Generational Parallels

[Penny Linsenmayer]

No: HPFGUIDX 37479

Hi --

Welcome Columbiatexan -- I see that you're a newbie!  :--)  I have about a million other things I need to be doing right now, but I absolutely wanted to respond to this post.  I saw the subject "Generational Parallels" & thought "Oh, that's probably just another rehashing of the same old Hermione parallels Lupin, Ron parallels Sirius, Harry parallels James post" and you certainly proved me wrong.  This is some wonderful insightful stuff IMO -- of course, I have some ....er....*well-known* biases.  

<<<<<<<<I think if anyone in the current generation is similar to Lily, it's Hermione.  Please note, I'm not trying to be predictive of any kind 
of romantic relationships, though I do think Harry and Hermione 
would be better suited for a long-term relationship, personality-
wise.>>>>>>>>>>>> 

First, let me be one of the first to offer you a stateroom on the H/H Ship -- you're welcome aboard anytime!  <g>

<<<Personally, I'm hoping that the members of the trio keep 
their hands off of each other until the final book, although i don't 
think that's going to happen--i seriously worry that any romantic 
relationship between Hermione and either of her best friends is 
going to ruin the dynamic of the Trio, and that's been one of the 
most fun things to read about/watch in these books.  I don't think 
there's any way it couldn't ruin that dynamic if J.K. Rowling is 
going to write it realistically, even if she doesn't set up any kind of 
triangle for Hermione's affections.  Even if the one left out is not 
interested in Hermione, he will still feel left out and be isolated;>>>

Ditto.  If there's to be any romantic pairing or romantic triangle, the dynamic will absolutely change.  

<<<<<<<<Anyway, back to the original point of this post, which is about 
generational parallels.  I know we don't know much about Lily, 
but from the little we've gathered, she sounds very similar to 
Hermione.  All we've been given to work with was that she was 
Head Girl, though Hagrid did allude to similarities in Book II after 
Malfoy called Hermione a "mudblood," when he's telling the trio 
that birth doesn't matter... he recalls Harry's mother, and then in 
his next sentence remarks that there's not a smell invented yet 
that Hermione can't do.  <snip more excellent commentary about the similarities between Lily & Hermione>

I don't recall anyone ever picking up on this point before, and I'm terribly pleased to see this comparison made.  Hermione's my favorite character, and this is definitely a new facet to her character to consider.  I've always thought that Lily will be another strong female character in the Potterverse once we learn more about her, and you've definitely picked up on a good point to add to the mix at this stage in the series.  I especially like the way you've picked up on the Charms connection between these two characters.  Interesting, very interesting.  I've never been able to see the Ginny/Lily parallels myself, since they are strictly & superficially physical as best we know right now.  Well, there's no canon evidence that Ginny is an above-average student, let alone a brilliant one & she's definitely not muggle-born (so .... I must be missing it if there's anything beyond they both have red hair).  But, yes, aside from knowing that Lily was Head Girl (which indicates at least above-average marks I would think), you quite correctly point out Hagrid's connection of Hermione with Lily with respect to talent & muggle-born status.  

I too hope that we'll meet the Grangers in greater detail sometime.  

Now, on to your interesting observation about the parallel between Harry and James being too obvious.  I like this very much too.  I have always liked the parallel between Harry & James -- I think Harry is identifying with James increasingly with each book.  I find those scenes to be particularly emotionally strong.  BUT, you certainly raise some *excellent* points of comparison between Harry and Lupin.  That's really good stuff.  I'm not so sure that noone has ever commented on this, but it isn't a commonly drawn parallel, that's for certain.

I would note though that we don't know that James & Lily were Head Boy & Head Girl in the same year.  It's implied to some extent, but it's certainly left vague enough that it wouldn't be shocking if they were in different years.  

<<<<<<<<But I definitely think Ginny Weasley being a parallel for Lily Potter is a red herring (sorry, I couldn't resist),>>>>>

LOL!  

<<<<<<<<<<<I'm actually really hoping Ginny doesn't end up with Harry, because I don't think they'll ever be on an equal footing, and, barring some major change in the next 3 
books, Ginny's so far not had a chance to really get to know 
Harry for who he is and fall in love with that person.>>>>>>>>>>>

Couldn't have said it better myself!  <g>  Oh, I have said that before?  Hmm...yeah, I bet I have.  Seriously, I do think it's *possible* for Ginny to be Harry's equal partner & for her to fall in love with who he is as a person rather than a celebrity, but she's certainly not there yet.  I almost think it would require Ginny to be taken in as a 4th member of the Trio for her to assume the same kind of relationship to Harry that Hermione currently has.  I think Harry is destined to be romantically paired with someone who can be his equal (Hermione) or someone unconnected to his life at Hogwarts in a post-Voldemort world.  Then again, I hate the whole OBHWF scenario.  :--)

<<<<<<<<<<<<But I don't think generational parallels are a good 
predictor of future events or of who's going to end up with who... 
so far, we've seen Harry go after a girl who most CERTAINLY 
does not resemble his mother either physically or personality 
wise>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Exactly!  

Again, welcome Columbiatexan ..... your stateroom is ready & waiting anytime!  <g>

Penny


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