Anatomy of a Rift (Part 1 of 2) LONG

[dicentra63 <dicentra@xmission.com>]

No: HPFGUIDX 52038

We're always expressing awe at the skill with which JKR hides the
truth until the end of a book, until the Great Revelatory Scene turns
the entire story on its ear, and we sit there, jaw in lap, remembering
that the clues were there all along -- we just failed to put two and
two together (we can't all be Snape). 

But even more amazing than that is the skill with which she misleads
us about more subtle matters and *doesn't* explicitly Reveal The
Truth. Because in those cases, the truth can be uncovered only by
performing a close reading. Almost inevitably, the truth about the
subtle matter is *not* what we thought it was, even after a few
(dozen) readings. 

The cause of this disparity between what we initially think is true
and what *is* true is JKR's narrator: a third-person limited narrator
who for the most part sits inside Harry's head but occassionally flits
off to narrate something outside of Harry's direct perception, such as
Vernon's noticing strange things at the beginning of Book 1, Ron and
Hermione during Harry's first Quidditch match, and the Riddle House at
the beginning of Book 4.  

Because the narrator is privy to Harry's perceptions, the narration
itself is colored by Harry's interpretations; as has been stated often
on this list, if it's not important to Harry, it usually doesn't get
narrated.

However, there are a few things that happen around Harry that he fails
to interpret correctly for the simple reason that he's Harry.  That's
no excuse for us, though.  Sometimes we need to question Harry's
evaluation of events to come to the truth.

I'm going to attempt to demonstrate that a conclusion that Harry came
to and that we accept without question (mostly) isn't the right one,
and that JKR deliberately presented us with a misleading explanation
-- via Harry -- and never "corrected" it.

It is accepted canon here at HPfGU that Ron is jealous of Harry, and
that he has jealousy problems in general. (I should say now that I'm
not going to deal with SHIPping jealousy: Ron being jealous of Krum
because of his attraction to Hermione is an entirely different, er,
affair.) 

Let me show you some of the examples of this assumption that I've
gleaned from the archives:

     "So the real irony of Crouch's encouragements to Harry and
Hermione, and his implicit playing on Ron's envy, may be that really
his compliments are no compliment at all." --David 39001

     "I started to wonder if these could be hints of a 'fatal flaw'
that could render him corruptible, particularly when added to his
unrecognised jealousy (unrecognised by himself that is) of Harry and
his fame, and his psychological need (revealed in the mirror of
Erised) to gain status in his own right." --Mercia 34660

     "On a related note, Ron _assumes_ that he wants what Harry has.
Wouldn't it be a hoot if he wished for it, and got his wish...and had
to spend the summer holidays at the Dursleys' residence, _as Harry?_"
Eric Oppen 33373

     "Ron is not terribly likeable in GoF (though to me he is
extremely empathize-with-able); he is jealous, overly eager to
impress, quick to judge, and hot-tempered..." --Amy Z. 32231

     "Also, I think you guys take Ron's jealousy too seriously. RON IS
NOT THE EVIL ONE! He doesn't talk to Harry for a while, but I can sort
of understand him." --Simonen 30770

     "Ron may struggle with jealousy but that does not make him
destined for evil. He ends his 'feud' with Harry after watching the
first [task] and seeing that Harry is indeed endangered. This shows he
cares more for Harry than the fact that Harry is richer or more
talented." --Jamie 30894

     "Ron may be prone to jealousy, but I don't think that necessarily
means he'll turn evil." --lipglossusa 30736

     "I have a gut feeling that Ron is going to turn bad. Ron is a
very jealous person, and he is becoming more so as he grows up."
--ktchong73 30721

     "Ron lets jealousy swamp him, but that again makes sense in the
context of his 'lifetime' of emotional candour." --Riv 26710

     "He still struggles with feelings of jealousy towards Harry ....
He has made his decision, that Harry's friendship is worth more than
his own warped perception of ideal humanity (to be the focus of
attention -- how JKR lambasts this desire as unmitigatedly destructive
at every turn!), and that, if held to, will be far-reaching for his
character." --David 32605

     "I really, really don't want this to be headed in the direction
of Ron getting increasingly jealous as his two best friends continue
to outstrip him while he remains 'average ol' Ron,' and finally
turning to the Dark side and betraying Harry in the process." --rohit
37517

(Just for the record, those examples go back to August 2001. That's as
far back as I could get for, um, technical reasons.)

These and other examples I've seen cite Ron's jealousy as an
established fact, like Neville's forgetfulness or Snape's nastiness.
That's interesting. Because the words "forgetful" and "nasty" are used
in conjunction with both of those characters on a regular basis, but
"jealous" in conjunction with Ron? I've not seen it, except in one
occasion, to be discussed below.

It's also accepted that Ron's jealousy manifests itself most
forcefully in GoF, right after Harry's name is spit out of the Goblet.
And why shouldn't we believe that? After all, we are *told* that Ron
isn't speaking to Harry out of jealousy.

     "Oh Harry, isn't it obvious?" Hermione said despairingly. "He's
jealous!"

     "*Jealous*?" Harry said incredulously. "Jealous of what?[....]"

     "Look," said Hermione patiently, "it's always you who gets all
the attention, you know it is[....] I know you don't ask for it... but
-- well -- you know, Ron's got all those brothers to compete against
at home, and you're his best friend, and you're really famous -- he's
always shunted to one side whenever people see you, and he puts up
with it, and he never mentions it, but I suppose this is just one time
too many...."

Her explanation is reinforced later by Hagrid's remark that
"everythin' seems ter happen ter you, doesn't it?"

     Harry didn't answer. Yes, everything did seem to happen to him
... that was more or less what Hermione had said as they walked around
the lake, and that was the reason, according to Hermione, that Ron was
no longer talking to him.

It *is* the obvious answer, isn't it? After all, Hermione says it is.
And yet when we're told the "obvious explanation" it's couched in
terms that tell us we *shouldn't* accept it at face value. Hermione
uses the phrase "I suppose," and the narrator makes it clear that Ron
is upset by Harry's fame "according to Hermione." Those two phrases
fairly demand that we look deeper for the real cause of The Rift
between Harry and Ron.

So what say we roll up our sleeves and go?

***************************************

Hermione predicates her assumption that Ron is jealous on the fact
that "this is just one time too many." That Ron has been stifling his
feelings of jealousy all this time and finally the last straw touched
the camel's back. But what about this chronic jealousy? Can you find
examples of Ron's jealousy in Books 1-3? Has it been mentioned *at all*? 

Frankly, no it hasn't, as some list members have observed:

     "I also think, while Ron shows some jealousy toward Harry, he's,
in my opinion, amazingly non-jealous for a long time about many
things, or at least doesn't show his jealousy. I don't know if I could
have done it." --Suzanne 44941

     "For a character who many think is pathologically jealous, Ron
seems downright saintly in books 1-3." --Jo Serenadust 44968

Yeah, he does, doesn't he? Especially if we compare Ron to other
characters whom we *know* to be driven by jealousy. Let's start with
Draco: he's extremely jealous of Harry's fame, and as a result he does
everything in his power to make Harry look ridiculous; that is, when
he's not accusing Harry of being a fame-hound. His attitude is that if
*he* can't have Harry's fame, he's going to spoil it for Harry.

And Draco's generational parallel, Snape, has a textbook case of
jealousy of James Potter. (In this case, the textbook is
Merriam-Webster, which tells us that "jealous" means "intolerant of
rivalry" or "hostile toward a rival or one believed to enjoy an
advantage." Its synonym, "Envy" is "painful or resentful awareness of
an advantage enjoyed by another, coupled with a desire to possess the
same advantage.") 

Jealousy (envy) is not one of the seven deadly sins for nothing: look
at what it's done to Snape -- his envy of James's advantages caused
him to hate James's guts, and he spent his time trying to get James
and his friends expelled. Snape's soul is so badly damaged by his
jealousy that he continues to hate James years after his death -- a
hatred that extends to his son. If Ron is experiencing jealousy toward
Harry, he should be reacting to Harry's good fortune the same way
Draco and Snape do, at least in *some* degree.

And yet, as Jo Serenadust explains in 44968:

     "When Harry got the Firebolt from his anonymous benefactor in
PoA, I was expecting at least a whiff of normal envy from Ron.
Instead, his spontaneous reaction is (after speculation about who sent
it) to be thrilled at what a great broom it is '...This is an
*international* standard broom, this is!' and delighted at the
prospect of Malfoy's reaction. '"..Wait till he sees you on this!
He'll be sick as a pig! Probably cost more than all the Slytherins'
brooms put together," said Ron happily.' (chapter 11, PoA). 

     "Now this seemed a bit much to me. This would be like your best
friend (who is already independently wealthy) getting a Ferrari from
an unknown benefactor, while you can't afford anything better than a
second-hand bike. No matter how strong the friendship is, it's just
abnormal IMO, for Ron to not say anything to the effect of 'gee Harry,
I wish that just once someone would give *me* the best broom on the
market!' (this is the SECOND time this has happened!)"

And then Jo returns to the old assumption:

     "I was actually relieved when he finally blew up in GoF, although
I felt horrible for both of them during their fight. It just would not
have been realistic for him to continue behaving as if all the
incredible things falling into Harry's lap don't *ever* get to him."

Jo, Jo, Jo. You were *so* close. :D

You all really think Ron is jealous of Harry? Let's take a look at that.

First, let's see if Ron is jealous of Harry's fame. We know that Ron
is a bit, um, "fame-impaired," and that he's not entirely happy about
it. As he tells Harry on the day they first meet:

     "I'm the sixth in our family to go to Hogwarts. You could say
I've got a lot to live up to. Bill and Charlie have already left --
Bill was Head Boy and Charlie was captain of Quidditch. Now Percy's a
prefect. Fred and George mess around a lot, but they still get really
good marks and everyone thinks they're really funny. Everyone expects
me to do as well as the others, but if I do, it's no big deal, because
they did it first."

Oh, and he was looking gloomy when he said it. It doesn't sound as if
Ron has much hope of living up to all of these expectations, and his
behavior at Hogwarts confirms it: he doesn't display any ambitious
tendencies, nor does he go out of his way to be noticed. He doesn't
even try to earn top marks. Why should he? It wouldn't matter anyway. 

So when he looks into the Mirror of Erised, he sees himself as having
achieved *everything* his brothers did. Becoming Head Boy won't make
him stand out, but being Head Boy *and* Quidditch captain *and* winner
of the house cup *and* the Quidditch cup might do the trick.
Dumbledore observes that he "sees himself standing alone, the best of
all of them."

Does that mean that Ron wants to be Head Boy and Quidditch captain?
Not necessarily. He just wants to have his own personal type of
greatness, and at the time he looks into Erised, being all those
things is the only way he knows to achieve that.

So does he resent Harry for getting what he's always wanted? Well, let
me put it this way: it's one thing for your older brothers to be
"famous"; it's quite another thing if the famous person is your best
friend.

Ron sees his brothers as rivals, as the measuring sticks against which
he is measured and inevitably found wanting. That's a drag. 

But Harry isn't his rival. Ron isn't *in* Harry's shadow; he *is*
Harry's shadow. He's got Harry's back. He's his right-hand man. He
rides shotgun. He's his second.

His second. Remember in PS/SS when Draco challenged Harry to a duel
and Harry had no idea what he was talking about?

     "What's the matter? Never heard of a wizard's duel before, I
suppose?"

     "Of course he has," said Ron, wheeling around. "I'm his second."

And to Harry's query "what do you mean, you're my second," Ron explains: 

     "...a second's there to take over if you die."

::Pauses to consider what this means in the Larger Scheme Of Things.
Decides not to go there::

Frankly, being the second of the Boy Who Lived is no small potatoes.
I'm guessing that Ron wouldn't trade it for all the prefect's badges
and Quidditch cups in the world.

Jealous? No way. He's ecstatic when Harry succeeds. When Harry makes
the Quidditch team, "Ron was so amazed, so impressed, he just sat and
gaped at Harry." When Harry wins the game, Ron is one of the first to
rush onto the field and dogpile him. Harry takes Ron along on all his
adventures unless Ron is conveniently taken out of commission
(gangrenous dragon bite, sacrificed at the chess game, pile of rocks,
broken leg). He got recognition during the infamous Point Award and is
credited when Ginny is rescued. He might not be as famous as Harry,
but "famous Harry Potter" has chosen *him* as a friend--nobody else in
the world can say that. Especially not his brothers.

No, he's not jealous of Harry's fame; he's basking in it.

But you're still not convinced, I see. You think Ron is jealous of
Harry's money.

You're thinking about times when Ron actually *expressed* jealousy of
Harry's wealth. Specifically, you're thinking about the Niffler Scene,
when Ron says "Must be nice to have so much money you don't notice if
a pocketful of Galleons goes missing." And you're thinking of it
because it sounds for all the world as if Ron were taking a dig at
Harry, that he's trying to lay some kind of guilt trip on him. That he
resents him.

But I think you're mistaken. This is why:

It is true that Ron is frustrated by his poverty, and he wishes he had
more money, but he never directs his frustration *at* Harry. As it
turns out, the disparity in wealth between Harry and Ron doesn't cause
resentment, it causes embarrassment. Discomfort. On both sides. It
embarrasses Harry to extract his gold from his vault in front of the
Weasleys because he doesn't want them to feel bad about being poor,
and it really bugs Ron that the flow of material generosity always
goes from Harry to Ron. He'd really like to reverse that flow for
once, which is why he was psyched about paying Harry for the
Omnioculars. When he found out that he hadn't, he was terribly
disappointed. 

When he says that "it must be nice..." he's not taking a shot at
Harry—he's frustrated at not ever being able to give Harry something
in return for Harry's generosity. It he had been taking a shot at
Harry, Harry would have become angry or defensive; instead, he's
impatient at Ron's inability to just accept the gift and move on. As
one list member observed:

     "Harry learns his lesson, and the next time he wants to buy Ron
something expensive, he gives the money to Fred and George and tells
them to tell Ron it's from them." --jklb66 34660

The fact is, regardless of what Ron wants (money, to be out of his
brothers' shadows), he has no reason to be jealous of Harry because
Harry shares *everything* with Ron to the extent that he can. Since
the day they bonded on the train over that load of candy Harry bought,
Ron and Harry have been joined at the hip -- mugre y uñas, as they say
in Spanish -- "dirt and fingernails" (bringing to mind dirt wedged
under the nails, which is almost impossible to remove). Share and
share alike. 

Think of it this way: Imagine that your friend who lives across the
street is rich. Her family has much nicer things than you have, and
every time a new gadget comes out, her family is the first on the
block to get it. She and her family are always going up the canyon on
weekends with their speedboat to waterski, and in the winter they're
always on the slopes. They take vacations to Hawaii and Disneyland
every year, and sometimes to even cooler places, while you rough it in
a tent 50 miles from home. And at Christmas...! man, does she score
big. When you go over to her house to see what she got, her pile makes
yours look skimpy indeed. Are you going to be jealous of this friend?
You better believe I wa... 

Heh. 

Well... um, let's just say that you never got to be such close
friends. She had all this cool stuff and you didn't. You found
yourself resenting her and frequently sniped about her behind her
back. That's what it's like to be jealous of a friend.

Now imagine the same situation, only the nature of your relationship
is different. You and the rich girl are always together, and she has a
"what's mine is yours" attitude about her stuff. As soon as she gets
something cool, she lets you play with it, even take it home if you
want. She invites you to go waterskiing and snowskiing all the time,
and she takes you to Hawaii and Disneyland and all those exotic places. 

Is there room for jealousy in such a relationship? No, there really
isn't. And the nature of Ron and Harry's relationship is the same.
Harry's got a "what's mine is yours" attitude about his good fortune.
He shares *everything* with Ron.

And that's why we don't get any indication of Ron's jealousy in Books
1-3. *There isn't any*.


***********************************************************

So. Back to The Rift. What *is* the cause of that, if not jealousy?

The clues, as usual, are in the text, hidden as background noise. If
we look at the events between the time the Tournament is announced and
when Harry's name comes out of the Goblet, something interesting shows up.

As they leave the hall after the announcement, Fred and George are
incensed at the age limit:

     "They're not stopping me entering," said Fred stubbornly, also
scowling at the top table. "The champions'll get to do all sorts of
stuff you'd never be allowed to do normally. And a thousand Galleons
prize money!"

     "Yeah," said Ron, a faraway look on his face. "Yeah, a thousand
Galleons...."

Harry says nothing. Then on the next page, Fred says:

     "Hey Ron, what if we find out how to get 'round Dumbledore? Fancy
entering?"

     "What do you reckon?" Ron asked Harry. "Be cool to enter,
wouldn't it?"

Harry doesn't respond. Then as they're going to bed that night:

     "I might go in for it, you know," Ron said sleepily through the
darkness, "if Fred and George find out how to ... the tournament ...
you never know, do you?"

     "S'pose not..."

Some days later, they run into the twins and Lee Jordan in the Great
Hall. Harry asks if they've given any more thought to entering the
tournament.

     "Wonder what the tasks are going to be?" said Ron thoughtfully.
"You know, I bet we could do them, Harry. We've done dangerous stuff
before...."

Fred interrupts, and Harry doesn't respond to Ron.

So here we see that Ron is gung-ho about entering, but Harry doesn't
seem to be. We know from Harry's thoughts that he wouldn't mind
winning, but from Ron's PoV, Harry isn't up for it. 

Or is he? The day after the Durmstrang and Beauxbatons students
arrive, the Trio see the Goblet inside its Age Line. Ron asks a
third-year girl if the other students have put their names in yet. She
says the Durmstrangs have, but no one from Hogwarts.

     "Bet some of them put it in last night after we'd all gone to
bed," said Harry. "I would've if it had been me ... wouldn't have
wanted everyone watching. What if the goblet just gobbed you right
back out again."

Then the twins and Lee Jordan show up, having taken a drop of Aging
Potion each. 

     "We're going to split the thousand Galleons between the three of
us if one of us wins," said Lee, grinning broadly.

And so here we have another set of friends that are almost as
inseparable as Harry and Ron. They've made a pact to try to enter the
tournament anyway and split the winnings among themselves. They fail,
of course, but what the hey. They gave it a try.

This is the context in which The Rift begins: Ron interested in trying
to get into the tournament, Harry not appearing to share Ron's
enthusiasm, and Fred, George, and Lee working together to get in so
they can split the winnings.

And so Harry's name comes out of the Goblet...

And that's where we start Part 2.

--Dicentra, wearing her red apologist robes