SHIP:Re: Ginny/Harry/Cho - a long way to go...

[pippin_999]

No: HPFGUIDX 60735

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Brooke" 
<brookeshanks at m...> wrote:

> 
> In most great literature, the hero (Harry) ends up with a really 
> great heroine, if he ends up with one at all.  <<

Hermione's a great heroine, no disagreement from me. But what 
makes you think that Ron's not a hero? He's not the same *kind* 
of hero as Harry, but IMO he's just as heroic, ie a person noted 
for feats of courage and nobility of purpose, especially one who 
has risked his or her life...yep, Ron qualifies. 

Not all heroes get the girl, either in great literature (Beowulf, 
Achilles) or pop culture (Luke Skywalker). This is especially true 
when there's an upwardly mobile sidekick around. 

Harry is an epic hero.  He's defending his whole culture. Epic 
heroes generally *don't* get the girl, because it would throw the 
whole story off balance if  they did. Saving the world and finding 
the right mate simply aren't concerns of equal weight.

Ron, on the other hand, is a "romantic" hero. His problems stem 
from  the weaknesses of the very  culture Harry is trying to 
defend--its exclusionary policies, and its emphasis on wealth 
and family connections. Ron himself  mirrors these 
weaknesses. By the end of the story he must either overcome 
them or utterly succumb.  If he does overcome them, he will be 
more than a fit match for any girl, I think.

What kind of heroine is Hermione? Unlike Ginny, (but very much 
like Ron) Hermione has so far been more challenged by her lack 
of status in the wizarding world than by Voldemort and the  Dark 
Powers. She is indeed menaced by the Dementors at the end of 
PoA...but like Ron, she can't, and doesn't, do anything about 
them. 

Pippin