tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-896911960035171090.post6389323634394997395..comments2024-03-25T02:15:50.088-07:00Comments on Legends of Medieval France and Italy: Sins of Commission in the Harry Potter series or “What happened to Hermione’s character in Half-Blood Prince?”Linda C. McCabehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11554730334838454885noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-896911960035171090.post-62507620477494648782007-04-04T10:36:00.000-07:002007-04-04T10:36:00.000-07:00JES,I mentioned my history with the HP series and ...JES,<BR/><BR/>I mentioned my history with the HP series and fandom in my first posting about the books. I don't know if this post is the first one you've read, but you can find them all by clicking on the tag "Harry Potter" at the bottom of a post. Or you can go here:<BR/><BR/>http://lcmccabe.blogspot.com/search/label/Harry%20Potter<BR/><BR/>I spent waaaaaaay too much time debating ship. I really don't want to start again, especially since it is a moot point. It basically would be trying to explain to those who weren't involved in ship debate how we interpreted the text which was different than the authorial intent.<BR/><BR/>However, I still wonder whether or not JKR wanted there to be vagueness in regards to Hermione's true feelings towards Harry, or whether or not she was unaware of how things could be interpreted another way.<BR/><BR/>Many R/Hr shippers described Hermione as a mother-hen towards Harry, where H/Hr shippers saw devotion bordering on obsession towards Harry and an antagonism bordering on antipathy towards Ron.<BR/><BR/>But still, in Book 5 she did not show the same level of interest in Quidditch once Harry was kicked off the team. She dismissed its significance as being divisive, and she couldn't even force herself to stay awake by drinking coffee to be at Ron's party.<BR/><BR/>Drinking coffee as a morning beverage as opposed to only having pumpkin juice was mentioned on page 256 in Scholastic's paperback edition, the same chapter where she fell asleep at Ron's party. She could have used caffeine to stay awake, but she didn't.<BR/><BR/>Because in book 5, she didn't care enough.<BR/><BR/>And as for the Yule Brawl, my reaction was different. I saw Ron's repeated insults to Hermione's attractiveness and truthfulness as being beyond the pale. If I had harbored any attraction to someone who treated me that abysmally, it would have been destroyed by such interactions.<BR/><BR/>I did go on and on about that during the ship debates. If you want, I can dredge up links to those for archival purposes.<BR/><BR/>LindaLinda C. McCabehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11554730334838454885noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-896911960035171090.post-12915319670082833202007-04-04T10:17:00.000-07:002007-04-04T10:17:00.000-07:00Hello again,To comment a bit on the relationships,...Hello again,<BR/><BR/>To comment a bit on the relationships, I do not think Hermione’s great attention to Harry’s Quidditch-playing indicates a romantic interest. Until Book 5, Harry is her only close friend who plays the game. I see this as the only reason she cares about the game at all and her attention to him comes across as motherly concern for his safety. In fact, the passage that describes the Book 1 Hufflepuff match (Ch. 13) begins with Harry believing that Ron and Hermione “were wondering whether they’d ever see him alive again.” She ignores Ron’s fistfight with Malfoy because Harry is the one in greater danger. This is only the second Quidditch match that Harry has ever played in and it comes on the heels of the first match when a deliberate attempt was made to hurt or kill Harry. <BR/><BR/>The trio believes Snape is responsible for this attempt and now, most unusually, Snape is refereeing this second match. Hermione and Ron have even prepared to protect Harry from Snape during the match, using the leg-locker curse, should it prove necessary. Incidentally, this secret curse-practice (we are told Harry doesn’t know about it) provided them an early opportunity to work together and develop a friendship that is off Harry’s radar. Ron is provoked into a fight by Malfoy, but Hermione remains vigilant to Harry’s safety, ready with their curse. I don’t believe she has forgotten Ron because she shouts his name several times during the match. First, she alerts Ron to Harry’s “spectacular dive” (which is, most disturbingly, straight at Snape) and then to the Gryffindor victory. The first person she looks for to celebrate with is Ron. Unlike Harry's situation, Ron’s life is not threatened by Malfoy and his goons - they are only 11-year-olds in a fistfight. The trio may hate Malfoy with a passion, but they are not genuinely intimidated by him, either physically or magically. Indeed, it’s Neville (unconscious from Crabbe and Goyle) and Malfoy (black eye from Ron) who get the worst end of that deal. Ron has five older brothers; he can handle himself. <BR/><BR/>I’ve only addressed one of the points you make, but my comments are getting long. I would be interested in knowing how early you started reading the books. I came a bit late to the party and was able to read the first five books straight through. I didn’t really give a thought to possible romantic pairings until the Yule Ball kind of forced the issue. I think either pairing was relatively fair game until GoF came out. To me, the Ron/Hermione post-ball fight and Harry’s thoughts as he observed that drama pretty firmly suggested a Ron/Hermione pairing. But, if you had to wait to read books three and/or four, I can understand how you could see a Harry/Hermione relationship in the earlier books (it is not a ridiculous notion after all) and then see different things happening in the clues for the R/Hr pairing. I think the movies further confuse things for some people, but I see that you have been focusing on the books. I think the hints are there for Rowling’s intended pairings, but the earliest one that might possibly qualify as anvil-sized is the Yule “Brawl”, as I’ve seen it referred to. I'm looking forward to your thoughts on Ginny. <BR/><BR/>JESAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-896911960035171090.post-78511966455136714972007-04-04T08:37:00.000-07:002007-04-04T08:37:00.000-07:00Hello,Thanks for sharing your thoughts about the b...Hello,<BR/><BR/>Thanks for sharing your thoughts about the books. I think it's interesting to note that many adult HP fans have been disappointed with one or more of the later books, me included. Different things seem to bother different people, though. I must say, I also was a bit confused and disappointed by Ron and Hermione’s indifference to Harry’s suspicions of Malfoy in HBP. We are accustomed to seeing them work as a team. But, maybe they needed to learn that lesson before the great horcrux hunt. <BR/><BR/>I must disagree with you, however, about some of the issues of Hermione’s character. I don’t think that hexing McLaggen is that far out of character for her, unfortunately. In the previous books we have seen her steal potion ingredients, blackmail a tabloid reporter, permanently disfigure a student’s face, and deliberately lead a teacher to a herd of centaurs that she knew were threatening to kill humans (adult humans, that is, not children, so she believed herself and Harry to be safe). All of these actions were taken for the greater good, of course, but were they the right things to do? Strong arguments can be made that they were not. Is Rowling going somewhere with this morally ambiguous behavior? I have no idea. But, if a pompous ass is insulting Ron and Ginny, we have been shown a Hermione capable of feeling justified in giving Ron the advantage. And we are even shown later what a terrible addition to the team McLaggen would have been. She was right. But, do the ends justify the means? <BR/><BR/>JESAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-896911960035171090.post-81510559733169078002007-04-03T07:47:00.000-07:002007-04-03T07:47:00.000-07:00Pamina,I agree with you on the issue of Hermione's...Pamina,<BR/><BR/>I agree with you on the issue of Hermione's jealousy over Harry's superiority in potions. It did seem out of character for her.<BR/><BR/>As if all of a sudden she can't handle the competition.<BR/><BR/>She came off as being very petty, and also then started to distance herself from Harry as a result.<BR/><BR/>It felt odd. Really odd.<BR/><BR/>I didn't think of this as Hermione "loosening up," instead it seemed like she had changed her personality.<BR/><BR/>Frankly, if there were notes which improved the recipes for potions, I might think that Hermione would be interested in determining how it could be proved empirically by doing side-by-side comparisons.<BR/><BR/>One thing about the whole used text-book of Snape thing that bugged me was why didn't anyone ever recognize Snape's handwriting? Hadn't he written instructions on the board in previous years?<BR/><BR/>People's handwriting doesn't change that much from being a young adult to adulthood, so it didn't make logical sense that Harry (and *especially* Hermione) didn't recognize the writing style.<BR/><BR/>You'll have to finish HBP before DH comes out. Just for plot points.<BR/><BR/>I've only read HBP once though. I had no interest once the Interview From Hell came out to re-read the volume.<BR/><BR/>LindaLinda C. McCabehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11554730334838454885noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-896911960035171090.post-32237310839232303652007-04-03T07:39:00.000-07:002007-04-03T07:39:00.000-07:00Winnie,Yes, I not only shipped H/Hr, I debated shi...Winnie,<BR/>Yes, I not only shipped H/Hr, I debated ship. I mentioned my fandom credits in my first post on the subject which was the one with L.O.O.N.s in the title.<BR/><BR/>I did reply to your previous comment which is on the "Spilling Literary Blood" post. It actually took me a little bit to figure out where you commented before because I was looking in the HP posts, and found it on one of my straight literary posts instead.<BR/><BR/>Feel free to analyze and dissect all things Potter on this blog, as I truly am an Obsessed Nitpicker.<BR/><BR/>The Ginny "Super-Witch" is something that I'll deal with in a future post, because I know my thoughts on the subject will be lengthy.<BR/><BR/>And, Penny Linsenmayer is a friend of mine. I met her at Nimbus and have had the privilege of corresponding with her ever since.<BR/><BR/>Thanks for stopping by and I look forward to seeing your future comments.<BR/><BR/>LindaLinda C. McCabehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11554730334838454885noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-896911960035171090.post-6839850203505310902007-04-03T06:16:00.000-07:002007-04-03T06:16:00.000-07:00Thank you so much for this! It aptly sums up why I...Thank you so much for this! It aptly sums up why I felt Hermione was butchered in HBP and why I lost all interest in this book after 200 pages or so, and then never really bothered to finished reading it. <BR/><BR/>It honestly made me sick to see how the girl who was strong enough to go her own way and do her own things no matter what people thought of her ("just ignore them!") was reduced to a clingy nerver-wreck over her buddy Ron.<BR/><BR/>I agree with all your points, the only addition I can think of right now is how she was portrayed as acting jealous over Harry getting better grades than her by using the Potions book. The Hermione I know would mainly be concerned over Harry's safety, not competing about grades (after all, Harry was better than her at DADA, and that didn't bother her). <BR/><BR/>Anyways, kudos to you for this. I still can't get my head around HBP, and I don't think JKR can redeem any of the mess in DH.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-896911960035171090.post-86731269792865841382007-04-03T02:59:00.000-07:002007-04-03T02:59:00.000-07:00Hi,You ship Harry/Hermione? What a relief! In my l...Hi,<BR/><BR/>You ship Harry/Hermione? What a relief! In my last posting, I mentioned I ship HHr and didn't like the Mugglenet site because of its Ron/Hermione bias and only later did I realise that perhaps I have posted my comment on a site of someone who doesn't share my shipping preference.<BR/><BR/>Yes, I agree with you on Hermione's characterisation in HBP. It has been massacred, that's what I think, and it jives with what Ms Penny Linsenmeyer said in her essay on the evolving partnership of Harry/Hermione. In order to make way for another girl to be Harry's girl, JKR will have to downplay Hermione's importance to Harry. But in my opinion, JKR not only downplayed Hermione's importance; she nip/tucked Hermione so much that I don't recognise that girl anymore. Basically, JKR has made Hermione a dumb girl and thus make her going down to the level of emotional-range-of-a-teaspoon Ron. Maybe it's JKR's way of making Hermione and Ron suitable of each other.<BR/><BR/>And then suddenly Ginny becomes a supergirl. It seems like the good traits of Hermione - the emotional maturity, the mental connection with Harry - have been transplanted into Ginny by JKR. So, what Ms Linsenmeyer said in her article was really right. JKR had to make Hermione dumb in order to make Ginny shine.<BR/><BR/>One example of out-of-character Hermione in HBP is when she confiscated something, a toy of come kind, from a younger student. It's banned or dangerous, that's the reason why she confiscated it. She's a prefect and is expected to do that. And then you know what Ron did? He snatched it from Hermione's hand, saying he had been wanting that thing for so long. And you know what Hermione did? NOTHING!<BR/><BR/>Now, that's not the Hermione of the previous books. The old Hermione would have said something, get mad, scold Ron, something. She would have said Ron, as a prefect, should set an example to the other students. and not taking the toy for his own.<BR/><BR/>The Deathly Hallows is nearly here, and I am still not able to make sense of HBP.<BR/><BR/>Thank you for allowing me to share my view. I look forward to visiting your site again, especially later, once book 7 is here. I know I would definitely need people like you to explain things to me.<BR/><BR/>Thank you so much.<BR/><BR/>Regards,<BR/>winnieAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com