[HPforGrownups] Re: Perfume vs. Book

[Erika L.]

No: HPFGUIDX 89278

bboy_mn wrote:

>But perfume was a one-size-fits-all >'GIRLY' type of
>gift, so I thought I couldn't go wrong
<snip>
>If Ron had given Hermione a book as a >gift, it would have been a
>'friend' present; in his own >subconscious misguided way, Ron tried >to
>buy Hermione a 'girl' present.
<snip>
>So he bought some perfume, a sure-fire >'girly' present, but he did it
>in such a totally 'GUY' sort of way.
<snip>
>So Ron screwed up in a very typical >'guy' sort of way, but come on, at
>least the poor boy is trying. At least >he has figured out that
>Hermione is a girl and is trying to do >things that acknowledge the fact.

This is quite a compelling analysis of Ron's perspective on the whole gift issue. My problem with Ron's gift, however, isn't that he ends up getting an "unusual" perfume. I don't blame him for being unable to pick or afford good perfume.

 I take your point that in Ron's mind he may well have been attempting to acknowledge that Hermione is indeed a girl and a book to him wouldn't do that. What I'm critical of is the fact that it's a _generic_ gift. He could have given it to any girl. It's like a formula: girl gifts=perfume, flowers, chocolate, jewelery. Ron tries to get a gift for a girl, not a gift for _Hermione as a girl_.

    Now maybe this is just a result of Ron being a fifteen year-old and rather clueless boy. But it also on some level seems to typify the gulf between Ron and Hermione. He's known her for five years and he can't figure out something as basic as a Christmas gift she'd like? He's suddenly interested in her as a girl but forgets about her as Hermione? Somehow in his mind he can't seem to see both at once.

    As fro Harry and his gift, I think Arya summed it up nicely:

Arya wrote :
>Harry, on the other hand, I think we >can say he knows she's a 
>girl (his PoV in the GoF scene) but he >still sees her as Hermione, 
>the *person* (not *girl*) she is.

 back to bboy_mn:
>Of course, from a guys perspective, it >seems that the thought only
>counts when you happened to think of >expensive jewlery and the like.

Let's not generalize, shall we? Some girls like jewelery, some don't. What's important is to tailor the gift to the girl in question, not just buy a catch-all item. A gift well-suited to the girl suggests thoughtfulness far more than a gift which could be given to _any_ girl.

    But, hey, maybe that's just me ;)
Best,
Erika (Wolfraven)

For friendly shipping discussion join us at The Great Debate
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TheGreatDebate



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