[HPforGrownups] Re: Hermione's parents

[Shaun Hately]

No: HPFGUIDX 103992

On 1 Jul 2004 at 15:30, jjjjjuliep wrote:

> On this list I see a lot of, for lack of a better word, angst being 
> expended on topics like this, and a search for discord and disharmony 
> within the lives of characters where (in my opinion--and it's just my 
> opinion which doesn't mean that I'm forbidding anyone to stop 
> discussing it) it does not exist.  I have no problem with folks 
> thinking and writing whatever they please.   But authorial intent has 
> got to count for something, especially in a closely-plotted and 
> written series like the HP books, and I don't think JKR has expended 
> a great deal of effort in writing subterranean emotional stories for 
> all of her characters.  JKR, in my opinion, is very careful with the 
> picture she draws for her readers, and her language and style--her 
> trope if you will--is not about deep hidden meanings and conflicts 
> (apart from the clues, plot devices, and many other things which are 
> at naturally home in a mystery/adventure story).  As they say, your 
> mileage may vary.  And that's OK with me. ;-)

The thing is, while I agree that JKR probably hasn't expended a 
great deal of effort in writing subterranean emotional stories for 
all of her characters - I would be rather surprised if she hasn't 
considered these issues in the case of Hermione - she's one of the 
three most significant characters in the series.

And, yes, she is very careful with the picture she draws for her 
readers - and when she's drawn a picture of a 14 and 15 year old 
girl who has seen her parents for a week in a period of twenty 
months, and whose reaction to becoming a prefect seems to be that 
this is finally something her parents will understand, and who when 
she finally does see her parents a few days after almost dying, 
gives them a quick hug, and then 'gently disengages' herself from 
her mother, to rejoin her wizarding friends, I think it's unlikely 
those statements are winding up in the text unless there is a 
reason for them.

> Also, from a humane point of view, I also personally don't like to 
> see people getting upset over issues like Hermione's perceived bad 
> relationship with her parents, mainly because there have been some 
> very sad and upsetting events thus far in the series, with more to 
> come.  

Well, as the person who raised this discussion, let me say that I 
don't find this particularly upsetting at all - if I was dealing 
with a real child, I certainly would find it upsetting - but it 
doesn't worry me with a fictional construct.

In fact, I think in a book like the Harry Potter series which are 
being read by so many kids, this type of thing is highly positive - 
because there's so much that various children can relate to from 
their own lives. There are kids reading these books who come from 
lousy homes - as Harry does. Kids reading these books who come from 
poor homes - as Ron does. There are kids reading these books who 
have never known their parents, and who are having to deal with the 
trauma of losing someone they love. There are kids reading these 
books who've always felt different from the norm.

Some of these kids read these books and are helped by them. I don't 
assume that that part of JKRs purpose, but that is part of their 
effect. Lots of kids *want* to read books that deal with real 
issues openly and honestly. They don't want a saccharine, sugar 
coated book where nothing bad happens - or, rather, if they did, 
they wouldn't be reading Harry Potter.

I think there's real evidence for problems existing between 
Hermione and her parents. Honestly I find it rather hard to see how 
there wouldn't be, when they have found themselves sending their 
daughter into an alien world for most of every year, which I really 
doubt she talks much to them about.

And while somebody else is certainly fully entitled to disagree 
with me, about what we're seeing, I don't think it's a good idea 
for people to refuse to believe things haved happened in the books 
simply because they don't like the idea.


Yours Without Wax, Dreadnought
Shaun Hately | www.alphalink.com.au/~drednort/thelab.html
(ISTJ)       | drednort at alphalink.com.au | ICQ: 6898200 
"You know the very powerful and the very stupid have one
thing in common. They don't alter their views to fit the 
facts. They alter the facts to fit the views. Which can be 
uncomfortable if you happen to be one of the facts that 
need altering." The Doctor - Doctor Who: The Face of Evil
Where am I: Frankston, Victoria, Australia