Ginny's dress, Ron's Attitude (was: Saving Every Sickle)

[Morgan D.]

No: HPFGUIDX 59502

I've been following the thread about the Weasleys and their 
relationship with money with great interest, and there are two 
questions I'd like to ask.

Darrin said:
> Did Ron forget that there were three other people that needed dress 
> clothes for that ball? Fred and George needed robes and Ginny 
> needed a dress. 

I've been wondering about that since I read GoF the first time. The 
bit about the kids needing formal garments must have been in the 
Hogwarts letters (good name for a site, but probably not for a band) 
listing the books and stuff they would need for the next school year, 
right? 

But... "Now, the ball will be open only to fourth-years and above -- 
although you may invite a younger student if you wish --" 
(McGonagall, GoF, ch 22, p 336, UK paperback) So Ginny's letter 
probably didn't mention the need for a formal dress. Or would the 
letters to first-, second- and third-years have said, "Uhn, you might 
want to bring a dress robe, there will be this ball you're not 
supposed to attend unless some older student invites you to it, but 
who knows, there is some small chance that might actually happen"?

(The book doesn't say how many third-years and younger attended the 
ball. I assume there weren't many because of self-experience. When 
kids start to notice the opposite sex, they usually have crushes on 
people their age or older, not younger. We've been seeing a lot of 
that in the HP universe: Ginny falls for Harry, Harry falls for Cho, 
Cho goes to the ball with Cedric, Ron is gaga about Fleur (although 
her Veela ancestry might have something to do with it), Fleur notices 
Bill... Victor is the remarkable exception, falling for a girl who's 
four years younger.)

Anyway, I don't remember any description of Ginny's dress in the Yule 
Ball chapter, and a quick page-flipping through it failed to spot any 
mentions to Ginny's presence besides her "wincing frequently as 
Neville trod on their feet" as they danced (GoF, ch 23, p 365, UK 
paperback). You guys seem certain that Molly bought her one too. You 
think she, probably knowing about the ball, decided to give Ginny a 
new dress "just in case"? This might be relevant if we're discussing 
whether the Weasleys spend their money wisely. 


In the same message, Darrin reminded us: 
> THEN, after Molly leaves, Pidgwigeon gets an owl treat stuck in his 
> beak and Ron vents about, "Everything I own is rubbish."
> 
> HELLO! THAT WAS A GIFT, YOU UNGRATEFUL LITTLE GIT! Sirius GAVE Ron 
> a gift of an owl, saying, "It's my fault he no longer has a rat."

I remember being taken aback when I first read that passage in GoF. 
Because I was already becoming very fond of Pigwidgeon and because 
Sirius is my favourite character, but moreover because Ron was 
calling "rubbish" a present from Sirius *in front of Sirius' godson!* 
I've been wondering if this is a cultural thing, maybe this is not 
such an appalling faux-pas in England, but I can't help thinking of 
it as a horrible, horrible gesture. 

Picture this hypothetical scene: Gryffindor dorm, Christmas morning, 
our heroes open their presents. Harry holds up the newest jumper 
knitted to him by Molly and mutters, "Everything I own is rubbish." 
Wouldn't Ron feel insulted? *I* can see the smoke coming out his 
ears, but maybe it's just me. 

When later in the book Harry and Ron stopped talking to each other, I 
kept thinking of Ron's attitude in that scene and expecting to see it 
mentioned again, to see Harry throw it at Ron's face in the 
typical "remember this? remember that?" that erupts when people who 
like each other and tend to overlook each other's faults finally lose 
their patience and explode in a fight. But it never came, not even as 
a passing comment from the narrator.

So maybe my reaction was not what JKR had intended to get from her 
readers when she wrote that scene? Maybe it *is* a cultural thing, 
and having Ron complaining about a gift from Sirius in front of Harry 
was meant to be endearing? ("Poor Ron, such a bad luck, even his new 
owl is rubbish...") Maybe I was the only one cringing in disgust and 
thinking Ron and Draco have more in common than either of them would 
like to admit?


Morgan D.
Hogwarts Letters - http://www.hogwartsletters.hpg.com.br