[Ron's Jealousy] and Phobias

[arabella at sugarquill.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 16328

> > <snip all the incidents of Ron's bravery/self-sacrifice> Those 
aren't
> > the actions of a jealous person.
> 
> Well, I don't think anyone would argue that he walks around 
displaying
> nothing but jealousy all the time.  But, he can still be brave &
> self-sacrificing in times of danger but *also* be jealous of Harry.

Yes.  This is so true - conflicting character traits can exist, there 
can be inner struggle; it's so real and so compelling to see a well-
written character like Ron, who has so many of the same natural 
insecurities the rest of us have (well, I don't want to assume for 
others - but *I've* certainly been jealous and know the feeling 
well), work to come to terms with himself so that he can continue to 
be a help to his friends.  This ability for two seemingly contrasting 
traits (jealousy and loyalty) to exist within a person is exactly why 
I think it's also possible for Ron to be continually loyal to Harry 
as the books develop. It's natural to wish things.  It's natural to 
want what one hasn't got.  But Ron hasn't sold Harry out so far - and 
he's had a chance to get a lot of that jealousy out in the air at 
this point.  It's not a secret now, which I think is really 
interesting.

> Hermione saw how shocked & scared Harry was.  *She* was perceptive
> enough to pick up on this.  Ron, however, did not.  He leapt to the
> conclusion that Harry had put his name into the Goblet, had found a 
way
> to circumvent the age-line & had left him out of it.  There's that
> leaping to conclusions again.  Why would Ron not be able to see the 
same
> reactions on Harry's face that Hermione did?  If it's not because he
> leapt to conclusions (out of jealousy or impulsiveness), then 
*what* was
> the reason?

Oh, IMO it was absolutely the impulsiveness of jealousy.  But I don't 
think we have to hold this over Ron (and over him and over him and 
over him), especially because he makes an effort to fight this 
tendency soon after the fight.  He works hard to keep his bitterness 
at bay when girls are throwing themselves at Champion Harry's head 
before the Yule Ball.  I know I cited that in another post, but I 
think it's a telling step forward.  He's trying, isn't he?  Not to 
mention the fact that he's clearly not proud of his actions which led 
to the fight. ("'I noticed it when I was hanging around with them - 
when - you know -'  'We weren't talking,' Harry finished the sentence 
for him." GoF Chapter 29) Ron is clearly uncomfortable with his 
previous behavior and I see this moment as another hint toward a 
changing and maturing Ron.  A Ron who is taking things into 
consideration and making an effort. 
 
> > He was able to face up to Aragog and his family.
> 
> Um .... yes & no.  He was silent & hardly able to do more than heave
> himself into the car.  I don't know that it's fair to say that he 
truly
> confronted & overcame his fears.

I have a real problem with spiders.  I'd say the mere fact that 
highly phobic Ron followed a streaming line of them into the 
Forbidden Forest, in the dark, not knowing what kind of craziness he 
was going to encounter, says an awful lot about his ability to 
confront and overcome his fears.  Yeah, he was silent, yeah, he 
jumped in that car - I seem to remember Harry jumping in there too... 
let me check... yeah.  Oh, and when Harry yells for Ron to get Fang, 
he's present enough to do so - "Ron seized the boarhound around the 
middle and threw him, yelping, into the back of the car..."  So he 
managed a care outside of his fear at a pretty terrible moment.  And 
if that doesn't say enough, then perhaps a better example is in PoA, 
when, in Lupin's Defense class, Ron bravely battles the boggart-
Acromantula. He freezes, then raises his wand and gets over it.  

So yes.  I agree Ron's got a jealous streak, I'm not blind to the 
Ronness of Ron. I just don't think his jealousy is terminal to 
anybody, and I don't think it precludes any kind of betrayal.  I 
think it's part of him, and that he's growing up, and that it makes 
this whole adventure more complex and interesting, that there is even 
a little bit of room left in which to doubt the hero's best friend.  
*I* don't doubt him. <g> But it's exciting that there's room for it, 
for other readers.  Go JKR, way to twist us up.