[HPforGrownups] The Sleeping Woman

[Laura Huntley]

No: HPFGUIDX 37457

Meepacheep.  *looks at the word she just wrote* Huh.  Okay, well hrm...some more thoughts.  Sorry for all the shoving of my thoughts down everyone's throats..they aren't toxic, promise.  All-natural, no preservatives added, honest to God.

David said:
>Lily has received far less treatment than James

Lily's importance is to come, I believe.  I think there's something going on with the green eyes -- eyes generally tend to be important in fantasy books, you know?  

>(I have wondered if JKR's room of desire, the one she 
>would visit, given an hour at Hogwarts, is the >
>chamber.  It would be a typical piece of misdirection 
>for her to describe it as 'mentioned' in Book 4, and 
>it is a place plausibly with magical properties that 
>Harry hasn't discovered yet.  We have certainly not 
>been given any reason for its name - what secrets?  
>Everyone knew about the monster.)

I thought it was the Chamber of Secrets because no one knew where it was?  Although, there definitely could be something else important connected to it.  Who knows..

>Poor Devin got a lot of flack for pairing Ginny with 
>Harry a few weeks ago because she is the only other 
>character to have had a serious run-in with 
>Voldemort.  I believe he is on to something, though.  
>Postulating a romantic relationship may be a little 
>premature, rather I see Ginny as symbolising the 
>feminine complement to the predominantly masculine 
>development we have so far seen.

Being female, young, and American, I sort of automatically bristle at the connotations and stereotypes associated with the words "masculine" and "feminine", however, that aside:  What is wrong with Hermione as a feminine portrayal, anyway?  It can't be argued that she doesn't associate with other females, and is therefore an unnatural female herself (she and Ginny obviously are confiding in eachother in GoF, and lots of girls like to hang out with boys -- why should this automatically rob them of their "femininity"?).  Neither can it be argued that she is an invalid candidate because she lacks the UTTERLY female virtues *voice is dripping with sarcasm here* of compassion, emotionalism, and romanticism.  First off, she's the one person we see consistently sticking up for/helping out Neville, whom everyone else in Hogwarts either despises or views as nice, but a bit of a joke.  Secondly, she gets quite emotional over Harry's various brushes with mortal peril on a regular basis.  Thirdly, she seems to have had her fair share of girlhood crushes as well, notably Lockhart -- she even put aside her all-encompassing logic for this one too.  *And* she reacts with dignity and maturity with Krum, who is, after all, what? four years older than her?  She must be one spectacular female to have a world-famous eighteen year old boy obviously smitten with her when she's only 14.

Furthermore, she's not "sleeping" as Ginny is.  Her character is multi-faceted and a major part of the story.  Not only that, but she is, as a person, fiercely intelligent, strong, hardworking, loyal, and absolutely ruthless when need be.  Again, I ask:  What more do you people *want* in a heroine, anyway? 

On a side note, I would like to add that although I am not particularly happy with it, I do believe that if JKR intends to pair people off in the future books, the pairs will most likely be H/G and R/Hr.  I don't like it, but from the way Jo's writing at this point, that's my prediction. 


>The implications for Harry's development?  This 
>depends, I guess, on JKR's conception of what it is to >be feminine, or at any rate, to display femininity: 

Hmm..well, we already know how JKR chooses to display her own (girlhood) femininity.  She has stated several times that Hermione is an dramatization of herself at that age. (I just don't understand why you aren't satisfied with this to the point that you go through the trouble of creating elaborate theories to find a substitute for Hermione)  As for a general view of what feminine is?  I don't believe in it.

I am female.  Therefore, everything I do is, by definition, feminine.  But another female's version of femininity is just as valid for her.  Same thing goes for you guys.  We're all crazy, whacked-out individuals.  There is no norm -- neither are there any set definitions for "femininity" or "masculinity".  It's sort of silly to try to pretend there are -- plus, it's just confusing, and kind of annoying. IMHO, it's better to just try to take everyone at face value and avoid preconceptions based on gender, race, upbringing, etc.  Obviously, no one can achieve this completely (we all have our biases), but it's still good to *try*. 

>The fact that Ginny is said to talk a lot until 
>Harry's presence subdues her is an intriguing 
>indication.

You don't think that maybe (just maybe) you might be reading a little bit to much into a little girl's reaction to a boy she has a crush on?  I mean, when I was that age, I barely had the guts to *look* at a boy I found attractive for more than a few milliseconds -- and I'm certainly not a shy person.  Even among older people (men and women), becoming tongue-tied, embarrassed, nervous, etc. is perfectly normal when one is around someone one is infatuated with.  It's a perfect common reaction, IMO -- especially when you're young (like Ginny) and haven't had much experience with the pretty intense emotions having the "fuzzies" instills in you.

laura


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