SS questions, differences in style of books, Hermione, JKR and heroine

[Simon J. Branford]

No: HPFGUIDX 3395

Dee asked some questions so here are some answers!

Chapter Nine
"pg. 151--threw the chalk into a bin...  Do you use something different for
chalk in the UK?  Or are they talking about a chalktray (eraser-tray?)"

A piece of chalk thrown into a bin will clang fairly loudly, if it is thrown
with enough force. The piece of chalk would then disintegrate into nothing,
but Peeves would not care about this.

Chapter Eleven
"pg. 192--Why is Hagrid SO adamant about it NOT being Snape?"

Hagrid trusts Dumbledore completely (notice how he reacts when Karkaroff and
Vernon insult Dumbledore) and Dumbledore trusts Snape.

Chapter 12:
"pg. 200=-What a weird shape...What shape is a 50p?  Isn't it round and
uniform like US funds?  Does that mean that wizard-money is not round and
disklike?"

In the UK we have a couple of odd shaped coins. The 50p and 20p coins are
not the conventional circular shape that most coins in the UK are.

Both coins are heptagonal (with slightly curved sides). The back is a
picture of the queen and the image on the front varies. The 20p is about 3/4
inches across and the 50p 1 inch (measurement are approximate due to the
shape of the coins).


Odile wrote: "has anyone noticed that book one, and book 4 are totally
different? writing style, i mean."

This reflects the changing nature of the books. PS was aimed at children,
but GoF was aimed towards mid teens. These two different age groups are
greatly different and the style of book had to reflect this.
Of course in truth all the books are aimed at us adults, but we have to
leave the children to believe that they are their books!


JKR said: "She is the most brilliant of the three and they need her.  Harry
needs her badly."

How to disagree with the author?
IMO this does not come across in the books. In CoS and PoA Hermione is not
in the story for a while and Harry copes fairly well. I do not get the
impression that he does need her badly.
I agree that Ron needs her, in the sense of being friends. He does not cope
very well in PoA when the Scabbers incident is going on. He instead starts
making nasty remarks and doing very little and seemingly because he cannot
admit that maybe it is he who is wrong.

Carole wrote: "I wonder who is asking her about wanting a strong female
character.  In any event this statement kind of seals it that she is central
to the books....and central to Harry. (whether JKR will develop that into
any kind of shippy stuff depends on how shippy she's planning to get...will
she avoid the whole relationship tangle, introduce new possibilities or
develop the existing females to a greater extent.)"

I see her as being central to Harry as a friend in the upcoming conflict but
this, IMHO, is one of the reasons why they have to remain just friends. The
moment hormones get in the way of the friendship then Hermione will become
useless to Harry, at least as a friend.

Penny wrote: "I've always sort of shied away from referring to Hermione as
the "heroine."   But, I'm starting to think more & more that maybe she *is*
the heroine.
This seems particularly relevant given our past discussions about whether
Hermione is a strong female character or not.
So . . . is she the heroine or not?"

Definition of heroine (from the OED online):
1) In ancient mythology, a female intermediate between a woman and a
goddess; a demi-goddess.
2) A woman distinguished by exalted courage, fortitude, or noble
achievements.
3) The principal female character in a poem, story, or play; the woman in
whom the interest of the piece centres.
4) attrib. or as adj. Heroine-like, heroic.

#1 a new description of Hermione. Elevates her importance somewhat!
#2 links in with the idea of why Hermione is in Gryffindor.
#3 she is the principal female, but not really the interest of the story.
#4 this does not really fit to well!

I am not too sure about this heroine idea. She is definitely a strong
character.

Carole wrote: "And if JKR is Hermione in disguise, what does that suggest
for potential romantic pairings....would you go for the hero or the hero's
sidekick?...personally I'd go for the hero's godfather...but then you all
knew that about me anyway  : )"

Go for the one you love. How important someone is should not enter into a
discussion on true love.
At this stage I will leave Carole chasing after the doggie.

Simon