Hermione's Jealousy (Was Ron & Jealousy)

[corinthum <kkearney@students.miami.edu>]

No: HPFGUIDX 52943

Greicy wrote:
 
> She is, of course, more mature than them and realizes that beauty 
> comes from the inside.  At least I think she does, because we all 
> remember her crush towards the goodlooking Lockhart.  Yet like
every 
> other girl she feels as though she's not pretty enough to get
Ron's, 
> or Harry's, attention.  Which makes us go back to square one with 
> Hermione: her lack of self confidence.  


Me:

Lack of self-confidence?  Did I miss something?  Is this a common
conclusion about Hermione?  I've never seen it mentioned before, but
then I don't usually read SHIP threads, so I may have missed it. 

Anyways, my two cents...

I've never seen Hermione as lacking in self-confidence.  Just the
opposite, Hermione has always struck me as an extremely assured and
confident girl, especially for her age.  

When we first see her, she has taken it upon herself to help Neville
find her toad.  She obviously feels herself capable of assisting
another student, despite the fact that she is a new student, one of
the youngest people on the train, and only recently introduced to the
wizarding world.  She also introduces herself to Ron and Harry without
any resevations.

Academically, she certainly never doubts herself.  She volunteers in
class constantly, despite the fact that this often annoys her fellow
classmates and certain teachers.  Someone lacking in self-confidence
would sit quietly for fear of ridicule, or at least limit her
participation a bit.

With the Rita Skeeter situation, Hermione was certainly upset by
Rita's "silly girl" comment.  However, being upset when an adult
insults you in front of others is perfectly natural, especially when
the insult is directed toward a trait which you take pride in (in
Hermione's case, her intelligence).  Hermione was, however, the only
one of the trio who had the courage to say something to Rita in the
first place. 
 
I also never got the feeling that she feels she is not pretty enough
to get Harry's or Ron's attention.  If she is interested in either,
she would much rather be appreciated for her personality and abilities
than her looks.  She certainly doesn't seem to envy Fleur when Ron is
fixated on her, but rather shows mild contempt (which, in my opinion,
is real, and not masking jealousy).

As a matter of fact, regarding her appearance, I'd say this is where
Hermione shows the most confidence.  A person with low self-esteen and
self-confidence is much more likely to care about her looks.  We have
seen Hermione actually take time to primp only once, before the Yule
Ball.  Otherwise, despite Draco and friends' taunts, she really
doesn't care.  She has confidence in herself, and doesn't need people
to fawn over her.  This is extremely rare in a 14 year old girl. 
Also, while Harry is upset by Rita's articles, Hermione once again
let's the taunts roll off her back.  At an age when most kids cave in
to peer pressure, Hermione is comfortable being herself.

So, overall, I'd say Hermione is very confident in her own abilities. 
Much more so than either Harry or Ron.

-Corinth