[HPforGrownups] : Ron Sequitors

[Capn Kathy AKA Elanor Gamgee]

No: HPFGUIDX 16490


Why, oh WHY do all the interesting threads come up when my computer isn’t working? J 

Rosmerta wrote:

>The scene in GoF with his dress robes is played for laughs, but it's 
>heartwrenching for a teenager to be wearing loser clothes, and 
>especially to a big event like the Yule Ball. Yes, he was a jerk at 
>the Ball, but why be nice to Padma when, after all, "she didn't look 
>to enthusiastic about having Ron as a partner....and her dark eyes 
>lingered on the frayed neck and sleeves of his dress robes as she 
>looked him up and down." You can bet Ron didn't miss that look.

Oh, what a wonderful observation, Rosmerta! True, Harry doesn’t spend too much time thinking about how Ron must feel in this situation, but you’re right—you can bet that Ron notices. Granted, he’s not exactly Mr. Charm with poor Padma, but she’s not exactly the most accommodating date either, is she? Just thinking about Ron being stuck in those dress robes, in the Entrance hall, looking for Hermione…ahhh, poor Ron. Even though he’s a jerk later….poor Ron….

Penny wrote:

>I'd have to think more to come up with others. But, I think he does go beyond sarcasm with more frequency in the latter 2 books.

Well, of course he does. He’s a 14 year old boy, experiencing all sorts of emotions and experiences that he has no idea how to deal with. As Rosmerta pointed out, you feel things more keenly at 14 than you do at 12. His defense mechanism is sarcasm (sometimes laced with bitterness)—it only stands to reason that this would become more pronounced as he has more to be defensive about.

I wrote:>So, that will tell you how I feel about "the youngest and most >impressive Weasley man."


And Penny responded:
>Can I ask (ever so politely): How is it that Ron (who, the last time I >checked was still an adolescent boy and not a man) qualifies as the >"most impressive" of the Weasley males?

This is actually a fanfic quote that I happen to love. It’s from Zsenya’s "At Diagon Alley" (which is awesome—PLUG!) and I love it because it describes Ron as he could be (or WILL be, IMO), once he gets a clue. I don’t expect that those who are not Ron fans will understand this.

Penny wrote:
>1. In PoA, Harry was more than half-heartedly trying to make up with Hermione. I don't know where >you get half-heartedly out of the >language in that scene. He approaches her on his own & quietly >sets about trying to make up with her. Ron interrupts that with his loud & >mean-spirited comment >about Scabbers.

Sorry, I still don’t buy the idea of Harry’s whole-hearted sincerity here. As others have pointed out, he willingly participated in giving Hermione the cold shoulder, and was only willing to make up with her once he got his broomstick back. When he approaches her in the common room, I don’t deny that he wants to make up, but it’s not like he’s been pursuing that goal or anything. He sees her sitting there and approaches her out of guilt. Actually, I would say that his motivation has more to do with wanting things to be back to normal with his friends than particularly caring about Hermione’s feelings per se. And Harry doesn’t exactly go out of his way to try to convince Ron to talk to Hermione again. That’s where I get half-hearted. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: if I were Hermione, I would be really angry with Harry for not appreciating what I good friend I had been in a similar situation (his fight with Ron). Hermione is definitely the bigger person in that particular case, but we all knew that.

Penny: >Ron watched her go with a mixture of anger & satisfaction on his >face. *Satisfaction.* He >enjoyed reducing her to tears.

Of course he’s satisfied. He got a rise out of her. He proved to himself that his opinion mattered to her. There she is, at the ball with another guy, and he’s still able to get a reaction out of her. Of course he doesn’t realize at that point why it matters so much. And, as Arabella pointed out, he’s trying to unpin some of his hurt onto her. Yes, that still makes him a prat. But it doesn’t make him an evil person who derives pleasure from hurting others.



Arabella wrote:

>Re: Ron - Ron absolutely throws in the comment about Scabbers being eaten, and IMO it's a deliberate "I hope you feel bad." But I >think he jabs at her because he too is feeling pretty bad, and he's fishing 
>for sympathy and apology. I have to look at his motivation in the context of the story - it's not just arbitrary meanness. 

Exactly! And his motivations are similar here too, I think. He wants to get some reaction from her that shows she cares. He’s angry over the loss of his pet, but he’s also hurt. We all know how much he really loves his pets, but won’t admit it. So he misses Scabbers, but he’s also hurt that someone who matters to him (though he doesn’t realize exactly how much) would treat him (and Scabbers) the way she has.

Penny wrote: >Um .... well, we don't know how the hostages were chosen. We don't know that Hermione wasn't already Krum's hostage >when it came time to decide who Harry's hostage should be. I really think it was >ultimately a plot device to be sure that 3 people that >Harry cares about were hostages; I have a very hard >time thinking that JKR was sending a direct message that Ron is more important >to Harry than Hermione.

Well, as you probably already know, I strongly disagree on that one. I think there is plenty of evidence that Ron would be Harry’s thing-he-missed-most over Hermione any time. But that’s already been argued and argued, so anyone who wants to go into that can check the archives. What I would like to say, however, is that I think Hermione would know this—and I don’t think she would be angry or feel slighted by this, as some have suggested. I think she would be happy for Ron, I really do.

Of course, the question I enjoy pondering is, who would Ron’s and Hermione’s hostages have been? ;)

Cap’n Kathy

AKA Elanor Gamgee

Who is really going to bed now…

 

 

 



"What can I say to people who insist on being that thick?

--Hermione, to Gwen

from HQOW, Year 4 by Arabella



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