[HPforGrownups] Re: Hermione's Activism

[Erika L.]

No: HPFGUIDX 87973

spangb wrote: 

>I was wondering if the next book will >see a decrease in Hemione's fervour for >elvish welfare. 
> In OOTP everyone found a little >setback to their beliefs. Harry saw 
>a different facet of his parents which >he didn't like. Mrs.Weasly must know >that her overweaning care might have >actually harmed Harry.
>Like that, after Hermione gets to know >the real evil behaviour of 
>Kreacher, will her enthusiasm be >dampened? 

I somehow don't think Kreacher's treachery is going to be the thing to affect Hermione's enthusiasm about SPEW. In fact, JKR goes to the trouble of having Dumbledore say that Hermione was right to treat Kreacher with kindness and that he himself had suggested the same to Sirius (733 UK). This seems to me to validate her beliefs about house-elves more than anything else. I would, of course, like to see her take a more moderate approach to the situation; I just don't think this is going to be what does it. Maybe her experience with the centaurs will, though. I would hope that after her encounter with them in the forest she would realize how badly she handled the situation, and this perhaps could lead her to re-examine her assumptions about other races. One can always hope, in any case. After all, this sub-theme about the other magical races will have to come to a head at some point.

spangb also wrote:

>Actually, I am disappointed to find no >marked growth in her charcter book >after book. Something ike what happened >with Ginny and Harry, in book five. 

No growth in her character? Well I have to say that I disagree with that. Harry's "growth" (if you can call his sudden outbursts of anger and general metamorphosis in into a moody teenager "growth") was very sudden, even jarring, though not unexpected, I suppose, considering the events of GoF. As for Ginny, she needed to be more fleshed out as she'd hardly had any development at all; even in CoS in which she's central to the plot, she never has more than a few lines. Hermione's a very different case. She's central character throughout the series and as such her development can be more gradual. And I do believe there has been development. 

For one thing, her priorities have changed quite a bit. Remember the bossy eleven-year-old who says they could be "killed -- or worse expelled" in PS? Well, by GoF she's willing to put off studying for exams to help Harry prepare for the third task, and her only comment when he points this out to her is "Don't worry about it" (528 UK). And, similarly, in OoP she states quite firmly that the DA is "much more important than homework" (291). Helping Harry now outweighs her schoolwork in importance. That looks like progress to me.

Also, though I know Hermione's abilities in the heat of battle have come under fire, I'd like to suggest that she's also shown improvement there. In PS she panics for a moment when faced with the Devil's Snare. However, in the battle at the DoM in OoP, though she is obviously quite frightened, she manages as well as the others, Harry aside. Yes, she gets put out of commission, but so does everyone except for Harry and Luna. And before this happens she helps Harry out a couple of times: "A hand caught him by the shoulder; he heard Hermione shout, 'Stupefy!' The hand released him at once-" (694 UK). Later, when another DE is about to stupefy Harry, who has lost his wand, Hermione intervenes and then restores Harry's wand to him (696-7 UK). While it isn't exactly ActionHero!Hermione we see at the DoM, we do see her using DADA skills in action rather than just the "cool logic" which is her big contribution in PS in the form of the potions puzzle. To me this suggests some measure of growth and development.

Just my two knuts

Erika (Wolfraven)


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]