Self-Confident Hermione? (Was Re: Cho; It's time to defend Ginny!)

[Nicole L.]

No: HPFGUIDX 52479

Susanne said:

> I've seen several people mention that they see
> Hermione a very self-confident.
> 
> Is this how most readers interpret her personality?
> 
> Because I'm not so sure. Her over-drive to learn and
> be the best could also be a cover for insecurity.
> 
> After all, she is a muggle-born witch and may feel
> she has something to prove (to herself, the WW, her
> parents?),and her tendency to figure everything out
> before telling someone makes me wonder if she's
> trying to be sure, so she won't be caught making a 
> mistake.
> 
> Any opinions?
> 

Yes!  I completely agree with the idea that Hermione
is not at all confident and is, instead, insecure.  As
I have stated before, I really relate to Hermione and
she reminds me very much of how I was when I was
younger.  There are several aspects of Hermione that
indicate to me that she is, in fact, very insecure.

The first I can think of is when she is crying in the
bathroom in SS.  If she were truly confident in
herself, I don't think she would have been as affected
by Ron's comment as she was.  She would have just
figured that he was jealous of her or trying to be
spiteful and written it off.  Instead, I think she was
trying to make herself stand out in the hopes that it
would win the respect and perhaps the admiration of
other students and help her to befriend some of them. 
Instead, Ron pointed out how that approach was totally
backfiring.

Another indication to me is Hermione's incessant need
to figure everything out on her own rather than
working with Ron and Harry.  I think she does this
because she wants them to pat her on the back and tell
her how clever she is.  She probably knows she's
clever but that knowledge would only be adequate if
she were, in fact, confident.  Because she is not, she
craves affirmation of her cleverness.  I was the same
way when I was younger.  I always shot for the highest
grades and was always eager to earn praise from my
parents and teachers because of it.  I think this is
why Hermione gets along so well with Professors
McGonagall and Flitwick.  They have both praised her
for her cleverness and shown her that they value her
for it so she feels secure with them.  Snape, on the
other hand, is always quick to point out her
weaknesses or take her strengths and paint them in a
negative light.

Hermione's fear of failure is also another indication
of her insecurity to me, one that I share myself.  She
is hyper organized, tries to learn everything
possible, and obsessively plans her future.  I think
that people who are confident are much better at
taking their failures in stride than people who are
not.  People who lack confidence are often profoundly
shaken by their failures, which I know from personal
experience.  :)  It seems to be an affirmation of your
thoughts that you are not as good as you think you
should be.

Lastly, I would also contend that Hermione's reaction
that it's just too hard to maintain the look she
achieved at the Yule Ball is another indication of her
insecurity.  Everyone was amazed at how beautiful she
looked and I think that frightened her.  Maybe it was
nice for one night but she probably did not feel she
could live up to the pressure of always looking like
that because, deep down, she probably does not see
herself as being very attractive, which is certainly
common for a girl her age.  I think she's more
comfortable being the smart one rather than the
beautiful one because being smart gets her noticed but
not too noticed.  

Now, let me just state that this is my personal take
on things.  You could spin Hermione's actions in
different ways and find evidence to support your
theories.  I interpret Hermione this way because of my
having had similar experiences to hers.  However, I do
have to say that while I think that the argument that
she has some confidence can be made, I really don't
see her as being what I would call self-confident.  My
definition of self-confident runs more along the lines
of Fleur Delacour, who can also be described as
haughty and stuck-up but who I think is undeniably
confident. 

~Nicole, who's on a roll with posting for the first
time in months.  :)


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*****************************************************************
      "You haven't got a letter on yours," George observed.  
        "I suppose she thinks you don't forget your name.  
  But we're not stupid--we know we're called Gred and Forge." 

      Chapter 12, "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone"
*****************************************************************

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