Hermione; strong female characters

[Kelley]

No: HPFGUIDX 5022

This is me chiming in on Penny's and DrMM's 'strong female character' 
conversation.  When people ask for strong females, perhaps they're 
referring to adult characters.  That's what I mean when I say that, 
anyway.  I think Hermione is a wonderfully strong character--smart, 
brave, loyal, sensible, adventurous, compassionate, etc.  I'd like to 
see more of her 'inner' self, but don't expect that to happen.  Now, 
as far as the characters I enjoy reading the most, after the kids and 
their adventures and all, the characters I like the most are Lupin, 
Sirius, Snape, Dumbledore, Hagrid, and the Weasley family.  Aside 
from Molly, everyone I like is male.  I would just like a female 
who's as vivid and charismatic as those men.  That's all.  I think 
JKR could make a great female in this vein, and I long to see it.  I 
want it to be her vision above all, but I just hope it includes a 
woman like that.   

Now, as far as identifying with characters, like DrMM, there is no 
female I really identify with.  I'm fairly bright, but unlike Herm, I 
wasn't assertive in class.  I love Dumble's benign protection; he's 
always keeping watch, but lets the kids learn for themselves rather 
than say "No, let the grownups handle it," or "...because I said so;" 
McG does this--errr.  I feel, like Sirius, "I don't care what happens 
to me, I want justice."  I believe, identifying to an extent, that I 
am most like a combination of Lupin and Molly.  Lupin is perfect with 
the kids (my favorite teacher was just like this); if I were a 
teacher this is exactly how I'd like to be.  (I don't know how 
realistic that is, of course.)  And, I'm not a mother, but I love 
kids, am around them quite a bit, and feel very protective of them.  
Lots of mothering instinct.  I don't know if I really need one 
character to identify with as a whole, since I feel I identify with 
so many thoughts, emotions, and actions of so many of the 
characters.  To tie this all together, I don't think I need a strong 
vivid female to identify with, but JKR writes such great characters, 
I'd love to see what she does with a strong, _adult_ female.

Kelley