More on Ginny - very long.
Catherine Coleman
catherine at cator-manor.demon.co.uk
Thu Jan 10 12:19:58 UTC 2002
No: HPFGUIDX 33128
--- In HPforGrownups at y..., Penny & Bryce <pennylin at s...> wrote:
Penny wrote about Ginny...
I completely agree with
> Cindy that Ginny is just very ...flat. There's no substance IMO. I
too
> couldn't possibly come up with a phrase or two describing who Ginny
is.
> I've no idea who she is other than Ron's younger sister.
>
> <snip excellent analysis of how Ron doesn't seem to care much for
Ginny>
> Exactly. They aren't particularly close from all appearances. And,
as
> I've said before, for being only one year apart in age, they receive
> drastically different characterization. I assume there's a reason
besides her
> surname that she was sorted into Gryffindor, but darn if I can see
what
> it might be at this juncture.
I remember, way back when, when I first joined this group, getting into
a spirited debate about this very topic. Somebody (can't remember who)
memorably said that Ginny was probably less use to the overall plot than
Buckbeak, and she was variously described as immature, cowardly,
whiny...I could go on. Needless to say, I came out strongly in defence
of Ginny then, and continue to do so now.
I don't find her a "flat" character at all. I take the point that she
seems very juvenile in the first Platform and 3/4 scene, but not merely
just a young child - I see her as quite chirpy, confident and happy -
not the shy, clumsy, withdrawn person we see in CoS. I can forgive her
wanting to go and see Harry - after all, it's just what everyone else
wanted to do, but had the maturity not to admit to. I also can see
things from her perspective. Until now, Ginny has always had another
sibling at home with her. She probably realises that at this time, she
has quite a lonely year ahead of her, with no older brother to keep her
company (I'm not going into all the stuff about home schooling/wizarding
primary schools, as it's more conjecture and I can't use it here), and
it is pretty clear to me that she knows that she is going to miss her
brothers. I also see the fact that she is desperately keen to get to
Hogwarts as a sign that she wants to emerge from the shelter of Molly
Weasley's apron strings.
Moving on to her relationship with Ron, I don't see how anyone could
think that they aren't close. Now, I'm using fairly thin examples here,
but they do add up to a pretty clear picture of a reasonably good
relationship between them. I think that Ron is used to seeing Ginny in
very different terms from what we have been allowed to see. He is very
surprised how shy and tongue-tired she has become when Harry first
visits the Burrow. I can't think of a passage when he doesn't treat her
with affection, apart from when he tells her, quite rudely, to go away -
and this wasn't because he didn't want her around (she seems often to
sit with them in the common room, on the train etc.) but because Harry
wanted to speak to him and Hermione in private. He is absolutely
devastated when she is taken into the Chamber (doesn't speak for hours
as he is in shock) and is affectionate enough to want to hug her after
her ordeal. I admit, she has a very small role in PoA, (all I can
really remember is her being outraged at the twins' callousness over how
Crookshanks ate Scabbers - and that was outrage over Ron's hurt as much
anything, I believe) but in GoF, she and Ron do seem to have a good
relationship again - look at the fact that it is she who is comforting
him when he has made a fool of himself with Fleur. People often site
the fact that they find it strange that Ginny doesn't hang around with
the threesome more - that she isn't one of the gang. I don't find this
strange at all. How many teenagers do want to hang around with their
younger siblings when they have their best friends with them? Also,
despite being a teenager, Ron isn't averse to giving her a friendly hug
(example being in the photo taken in Egypt).
On the whole, I see more evidence for the fact that they have a friendly
relationship, rather than the opposite.
On Ginny belonging in Gryffindor - I agree that there isn't much
evidence of her bravery as yet. The only scene I can think of is when
she stands up for Harry in Flourish and Blotts, when Draco starts
goading him about Lockhart and the publicity. I thought that this was
brave - not only because she was standing up to one of Harry's peers -
probably appreciating the fact that he would be at Hogwarts, and not
caring, and also, because it is the first time Harry actually hears her
speak in front of him - her awe of him is temporarily forgotten or
overcome because she needs to defend him. I always think Bravo! when I
read that scene.
However, although there aren't signs of specific bravery, I can easily
defend Ginny's apparent cowardice. She is seen as being tearful and
whiny in CoS. I think this is understandable. She has finally gone to
Hogwarts, after looking forward to it for years and is having a pretty
awful time. She thinks she is going mad, because of the periods of time
she is losing when doing Tom Riddle's bidding, and is obviously
suffering from paranoia because when Percy shows concern for her, she
think that "he suspects me" - things are compounded when she realises
that Harry has possession of the diary and that not only would he find
out about her crush, and all her innermost thoughts generally, which in
itself is pretty major (does anyone else remember what it is like to be
pre-teen/teenager, and how important trivial things seem, compared to
how they do now?), but she also thinks that Tom Riddle is going to
reveal that it is she who has opened the Chamber. She is naturally
absolutely terrified, she has been manipulated all year by one of the
most evil Wizards ever, who has probably subtly encouraged her paranoia
and insecurities, and then she is taken to the Chamber itself and nearly
dies. On top of that, she thinks that she is going to be expelled, and
that she is directly responsible for all those people being petrified.
No wonder the poor girl is tearful! I'm surprised she didn't have a
full nervous breakdown!
Criticisms are made about Ginny "allowing" herself to be manipulated by
Riddle, but there is a defence - firstly, she did try to break free from
him when she threw the diary away, and secondly, Harry also trusted
Riddle from his own experiences with the diary. No one seems to
criticise Harry for behaving in the same way as Ginny in this respect.
As an addendum to this, it has also been said in the past that another
sign of weakness she shows is the effect the Dementors have on her on
the train - she is white and shaking, IIRC. Again, not surprising - she
went through a hell of a lot in the previous year - and we know from
Lupin that having a bad reaction to the Dementors is not a sign of
weakness, but a sign that Bad Things have happened to you previously.
Finally, a few more words about GoF. I am still of the opinion that by
this time, Ginny is a more mature person, and this is shown effectively
during the Yule Ball saga. She knows who Hermione's date is and won't
tell, she doesn't let Neville down in order to go with Harry, she
comforts Ron, but isn't averse to giving him a telling off (like
Hermione). I know that the only basis Hermione and Ginny have for a
friendship is the fact that they have been thrown together (i.e. sharing
rooms at the Burrow, etc.) but I think that there is friendship
developing there - after all, Ginny seems more in Hermione's confidence
than Parvati and Lavender, and at times, Harry and Ron.
All in all, I think that JKR has revealed enough facets of Ginny's
character to make me interested in her. There hasn't been a huge
amount, I know, but I think that the potential is there for her to be
developed in the way I think she is being drawn at the moment.
So, I'll be rejoining Kimberly in the Ginny lovers corner. (Anyone
thought of a suitable acronym yet...!)
Catherine
"It's a book for obsessives. It's a book for the kind of people who
enjoy every little tiny detail about a world, because I have every
little tiny detail about the world."
JKR.
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