Hermione, House-elves and Centaurs

[happybean98]

No: HPFGUIDX 89170

Jumping back into this conversation:

Dave wrote:

> However, I believe that, in the values implicit in JKR's writing, 
> Hermione is fundamentally right about the house-elves: it's merely 
> her strategy that's misconceived.


I agree with this. It is true that the Hogwarts house elves don't 
want to be free. However, the system of slavery they are subject to, 
combined with their fierce pride and loyalty makes them extremely 
vulnerable to evil masters. Dobby bore the brunt of an evil master 
and wanted freedom. 

Hermione's strategy is misguided because she thinks she can trick 
them into freedom. Even if she had managed to trick them into picking 
up the hats...then what? 

> My understanding is that in reality the same underlying value 
system 
> is being applied across all species, but each species is blinded in 
> a different way.  

I agee that the same underlying value system is present across 
species and in the wizarding world. Species have strong insights as 
well as blind spots in their understanding of this as well as 
individual characters.  

 
> Where Hermione tends to go wrong, IMO, is in her estimate of the 
> dignity and individuality of *all* other beings, including humans.  
> In her worse moments, she regards them as things to be manoeuvred 
> and manipulated.  She does this most famously in COS when she uses 
> emotional blackmail on Harry and Ron to make he Polyjuice Potion.

Emotional blackmail is a harsh way to put it. I think the pressure 
she puts on Ron and Harry to go along with the Polyjuice is hasty, 
maybe a bit manipulative...but remember, Hermione is a mudblood, and 
therefore has a reason to be more fearful and desperate about closing 
the Chamber of Secrets than Ron and Harry.
  
> But her whole deconstruction of Cho Chang, although it is presented 
> as sympathetic, comes across to me as frighteningly detached: she 
> really has swallowed the 'Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus' 
> textbook.

Now I completely disagree here. I laughed my way through this entire 
section. I didn't take Hermione's "know-it-all" explanation of Cho's 
behavior as saying "all men are this way" and "all women are that 
way" the way 'Men are from Mars' does. 

What I believe, and what I think Rowling is trying to show here, is 
how teenage boys truly are very confused about how teenage girls 
behave. (Note I'm classifying this as a purely adolescent growing 
pain, not generalizing it to grown men and women.) Think of Harry's 
bewilderment about Parvati's behavior at the Yule Ball in GoF. He's 
also a little slow in recognizing Ginny's crush on him, as well as 
Moaning Myrtle's in CoS. This adds to his charm, because a lesser 
character might try to use these things to his advantage. The reader, 
not just Hermione, is usually privy to Harry's blindness to certain 
female behavior long before he figures it out. (It takes him three 
books to figure out that Ginny had a crush on him...)

When Hermione 'explains' Cho to Harry and Ron, she is playing 
the 'chum'. While she may seem to do it in a "know-it-all" sort of 
way,I don't think she means to belittle Cho, (She actually shows 
concern for her in OOP, page 460. After explaining Cho's 
vulnerability because of all she's been through, Hermione says, "You 
just had to be nice to her," said Hermione looking up anxiously. "You 
were, weren't you?") I think her logical way of approaching Cho's 
behavior may seem detached, but this is Hermione's style. Think of 
how she helped explain Ron's jealousy to Harry in GoF. I think 
Hermione's explanation of Cho's actions is correct. Actually, her 
explanation seemed humorous to me because I already figured as much 
while I was reading it.

Now, that said, I don't think Hermione is TOTALLY free of an ulterior 
motive when she asks Harry to meet her in the middle of his date. 
This IS manipulative of her because she KNOWS Harry will most likely 
end up offending Cho in agreeing to meet her.  I believe she does 
this not out of meanness but out of jealousy.

I'll have to finish this post later...but at least it's a start.

Kathleen