Notes on the Weasleys and their Hardships

[Adrienne Nicole Williams]

No: HPFGUIDX 21121

Over all, I would consider the Weasleys metaphorically the richest
family I know. There is a father who is devoted to bettering his
family by working. There is a mother who loves all her children
equally <no matter how many howlers from Dumbledore she gets>. The
siblings all love each other and are there for each other whenever
they need it. I know the characters wouldn't admit it, but they do
love each other. Perhaps it is the love in the Weasley house is what
Malfoy is jealous of. And, knowing Draco, he's not one to show his
insecurity, so he belittles Ron by stressing his poverty.

Just a thougth. BTW: I agree with what Linman says about the
individual family members. They each have their own ways of dealing
with their lack of money.

Adrienne


--- In HPforGrownups at y..., linman6868 at a... wrote:
> Hello all --
>
> I checked the schedule and there's no-one posting on this in depth,
> so I thought I'd post a few notes and musings on the Weasleys, since
> they've been on the listmembers' (and my) mind lately.
>
> Each member of the Burrow seems to have their particular way of
> dealing with the infamous Weasley poverty, which is often
> inconvenient and embarrassing, if not exactly as dire as Draco Malfoy
> makes out.  So here's my take on the nine Weasleys...
>
> ARTHUR WEASLEY
> According to Molly, has been "held back" by being actually interested
> in the nowhere job of protecting Muggles.  No-one else is
> particularly interested in protecting Muggles or improving Muggle-
> wizard relations, so clearly not much money gets funneled into that
> branch of the Ministry (although they obviously have to pay lots of
> Obliviators to protect *wizards* from *Muggles*).  Arthur is willing
> to pay the price, and have his family pay the price, for that
> interest and integrity, but it doesn't stop him being tired and
> worried most of the time we see him.
>
> MOLLY WEASLEY
> Has a fierce family patriotism.  Her practical ingenuity holds the
> family's finances together, and her loyalty makes her a tigress when
> the sneering Daily Prophet comes to call.  Worries as much as Arthur,
> but takes it out in energetic work and chivvying her children.  Wants
> her children to succeed but not to compromise the Weasley name.
>
> BILL WEASLEY
> Works for the *bank*.  And what the heck is a "charm-breaker" at
> Gringotts?  He tells Molly that the goblins don't care how he
> dresses "as long as he brings home plenty of treasure."  Does this
> mean he's a forecloser or something?  Does "bringing treasure home"
> mean bringing it to the bank or bringing it to himself by working
> hard at the bank?  I suspect it's the former, because of the
> word "treasure."  But I don't see "cool" Bill Weasley taking up
> anything in the tax-collecting line.  Maybe he raids Egyptian tombs
> like Indiana Jones.  He's obviously acquired the ponytail and earring
> since his Hogwarts days, since Molly tells him his hair's "getting
> ridiculous".  Is this typical firstborn behavior, to sort of kick
> loose once he leaves school?  Not, I think, in a rebellious way
> exactly; I think Bill has a good humor about himself, and doesn't
> take himself so seriously that his appearance is an all-important
> statement.  He seems pretty well-adjusted, if that term really means
> anything.
>
> CHARLIE WEASLEY
> According to Oliver Wood, he "could have played Quidditch for England
> if he hadn't gone off chasing dragons."  Like Arthur, he seems to
> have pursued his interests regardless of whether they'll pay off
> financially, like those of us who sell our souls to get a post-
> graduate degree and become a Starving Artist or Starving Writer. :)
> Is Charlie a kind of Jane Goodall, or is he working toward a CoMC
> degree of some sort?
>
> PERCY WEASLEY
> Percy seems to me to be the quintessential Scholarship Boy, what
> Richard Rodriguez calls a child who plunges headlong into academia
> and worships authority so as to escape from the hardship of his
> background (in Rodriguez's case, he was from a working-class Hispanic
> family).  Percy seeks to be the Perfect Customer Service
> Representative with everyone he deals with, doling out advice and
> information, teaching or learning with equal alacrity where it might
> earn him credit.  The members of Percy Lovers Unite! may have a soft
> spot for Percy, but I doubt Percy has a soft spot for himself.  At
> this moment (post-GoF), if he's not sitting in Azkaban for offing
> BCSr. (whoever posted that gave me thrills and chills), he's probably
> sitting by the Weasley fireside with his hands clasped miserably
> between his knees, his mother dosing him with cups of chamomile tea
> and Ginny trying to badger him into a chess game.
>
> FRED and GEORGE WEASLEY
> Fred and George, in a backlash against Percy's Scholarship-Boyism,
> have put their considerable wit to work being the zaniest and most
> mischievous rascals ever to set foot in Hogwarts.  They earn their
> mother's wrath for dawdling about their OWLs, and they plan to become
> entrepreneurs of joke candies.  However, as many have pointed out,
> they are always generous when they have anything to be generous with,
> and they notice other people's hardships more than any of the other
> characters except perhaps Dumbledore.  It's one of the twins who
> worries grimly about their parents' being able to afford all those
> Lockhart books, and it's usually the twins who notice Harry's various
> social plights and lend him a hand.  These characteristics intensify
> their anger against Ludo Bagman for cheating them, and test their
> diplomacy in dealing with him.  They also have the Weasley pride;
> Harry has to threaten them with a hex before they'll take the
> Triwizard winnings off his hands.
>
> I'll post on Ron and Ginny later -- running out of time at the moment.
>
> Lisa I.