I like Hermione!

[vmonte]

No: HPFGUIDX 120860


vmonte:
I've noticed on a couple websites now, that people have very strong 
feelings about Hermione. To put it bluntly: they either hate her, or 
love her! Many of the arguments against Hermione have to do with the 
idea that she is too forceful a character, and a "know it all." Now, 
I happen to like Hermione. Sure she makes mistakes, like in the case 
of the house elves and the centaurs, but she is only a young girl. 
Surely, no one is perfect, especially at age 14. JKR doesn't print 
Hermione as perfect, and I like that. But, what she does do is write 
Hermione as a person who is capable of emotional growth. Hermione's 
character is like a real person; that is what makes her so 
interesting. Real people are not one dimensional, paper cutouts. They 
will often amaze you, going past what is often expected of them. And 
sometimes they will disappoint you, because they are human. 

Hermione is attracted to all that is good. In fact, she is often the 
voice of reason and morality. It's no mistake that Harry often thinks 
of what Hermione would say regarding the situations he finds himself 
in. Ron and Harry are very different from Hermione--they often break 
the rules. But IMO, Hermione needs their influence; they helped make 
her a little bit more flexible. I think she is a good person. She has 
grown intellectually, and emotionally. (It's the characters in the 
books that are incapable of emotional growth we should be closely 
watching, IMO.)     

I also think that Hermione is a great Heroine for young girls. She 
tells girls that being studious and smart are cool. When I was young, 
every book I read and movie I saw had the female lead falling in the 
forest during a chase scene. And the female lead would often need to 
be rescued by the male hero. Hermione, thank goodness, is not like 
that. And even though she is not the lead of the story, the HP books 
would suffer without her presence. 

Hermione also understands her place in the WW, and in Harry's life 
(her "books and cleverness" speech in SS/PS to Harry, for example). 
Hermione does what she does for Harry (and the WW) out of love and a 
sense of "high" moral values. (And I'm not saying here that Harry 
will be her love interest, I ship towards Ron.)

I first started reading the HP books after I saw the Sorcerer's Stone 
movie. I went to see it with my husband and sister. There is a moment 
at the begining of the movie when Hermione says: "What an idiot!" and 
I started laughing. It was at this moment that my husband and sister 
turned to each other and said: "Oh God, it's Vivian!" I was not 
insulted by their remark I was flattered.     

Vivian