[HPforGrownups] Re: On Why Hermione is a Gryffindor

[Patricia Bullington-McGuire]

No: HPFGUIDX 55176

On Thu, 10 Apr 2003, Becky Walkden wrote:

> Greicy wrote:
> 
> I actually meant what made her want to be in Gryffindor before that 
> and I think Patricia answered it beautifully:
> 
> The first, and simplest, explanation for why Hermione wanted to be in
> Gryffindor......
> 
> Me:  Actually I think were making too big a deal about the idea of
> "wanting" to be in a certain house.  I think that plays an extremely
> small roll normally in the sorting ceremony.  We may be influenced here
> because Harry "chose" Gryffindor.  But Harry only had that option
> because he was so ideally suited for Gryffindor.  He was obviously also
> highly qualified for Slytherine but if that wasn't such a "difficult"
> choice as the Sorting Hat admitted I don't think he would have had any
> chose at all.  He would have been automatically selected not necessarily
> to the house he wanted but the house he was best suited for.

I agree with you.  Hermione would not have been chosen for Gryffindor if
she did not have the characteristic Gryffindor qualities in spades, no
matter how much she wanted to be there.  However, Greicy's question was
not 'why was Hermione placed in Gryffindor?', but 'why did she *want* to
be in Gryffindor?'  Hermione said on the train that she wanted Gryffindor
as her house, and this was at a time when she had no experience with and
very little information about the different houses.  It's fair to ask why 
she would prefer Gryffindor at that point.

> As far as Hermione, she has proven her bravery under pressure several
> times over.  In the first book and PoA she showed great bravery and
> daring.  Even in the first book, setting fire to Professor Snape wasn't
> something most first year student's would have dared do under any
> circumstance.  I think some people question her bravery because of her
> poor performance verse the troll in the first book.  But heck, your a
> young kid, totally inexperienced, sitting on the potty crying and a
> giant troll, way beyond your skills just happens to come strolling into
> the bathroom.  I don't think her inability to handle herself well there
> is in anyway a negative reflection of either her bravery or daring.  I
> don't think you can even judge an 11 year old like that.  And she's more
> than made up for that since.  Huggs Becky

Yes, Hermione is a very bold, brave person.  I don't really understand the
impression some people have that she's not suited to Gryffindor.  She has
certainly demonstrated more bravery than Lavender or Parvati or Dean.  
And her bravery isn't just physical bravery (e.g. being willing to face
all the traps and charms meant to protect the stone in PS/SS); she also
has a moral bravery as well.  No amount of peer pressure has caused her to
shut up about her objections to house elf treatment, and she has been
subjected to quite a bit of ridicule for it.

I actually think Hermione is better suited to Gryffindor than Ravenclaw.  
Ravenclaws aren't just clever; they are supposed to have wisdom as well.  
I associate "wisdom" with moderation (among other things).  Hermione is 
not a moderate person.  She's not rash the way Ron is, but she has not 
mastered the art of compromise, either.  If she had to be in Ravenclaw she 
would do okay, but I think she has more in common with the bold, brash 
personalities in Gryffindor.

----
Patricia Bullington-McGuire	<patricia at obscure.org>

The brilliant Cerebron, attacking the problem analytically, discovered
three distinct kinds of dragon: the mythical, the chimerical, and the
purely hypothetical.  They were all, one might say, nonexistent, but each
nonexisted in an entirely different way ... 
                -- Stanislaw Lem, "Cyberiad"