Ginny & the Platform Scene

[serenadust]

No: HPFGUIDX 33094


> 
>> 
> > 
> 
> 
> Pippin responded:
> 
> > 
> >     If Mrs. W has no one to leave her with, then it's not Ginny's 
first
> > time at King's Cross,  so why on earth is Ginny so excited?
> 
> I interpret her behavior as juvenile rather than excited.  She's 
excited 
> at the prospect that she might meet the famous Harry Potter, but 
her 
> behavior up to that time is merely to answer her mum's question 
about 
> the Platform # (some evidence she *has* been there before) & 
whine/beg 
> about why she can't go to Hogwarts (I concede that we don't know 
> precisely where she meant to go & maybe it was to look in the 
muggle 
> shops ... but her mother interprets her question as Hogwarts 
so...).  In 
> other words, I don't see any "excitement" in her actions prior to 
> learning that the famous Boy Who Lived is on the train & her twin 
> brothers have met him.
> 
>  Penny wrote:
> 
> Um....well perhaps Molly would feel comfortable leaving her 9/10 yr 
old 
> alone at *the Burrow* (small village location in England), but I 
assure 
> you I won't be leaving my daughter unattended in Houston TX at the 
age 
> of 10.  Although if Molly is uncomfortable allowing her 10 yr old 
> daughter to traverse the train station without holding tightly to 
her 
> hand, I doubt seriously that she'd leave her unattended at home 
either. :--)
> 

> 
> Molly's behavior is over-protective ... IMO anyway.  I doubt she'd 
leave 
> Ginny behind.  As for the social isolation, I fall into the 
Weasleys 
> must have been home-schooled camp.  They have little knowledge of 
muggle 
> life, which indicates they likely didn't attend the muggle school 
in 
> Ottery St. Catchpole.  The Diggorys live near enough, but based on 
the 
> Portkey in GoF, we can assume there aren't many more wizarding 
families 
> in the vicinity of the Burrow.  Probably not enough to support a 
> wizarding primary school in any case.  So .... if the Weasleys were 
> home-schooled, then I'd say they might have been relatively 
isolated.
Pippin wrote: 

> >   I just re-read the platform scene...you could just as well see 
the
> > hand holding as Mrs. Weasley being over-protective(Now hold
> > my hand dear, this is a busy place and we don't want you getting
> > lost,do we)...and the first "Oh mum, can I go..." as Ginny's
> > attempt to get away and look at the Muggle shops or something.
> 
Penny wrote:

> Oh, I think Molly is definitely over-protective of Ginny.  I've 
little 
> doubt of that.  But, the depiction of Ginny in that scene is still 
> pretty darn juvenile IMHO.
> 

> 
> Maybe Molly was screaming, but Harry couldn't hear her.  <g>  I bet 
she 
> was shrieking as a matter of fact.  Having seen some of those train 
> station platforms in England ("mind the gap"), I can say that it 
took 
> some nerve for me to get myself onto the train sometimes, let alone 
> seeing to one or more children.  :::shudders::::  So, I bet Molly 
*was* 
> screaming.  :--D
> 
> You've not yet convinced me that this is a typical 9/10 yr old 
girl.  I 
> still say she's no more than 6 the way she's depicted.  But, that's 
just 
> my opinion obviously.
> 
Hi,

I think that Ginny seems immature to many of us who are used to the 
usual American/suburban girls of this age (dressing like Britney 
Spears, watching MTV).  When I lived in the UK a few years ago (in 
Hampshire, NOT London), the children seemed refreshingly 
unsophisticated compared to the children in the Washington DC 'burbs 
where I now live.
It has always seemed to me that the wizarding world we've been shown 
so far is rather socially conservative and old fashioned.  Since the 
Weasleys do seem to be somewhat isolated geographically, Ginny's 
behavior does not seem especially immature to me.  If you read books 
set in the early part of the 20th century, girls of this age are 
still very close to their families, playing with dolls, etc. and 
behave more like contemporary 6-7 year olds (unless the stories are 
set among the urban poor).

Why do so many people seem a bit hostile to Ginny. It doesn't seem to 
me that we've seen her do anything distasteful.  The only crying she 
seems to do is in COS, when she has been taken to the chamber to die.
In contrast, Hermione has cried a fair bit, and has never been in any 
real personal danger except in POA (and not really very much even 
there), but nobody seems to think that this shows weakness on her 
part.
I think that Tabouli needs to come up with an acromim for the Ginny 
defenders.

Jo