Hermione (WasSHIP: JKR Interview (what she said and what she didn't say)

[serenadust <jmmears@comcast.net>]

No: HPFGUIDX 52115

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Jim Ferer <jferer at y...>" 
<jferer at y...> wrote:


Angua wrote: 
(concerning Harry's ideal romantic partner)
She will be, for instance, less bossy and argumentative than
> Hermione is, and will have a subtler, more continuously-active 
sense
> of humor. She will be a better listener and less judgmental than
> Hermione is, and will be able to get Harry to confide in her about 
the
> feelings and fears he currently keeps secret from both Ron and
> Hermione. Harry will feel entertained and comforted around her in a
> way he does not feel with Hermione (see the Ron-Harry fight in GoF,
> for instance). And Harry will find her far more sexually attractive
> than he finds Hermione."


Jim replied:

> As Penny has pointed out, the bossy and argumentative Hermione is
> gone, replaced by a rapidly maturing young woman who has shown us
> heart more than once. A lot of readers are stuck on first-year
> Hermione without noticing how much she's grown.


Now me:

I must strongly take issue with your above statement.  I don't want 
to get sucked into a shipping argument, but I see 
absolutely *no* foundation for your contention that Hermione is no 
longer bossy and argumentative.  What on earth was SPEW all about 
then?  She browbeats Harry and Ron into joining,(which they only do 
to shut her up), bullies Neville into buying a badge (to stop her 
glowering at him), and argues with Fred, George, and Hagrid, all of 
whom know far more about house-elves and the Wizarding World than 
she does.  Yes, she's maturing, but she has definitely not undergone 
a personality change since first year.  She argues with people every 
bit as much in GoF as in PS, and she is no less bossy either.

And what's wrong with that?  Why can't we love her as she actually 
is instead of trying to idealize her so that she will be a more 
compatible romantic partner?  IMO none of the trio's fundamental 
personalities have changed at all since we first met them, and 
that's how it should be.  JKR has written all of them quite vividly 
and manages to capture their growth and maturing without changing 
their basic natures (which don't actually change much in real people 
as they grow up either).  Sure, the rough edges get worn down a bit, 
and people often learn to control their less attractive impulses as 
they age, but as far as I can see HRH are the same people in GoF as 
in SS/PS.

And I wouldn't want it any other way.

Jo Serenadust, to whom HRH are real enough to be written 
authentically, warts and all