of us anyway). What was Ron? He was the great friend. Ummm... so what? Everyone thinks they are a great friend, but the reality is that there are just as few great friends as there are geniuses and heros. Friendship is a highly undervalued commodity. We think, "anyone could be a friend" but not everyone can be a hero or a genius. But heroism is the apex of bravery, and we can probably agree everyone can be brave. A Genius is the apex of intellegence, and we can probably agree that everyone... ummm... well... MOST everyone is capable of doing something intelligent or specializing in something. Ron was the APEX of friendship. YES, everyone is capable of friendship, but not everyone is capable of being the kind of friend that Ron Weasley was/is.I've seen people comment about Hermione being "too smart" for either Harry or Ron. What I love best is when I see people do that and then compare themselves to Hermione. I laugh when I see that, because those people totally miss who Hermione is. I've seen the comments where people say Hermione would get bored with Ron or not be intellectually stimulated by him. First off, Ron displayed plenty of intellectual capacity. He was great at Wizard's Chess. He learned how to speak parsletounge as a non-parsletongue (sp?) speaker, just by listening to Harry. *Correct me if I'm wrong here* but didn't he figure out how the basalisk was getting into the school? Ron's problem was not always applying himself more than it was any lack of intelligence. Harry could be guilty of that too. Secondly, in most healthy realionships a couple with have different interests that allow them time away from their spouse. It's not a case of "opposites attract" as much as it is a case of "social freedom" where you spend healthy time apart from each other. I will not deny that there is a degree of change for most people who fall in love. With that said I think that successful relationships are weighted a lot more heavily on accepting and admiring someone's differences from you as opposed to the expectation that they change for you. That doesn't mean that similarities are not neccessary. Just that differences don't have to be relationship killers. I think Hermione unilke a lot of the people who profess to be "like" her was very accepting of differences. The fact that Ron would rather play Quidditch than read a book didn't matter to her. Likewise, the fact that Hermione would rather read a book than play Quidditch didn't matter to Ron. Sometimes it's annoying in a relationship to have someone who likes all the same things you like. Otherwise we'd just all marry ourselves.
My writing is thoughts without direction. But hopefully there is some resonating substance in this dizzying arabesque.
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Oah maybe a lil' Dan and Rupe-shippa' in me just came alive
Or its my favorite fanfiction shipping (Ron & Harry) in me..I know they're not their characters but but but nah J/K Im just happy to see them again Haha trixie!
start the thread, there's a ship for everyone.
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Literary reality is nice when it's the couple we all ship and enjoy in fiction, but for a number of readers there is a very real emotional connection to characters in many of their favorite books, and those connections make each and everyone of us look at those character's differently.
The only justification those connections need are unique to the heart and mind of the reader.
It's why I do not deny anyone the right to feel what they feel so long as they've put thought into character's personalities and their relationships and keep an open mind when discussing them with others. As we discuss characters and books I believe there is a often times a "right" and a "wrong" relative to what the author intended, and that can be argued a bit more easily than a "right" and a "wrong" regarding the way disparate readers interprit, understand and connect to those characters and those stories.
That is one of the issues that makes JKR's comments particularly tough to work through. Her comments created a lot of grey area in terms of her own view of the story. It's somewhat unusual to see that from an author... but then again, it's somewhat unusual in today's society for an author to experience the type of notoriety she has. So maybe the chance to see that in different authors has not been there (in articles or media) as much for us to see it?
I guess the point I'm trying to make here is that while it's great the story went the way it did for us (meaning the Ron/Hermione and Harry/Ginny shippers) I don't think the literary reality is as important to me as the unique emotional, intellectual and spiritual connection that makes Ron and Hermione and Harry and Ginny not just a viable couples, but both examples of wonderfully loving and successful couples to me.
I am coming to grips with JKR's comments in a much different way then I originally did. What I think her comments might have done for me and a lot here is challenge our own notions of how we viewed the Ron and Hermione relationship. It gave us pause to take another look and ultimately it gave many or all of us a kind of self validation when we re-examined the relationship. Our re-examination gave us the confirmation that the connections we made to her characters and her story were the right ones for us.
A lot of us probably knew or suspected that already, none the less I think the author's comments made a lot of us take a microscope to our own notions and opinions about the relationship in a way that Joe Schmo commenting on the Harry and Hermione forever thread might not.
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And being excited because it's summer and there's no school requires a kissing smilie?
You seem to be awfully concerned with emoticon usage and the implications behind it.
Perhaps you could figure this one out?
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Hi, everybody! I am new here, i am a fan of Emma and i decided to share something. Soon i watched a movie with Kiernan Shipka i think that she and Emma have many similarities especially at the smile, what do you think?
There is an aspect about her that seems to bring some resemblance... so there fore I can say its' not just you. I think it's something with her eyebrows and facial structure that are somewhat similar to Emma's. The tough thing is when you say "similar" a lot of people here hold Emma in such high esteem that they will hear "similar" and think "same". Your comment as to a similarity between the two (I'm assuming Kiernan is younger?) esp. when Emma was younger is fair.
Obviously Emma is Emma. Heck, I'm a twin and I celebrate uniqueness because of constant comparisons to my brother over... ummm... my whole life, but where the rubber meats the road, I acknowledge that there are similarities between he and I.
His similarities to me are likely closer than Kiernan's to Emma. That said I can see where you're coming from Anna_em (oh and btw... welcome to the forum). -
I love what you had to say about Ron and Hermione and the interview too Kristin. I think one of the best thing we do as shippers is see the positive. Not spin doctoring to make ourselves feel better, but acknowledge the flaws in the relationships we "ship" and still focusing on the positives. A lot of the criticisms I have made of JKR derive out of what Kristin pointed to in how in this interview she really only looked at one side of who Ron was (that side that people who shipped Harry/Hermione could sometimes take out of context). By doing that it felt like JKR was taking Ron's wonderful traits and throwing them by the way side. In past interviews she has espoused many of the things that made Ron such a wonderful friend to Harry, friend to Hermione and eventual boyfriend and husband for Hermione. For me to take one part of what JKR has said about Ron and ignore all the things she has said in the past is wrong, and for where I may have done that I'm sorry.
I think a lot of people, myself included throw such a negative context on the word counseling. The fact is, when couples reach out to each other through counseling it shows a level of commitment to each other when things go wrong. While couples need to find the answers themselves, an outside perspective sometimes ignites the light bulb. To say that Ron and Hermione would need counseling does not mean that they would not work out their communication problems and love each other just as much or even more than ever. Many couples with communication problems would be too stubborn to turn to counseling and at least Ron and Hermione would do everything possible to grow their relationship positively. OKAY... maybe I did a bit of spin doctoring there.
That said, I think it's easy to assume the worst, when what was said does not have to be an indictment of Ron and Hermione's love but can be an acknowledgment of their flaws and both of their desires to continuously improve and grow their relationship. We also have the right to disagree with JKR's opinion too. I don't think she'd ever say that she would take that from someone. Thanks to everyone here who have shown and described the great things that we all saw and respected about the Ron and Hermione relationship in the HP series. Kristin, your assertion that JKR could have gotten Ron and Hermione together earlier in the series is interesting in context of this whole argument that has arisen out of the interview. IF JKR had gotten them together earlier in the series, she would have had the ability to show whether or not Ron grew past his insecurites and Hermione softened her stubborness. As is, we only saw the relationship in the beginning and a snippet into the future. To criticize the relationship after what she showed us of it once they were an actual couple is kind of like criticizing a play after you only saw the opening act.
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Why is a very good question. What purpose did it serve?
It was information she offered, it wasn't "pulled" from her. To sell some magazines? Did it weigh on her conscience? I just don't know and I'm guessing I never will.
I doubt if any explaination will come or any response to her disapointed fans, but speaking honestly, even if it did I'm not sure it would matter or that I'd understand it.
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I'm not sure that I am as on board with this as I was before.
I mean.. what happens whens 15 years from now we find out that Newt Scamander's favorite magical beast in the movie was just "wish fulfillment" for the pet JKR always wanted as a child but her parents wouldn't let her have? And one of the other beasts would have been a more "credible" favorite in "reality".
I know.... low blow.
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Harry is also portrayed poorly in all of this. Now the "hero" rebuff's his best friend, rebuff's his best friend's sister and steal's his best friend's girl. Maybe Harry should have been sorted into Slytherin House.
That's not the Harry I thought I knew though. I thought Harry was a loyal and honorable friend.
The biggest stepping stone for me is that I take JKR's comments and apply them to the story I know. I'm sure that if she had made a decision to put Harry and Hermione together, that it would have been so without stepping all over Ron and Ginny. The problem in expressing the thought, is that the story is there and it's been read. There isn't an alternate story to reflect on and make me say, "Oh, that would work well". Therefore not stepping on Ron and Ginny and besmirching them becomes impossible.
It's ironic perhaps that when it was discussed how Ron and Hermione were not "credible"... it wasn't Ron and Hermione who lost their credibility... it was Jo Rowling who lost hers.
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Thanks Katharine, but it's sad to me now. I look back on a lot of the "insights" I thought I had into the characters and who they are and I don't feel like I know them any more. It stinks to have to admit that maybe everything I was seeing was off base. I feel a bit the fool.
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For those who sympathized or empathized with Ron she made Ron even more of a sympathetic/empathetic character.
For many fans, two beloved characters in Harry and Hermione are now sullied.
I agree with Sabine that I don't want to hear anything more from her regarding the series.
Emma and Jo also talked about the new Magical Creatures and Where to Find Them movie and Jo mentioned about how she's imagined so many things about Newt Scamander and "knows who he is". She apparently did not know Harry or Hermione or Ron or Ginny very well, so how can we trust that she knows who Newt is and that he's not just some manifestation of "wish fulfillment"? My trust is gone.
As far as Emma is concerned I really had zero problem with the things she said in the interview, and I think any linking of her thoughts with those expressed by JKR probably misrepresents her opinions of H/Hr and R/Hr.
The interview did come off as very conversational... like two good friends, and I wonder if a lot of the relationship talk had more to do with things they've both felt and experienced personally rather than the way they feel about Ron and Hermione. There was almost a moment where it was like they were saying... "we always go for the funny guy, the guy who makes us laugh, but intellectually and or emotionally he just doesn't measure up". That's obviousley me putting words in their mouths and making them perhaps come off as a bit snooty and stuck up, but it's something of the sense that resonates, excepting that a. things get lost reading the written word b. there's a hell of a lot I have no idea about regarding both Jo's and Emma's personal lives.
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Yeah, she never says that she regrets Ron and Hermione relationship, but I didn`t like the way she describes Ron. She describes him as a weak, insecure guy.... I disagree, but well... Also the tent scene was sh$t, totally out of character. But well, what is done is done.
Luciana, what you've touched upon with the tent scene is my biggest disappointment with the interview. I never liked the scene in the movies, but as a re watched the movies I came to grips with it more as a situation where two friends were comforting one another in their sadness during a difficult time. Basically Harry was just trying to lift Hermione's spirits a bit. For JKR to describe the scene as a kind of what could have been moment completely disintegrates the integrity of her characters. That comment is not only dismissive of Ron, but it diminishes Harry and Hermione. It also completely justifies Ron's leaving. If that were the emotion that JKR was grateful was captured by that scene in the movie, then Ron should never have returned. That little ball of light should have gone into his heart and exploded *yes, I have the propensity for over dramatization on occasion*. Sure Harry and Hermione could have worked and Ginny could have worked with Dean, but who is Ron, the insecure one left with? The only way to resolve that is to kill him off, have him end up alone or create a character out of thin air who he ends up with who the readers have zero emotional attachment to.
It would also mean that when Ron accused Harry of being disconected and disinterested in what was happening to Ginny he would have been spot on. It kind of makes Harry a slime ball. I resent that because I love Harry as a character and I love his love for Ginny. I just don't see how JKR can't see that or come to that conclusion when she made those comments. She just rolled a truck over the integrity of Harry and Hermione and left Ron pinned beneath the wheels. That comment is going to make it difficult for me to ever watch the movie again.
In making these accusations I know that what I am reacting to is a comment that is likely a fraction of JKRs opinions about her creations. In isolating that comment and ripping it apart I know I'm not doing justice to the depth of her intellectual and emotional investment in Ron, Harry, Hermione and Ginny. The problem I'm having personally is that JKR has lost my trust. I trusted her to stand by her characters the way she wrote them and while being able to discuss their flaws, also trumpet their values. Doubt and a lack of trust if not a relationship killer is a serious hurdle. If JKR doubts her own decision and can't trust her own decision, then why should I as the reader trust it? (<--- I think Sabine may have made this point earlier) My reading experience with the HP series is likely forever altered.
Outside of the particular comment that I picked apart I could understand a lot of the other things she was saying regarding Hermione's flaws, Ron's flaws and some of the flaws in their interaction. As far as the counseling comment is concerned I feel like in the moment she was applying an adult view to two adolescents. I think it's fair to assume that both Ron and Hermione still had some maturing that is natural for their age to do by the end of the Battle at Hogwarts. A lot of the back and fourth they had grew out of the tension between their feelings for one another and not knowing how to express those feelings. I should think that once they got together a good portion of the arguments that derived from those tensions would cease.
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First off, thank you very much for your detailed and impassioned defense of Ron rhrshipper. Thank you too, for posting the link to Emma's interview with Jo regarding the statements that have set off the fire alarm in the shipping house.
After having read the entire interview and seeing it in context I have very mixed feelings about it. I agree with Galadriel that Emma did a great job with the interview. I have not yet read Emma's other interviews and I imagine she would have a level of comfort and familiarity with Jo Rowling that could make that interview less intimidating.
Dumbledore's Woman did a wonderful job too of expresssing many of the things a lot of us feel regarding the Ron and Hermione relationship.
From my own perspective, one reason I've never been bothered by Harry and Hermione proponents (aside from not having experienced the shipping wars) is that their relationship did not seem implausible to me. Had that been the direction Jo Rowling had taken the books I could have supported it and been good with it, even if I still preferred a Ron and Hermione pairing and Harry/Ginny pairing.
A definite thorn for me regarding the interview was the complete absence of Ginny in the discussion (Her inclusion is one of the things I really appreciate most about Katharine's analysis). Perhaps people would take issue with me for saying this, but Ginny was as much a heroin as Hermione was. And.... yes... Ron ... and Neville... and Snape as well as others were just as heroic as Harry. The central theme of the book reducing it to it's most basic essence was the battle of good vs. evil. How and why is evil defeated? It's defeated by good because good has love and unity and trust. Evil does not have love or unity or trust, it has deception and selfishness and hate. The characters (as in life.. the people) who embody love, unity and trust... those characters (people) are heroic. Voldemort is only defeated by the group of them. There is no way Harry defeats Voldemort all alone. Hermione knew this, Ron likely knew it. And I think ultimately Harry knew it. Of course, there is no way ANY of the characters beat Voldemort on their own, so I'm not belittling or faulting Harry at all for that.
That point was beautifully illustrated in how each and every horcrux was defeated by a different character. Aside from Voldemort and Crabbe who demonstrated how evil is self defeating (each illiminating a horcrux) a different heroic character was needed to destroy the other horcruxes. So while I understand the reasons for the discussion of Harry as "THE HERO" and Hermione as "THE HEROIN" I kind of take issue with that from a personal perspective. So I'm not saying that Jo Rowling would deny any of those other characters were heroic. I simply believe that in the interview her not acknowledging the heroism of Ron and Ginny is a major oversight.
If I really wanted to I could take the argument that the other characters were all more heroic than Harry. Harry as "the chosen one" at least had prophecy if nothing else on his side. The other characters who acted heroically had no personal prophecy protecting them. I'm not making that argument by the way... I'm just saying I could if I wanted to.
Haha... I'm gonna go on forever with this if I'm not careful, because I haven't even gotten into the relationships yet. Perhaps I'll leave it here for now, as we continue the discussion. If I'm going to be critical of Ms. Rowling's interview I at least owe a complete and detailed explanation (because I love/respect her story so much and love/respect her so much for writing it).
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The Ron and Hermione Thread
in Shipper Forum
Posted
I know that one of the problems in isolating a trait for each is the probability that for most if not all of us it's the combination of many traits that draw us to Ron and Hermione and to them as a couple.
I like the traits you singled out Sabine. Particularly Hermione's trust because when I consider my own relationships and relationships of others I've known one of the real key components when a relationship works is trust. It's difficult if not impossible to foster love where there isn't trust first.
I very much like and agree with the point you made about Ron's efforts to lighten Hermione up as a form of protecting her. As an only child who was such a high achiever she could be very socially awkward especially when the group was younger. Ron's teasing could be hurtful at times but his ability to laugh and not take everything so seriously could also be a lesson in social skills. Ron's wanting to lighten up Hermione was in part an effort to assimilate her into the trio. He helped to teach Hermione that you don't always have to follow the rules.
Getting back to your point about Hermione's trust. While outwardly she would disaprove of some of the things Ron and Harry did. When she went along with them, while there may have been some aspect of looking out for them by doing so, there was also an implied trust there. It's not like Hermione was going around with Draco or the Slytherin's on their escapades.