CHAPTER DISCUSSION: Chapter 9, The Woes of Mrs. Weasley - Discussion Questio

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 88632

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "kristin1778" <kristin1778 at y...>
wrote:
> Marianne "kiricat2001" wrote:
> >  
> >  
>  JKR may want someone in Harry's generation to play that part of 
> information provider, as a parallel to how Dumbledore has been used, 
> and Hermione would be the logical choice. It just makes her a little 
> > less "real" to me.
> > 
> > 
> > Marianne
> > 
> 
> I think this is exactly what JKR intends with Hermione. Check out 
> what she has to say about Hermione in the CoS DVD interview:
> 
> "I find that all the time in the book, if you need to tell your 
> readers something just put it in her. There are only two characters 
> that you can put it convincingly into their dialogue. One is 
> Hermione, the other is Dumbledore. In both cases you accept it's 
> plausible that they have, well Dumbledore knows pretty much 
> everything anyway, but that Hermione has read it somewhere. So, 
> she's handy."
> 
> That's what's so frustrating about what both Dumbledore and Hermione 
> have to say about Sirius in OotP, because I think it's JKR telling 
> us how it really is. Only, I disagree with it.
> 
> Kristin

If you're referring to Hermione's psychoanalysis of Sirius (seeing
James in Harry, etc.), it's possible that she may be wrong in this
instance (though I don't really think so). Notice that this time she's
not presenting factual information that she's read in a book (like
apparating from Hogwarts being impossible). She's analyzing a fellow
human being (who happens to be twice her age, male, and a former
prisoner, all of which is outside her own experience). She's an astute
observer, but her interpretation in this instance needs to be balanced
against the concrete evidence of Sirius's own behavior.

In other words, I don't think you need to feel uncomfortable
disagreeing with Hermione about Sirius. She's still a kid, and she's
not infallible despite her intelligence and photographic memory. (She
suspected Snape of being after the philosopher's stone in Book One,
remember?)

Carol, who hopes that Hermione will be wrong about crumple-horned
snorkaks (sp?)