Ron's Envy

[naamagatus]

No: HPFGUIDX 38585

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., Penny Linsenmayer <pennylin at s...> wrote:
> 
> I take this to mean that you are referring to his fight with Harry 
over entry into the Triwizard Tournament as Ron's "envy crisis."  If 
so, then Ron's envy is not completely resolved after he & Harry make 
up.  Remember Ron's reaction to learning that leprachaun gold 
disappears?  He's still envious of Harry's wealth, if not his fame 
per se.  No, I would say that Ron's envy issues are not yet fully 
resolved.
> 
> Penny
> 

I think there is a very significant difference between Ron's reaction 
to Harry's entering the Tournament and his reaction to the leprechaun 
gold. During his Tournament "envy crisis" Ron doesn't acknowledge 
that he is envious of Harry. He wasn't aware himself that his anger 
is not really about Harry entering the Tournament behind his back. In 
fact, if it weren't for Hermione, I'm not sure we would have 
understood what it is really abou.t So Ron was then in denial (so to 
speak). It's trite, but nevertheless true, that overcoming denial is 
the first step to recovery. We know that Ron finally believed that 
Harry was telling the truth. That and the hints of some pretty 
serious soul searchings (the night Harry meets Sirius in the common 
room fireplace) indicate that Ron did face up to the true sources of 
his anger.  
The way I see it, the leprechaun gold *proves* that he has. His "it 
must be nice to have so much gold.." comment is a clear expression of 
envy - which is a good thing. Doubly good, in fact. Because, first, 
it means that he has faced his feelings, and, secondly, that he can 
voice those feelings. After all, there's nothing wrong with *feeling* 
envy (or anger or hatred or whatever). The wrong thing is to be ruled 
by those passions instead of just,.. well.., feeling them. The 
leprechaun incident clearly shows us that Ron is able to feel envy 
without being possessed by it. So, in this sense, I still stand by 
what I said - Ron has resolved his envy issues. 


Naama