Hermione and Ron (SHIP)

[blpurdom]

No: HPFGUIDX 38686

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., Penny Linsenmayer <pennylin at s...> wrote:
>  Ron wants to be the shining star, he wants to stand out, he wants 
to succeed -- he has a driving ambition (his heart's deepest desire 
in fact) to be the "best of them all."  So, he's insecure about his 
accomplishments & his abilities ... his insecurity in this regard is 
only fueled by having the most famous wizard on earth as his best 
friend and having the star student at Hogwarts as his other best 
friend.  I would conjecture that what Ron could really use as far as 
his temporary self-esteem goes, is a girlfriend who doesn't outshine 
him at every turn.  My comment was referring to Hermione not being 
willing to sublimate her successes & take a back seat so that Ron 
could shine.  I think Ron will want to be the star of the pairing, 
and if his girlfriend is showing him up at every turn (getting a 
better job, making more money, receiving press attention for her 
latest social cause, etc.), I don't think he's going to be terribly 
happy.   

I find myself unable to agree with most of this.  "Shining 
star?"  "Driving ambition?"  I'm afraid you must be confusing him 
with Percy.  Far too much is made of Ron seeing himself in the 
Mirror of Erised as Head Boy and Quidditch Captain (his heart's 
desire at the age of ELEVEN, remember) and not enough is made of his 
resistance to the lure of the mirror, his willingness to sacrifice, 
and his loyalty.

Ron, in fact, is embarassed by Percy's behavior and shows very 
little interest in emulating his academically-successful brother.  
He seems far happier being a popular person with good friends rather 
than someone others are resenting.  He may sometimes seem to be 
resenting Harry for his fame and fortune, but Ron actually comes off 
as pretty content about his position and lack of responsibility.  He 
gets some nice perks for being Harry's friend (using the 
Invisibility Cloak comes to mind) and Hermione's friend (she nags 
him to do his work--which he fights against, but in the end he 
probably wouldn't get anything done if she didn't).

Hermione already outshines Ron academically, and he doesn't mind a 
bit.  Why should this change if they were to become a couple?  He 
seems rather proud of having a best friend, in fact, who does so 
well in her studies.  (And who beats Malfoy, for instance, in every 
subject.)  As for getting attention in the press--well, Ron has seen 
what that can lead to.  Does he want a Rita-Skeeter-style reporter 
dragging his name through the mud the same way Hermione's and 
Harry's names were?  I don't think so.  I think it's possible that 
his mother tries to guilt him into being more ambitious than he is 
(she also berates the twins for not being prefects) so it's possible 
that he's reacting to his mother's pressure when he sees himself in 
the mirror covered in glory; in the end, perhaps pleasing his mother 
is really his heart's desire, and he knows what would please her, 
even though it's possibly not in his nature to deliver those 
particular things.

--Barb