Hermione

[Penny & Bryce Linsenmayer]

No: HPFGUIDX 4998

Hi everyone --

Simon wrote:

> She shows the obsessive 'I am going to fail' when
> revising for exams. She has got better by GoF, but still spends most of her
> time working and feeling that she has to put that work in. I get the
> impression that Hermione believes that because she has become top of the
> class she must now work very hard to maintain that position and she would
> be very upset if she did not remain as the top student.
>
Um . . . . yes, I *recognize* that feeling all too well.  I didn't set
out to do it . . . but somehow found myself as a senior in college with
a perfect 4.0 grade point average.  I can't begin to tell you the
pressure I put on myself that year to maintain it through to the end, my
logical side arguing "If you lose it, oh well.  No big deal," and the
more ambitious side saying "Why the hell would you lose it *now* after
all that work?"  I still remember vividly getting by on 0-4 hrs of sleep
a night for several weeks running right before fall exams.  Yes . . . I
relate to Hermione on a number of levels.  <g>

> Another problem I have with Hermione is that she is constantly trying to
> organize the others. In PS she draws up revision timetables for them. She
> nags at Harry when he is not working towards the tasks in GoF. Yes I know
> that Ron and Harry do need convincing to do their work, but at the end of
> the day it is their decision and they should be left to choose about how
> much they do.
>
Yes, I would see this as a negative trait.  I think that's something
she'll give up on with time though anyway . . . we see less & less of it
by GoF.

> In GoF Ron has to believe that either Harry lies to him or that Dumbledore
> is not as powerful as people make him out to be. Either Dumbledore has made
> a mistake by allowing Harry's name to get into the cup or Harry is refusing
> to say how he got his name in. Written like this the choice becomes less
> clear. Do we really want to admit, or even know, that Dumbledore makes
> mistakes?
>
Well . . . but Hermione says it was obvious (to her) from the look on
Harry's face that he hadn't submitted his name.  I still think Ron let
his envy & insecurities immediately override his better judgment of his
best friend . . . he didn't even stop to consider this option.

Shifting to Dr MM, who wrote:

> I'm glad someone else besides me agrees that Hermione is insecure, and
> that's one of the main reasons why she's so insistant on being at the
> top . . . And I love the example you provide.  It is Ron and Harry's
> choice.  While I'm sure Hermione doesn't want her friends to fail, her
> concern crosses into "nagging" which is, um, obnoxious.
>
Why is Hermione's drive to be at the top necessarily insecurity?  Why
can't it just be ambition?  Maybe I'm not examining my own inner
workings closely enough since I've admitted to having been in the exact
same academic cycle as Hermione years ago but . . . I guess I just don't
*necessarily* think that her strong desire to achieve academically is
heavily influenced by an insecure fear of failure.  Hmmmm . . . .

> I *don't* dislike Hermione; I just don't identify with her but
> that doesn't mean I don't like her.  Just to make sure everyone
> understands, I think Hermione is a good, intelligent, well-meaning
> person.  I'm just attempting to point out what I see as her greatest
> character flaw.  In my opinion, her constant display of her academic
> prowess in front of classes is obnoxious.    And, as I've stated many
> times, as the books progress, she matures and displays less and less
> of this tendency.  <snip>
>
> This has nothing to do with gender.  If Hermione was male, I'd see the
> exact same character flaws.  My entire point with the quote was to
> illustrate that Hermione doesn't give anyone *time* to volunteer.  She
> raises her hand and two seconds later blurts out the answer (that's
> how I read it anyway).  She doesn't give Prof. Sprout time to nod and
> say "Yes, Hermione," or call on someone else.
>

I still think it's largely up to the teachers to be sure that every
student has an opportunity to express themselves in class.  We do
sometimes see Hermione raising her hand eagerly . . . but I don't have
the perception that she speaks out of turn.  She always prefaces what
she's saying with "please sir ..." -- that sort of indicates she's
following some sort of classroom etiquette.  Lots of times
(transfiguration & charms mainly), we see the professors commending &
praising Hermione, but we don't see Hermione drawing attention to
herself.  Those classes in particular also require more-than-average
practical application.  In order to be "top of her year," which she is
years 1 & 2 for sure, she'd need more than just "book smarts" (raising
her hand & volunteering answers).  She's also got to demonstrate
application of those principles . . . application goes hand-in-hand in
transfiguration & charms.

Shifting now to Ebony, who asked:

> 1)  Does Hermione as a character get a bad rap?  Does the fact that
> she is the only female main character (and the most well-developed
> female) adversely affect our critique of her?
>
I think most readers, particularly female readers, tend to identify at
least to some degree with Hermione.  So, I think in general, the fans
don't give her a bad rap.  She gets an extraordinarily unfair "rap" in
literary criticism of the series so far.  No wonder JKR is exasperated.
She creates a very strong, assertive, successful, independent female
character, molded largely in her own image, and then she gets asks
repeatedly why the series is "male-centered" & why there are no strong
female characters.

Is the 2nd part of the above asking whether we think she gets more
scrutiny than she might otherwise because she's the only developed
female character?  If so, then, yeah I think she does.

I want to think some more about the rest of Ebony's questions.  I too
think there is very definitely a "birth-order" correlation with
character identification.  I've posed the question about Hermione to my
younger sister (asked her for her perception of Hermione without giving
her any buzz words whatsoever).  My sister has read the book, has read
the first 2 books to her classroom, is a "fan" but by no means an
"obsessive fan" like her big sister.  <g>

Penny


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