Hermione's rhetorical questions

[pippin_999 <foxmoth@qnet.com>]

No: HPFGUIDX 52215

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Amy Z 
<lupinesque at y...>" <lupinesque at y...> wrote:
> Penny wrote:
> 
> > > Hermione is actually not the only character to do 
> > > this, though perhaps it does fall into her dialogue more 
> > frequently 
> > > than others.  
> 
> No, she isn't the only one--it is certainly a feature of 
Rowlingspeak 
> if not Britspeak.  Occasionally someone else does it in a way 
that is 
> quite pointed, e.g. Harry:
> 
> "Look," said Harry impatiently, "let's say Snuffles is right, and 
> someone Stunned Krum to kidnap Crouch.  Well, they 
*would've* been in 
> the trees near us, wouldn't they?  But they waited 'til I was out
of 
> the way until they acted, didn't they?  So it doesn't look like I'm 
> their target, does it?"  (GF 29)
> 
> In this example, this rhetorical form is being used in what one 
might 
> call its prototypical way:  in an argument, to emphasize the 
> obviousness of one's point.
> 
> It doesn't always signify that the speaker is a know-it-all or 
> argumentative, and can certainly be an innocent habit of 
speech.  But 
> if Hermione does use it more than most people (which I think 
she 
> does, but I haven't culled the books for every example of 
anyone 
> using it . . . come on, I know there's a LOON out there who'll do 
> it), it supports an interpretation of her as, well, sure of her own 
> opinions to a degree that could potentially annoy others.  It's 
> certainly one reason I think of her that way, so if I am 
misreading 
> the meaning of this pattern, maybe I'm getting her character 
wrong.
> 
> Adding these interrogative tags can be a sign of *lack* of self-
> confidence as well ("I look all right, don't I?" said anxiously in 
> front of a mirror instead of indignantly in front of a critic); you 
> have to see it in context to judge.
> 

This difference in interpretation has been cited as one of the 
differences in male and female communication styles. Women  
often use the interrogative flourish to indicate they are seeking 
consensus, while men tend to use it for emphasis. So Hermione 
may think she would sound too sure of herself if she left off the 
interrogative, not realizing it gives Ron and Harry  the impression 
they're being badgered.

This difference in communication styles may also fuel the Ron 
-Hermione bickering. Every time she tells Ron what she thinks 
he should do, Hermione unwittingly asserts superior status. Ron 
reacts by calling her a know-it-all, giving the impression he 
resents her knowledge. But he may not resent her knowledge so 
much as the way she communicates it. She'd probably find him 
much more congenial if she learned another way to get her 
information across, ie, asking "Why don't we look that up?"  
instead of   "Don't you two read?"

Pippin