Mrs. Weasley (was Re: Defending Harry (was Somebody please save Ron!)

[pacificlippert]

No: HPFGUIDX 44843

Richelle wrote:
> Then there was the incident with the dress robes.  Our dear 
sweet Molly
> Weasley actually told her own son, "Fine, go naked.  And Harry, 
make sure
> you get a picture of him.  Goodness knows I could do with a 
laugh."  

Actually, it sounds very much like something my mother said
to my sister while growing up.  At the time, my sister thought it
was "mean"--my brothers and I thought it served her right, lol.

>Ron's
> next comment was "Why is everything I own rubbish?"  Quite 
sad, coming from
> a fourteen year old.  Considering he's felt that way at least 
since he was
> eleven.  Most families who are poor manage in such a way that 
the children
> usually don't even know it until they're grown and look back.  

I have to disagree.  When you're poor, there's no hiding it--you
might not know it at age 4, but certainly long before you're 11 you
know there's no money.  I can certainly remember eating
food I hated d:  (to this day I get sick at the smell of fish), and 
wearing clothes I hated, because that was all there was,  and my 
parents didn't have to tell me that we were poor, or even that 
there was no money, we just knew.  And if Ron is an awkward
size to fit, as his mother says, he's certainly seen more than his 
share of ugly clothes, just as if he hates some food that the
rest of the family likes, he's going to have seen a lot of it.    

But Ron is
> very much aware of his family's monetary state.  Which leads 
me to believe
> either it is very unusual in the WW for a family to be so poor, or 
his
> family does a lousy job of keeping the home life upbeat.  Does 
Ron really
> sit around worrying about his hand me downs as much as it 
seems he does?

Oh, probably only when it's contrasted with people who are
better off.  We don't know enough to say that it's unusual, though
I would expect that there are all sorts of ranges in the WW--we
certainly aren't shown that the level of wealth the Malfoys display
is the norm.  I also think that the other kids are equally 
concerned about it--Fred and George have a "life savings" to 
bet, after all, which means they've been finding outside ways to
make money for some time--we just don't hear about it, since 
our focus is very narrow.

I know that when I was growing up, my brothers and I used to
concoct elaborate plans to make money (some of them even
worked, lol).  We frequently complained, and in fact Ron sounds
amazingly like my youngest brother.

I'm not sure how you can make being poor "upbeat".  My mother
could tell us to be happy we were healthy until she was blue
in the face--it wouldn't (and didn't) change any of the things I'd
have liked changed.  My family did the best they could, and we
did have good times, but we never forgot we were poor.

> Well, now I'm getting off track.  Back to Mrs. Weasley.  She 
could do
> better.  A lot better.  She frequently shows more concern for 
Harry than
> Ron.  What does this mean?  I don't have a clue.  Have we ever 
seen her hug
> Ron?  
snip
> If I was seeing my mom for the first time in several months, I'd 
be a bit hurt if she hugged my
> best friend before me.  Let alone if she hugged him and not 
me!

On the other hand, how many teenage guys do you know who
want to hug their mom?  _Especially_ in front of their friends?
I think I can count...um...none (;  My brothers were very fond of
their best friends moms, and did occasionally hug them, but 
none of us wanted to hug _our_ mom...ick! lol.  
If Ron's anything like my brothers, he told her to lay off not long
after she was rubbing dirt off his nose first year <g>.

Karie