Hermione's parents

[delwynmarch]

No: HPFGUIDX 104037

Wanda Sherratt wrote :
> Consider the Narnia books - does anyone ever try 
> to count how much time the Pevensey children spend with their own 
> parents?  The adults barely enter into the story, because the whole 
> adventure is something that happens to the kids, without mom and dad 
> hovering in the background to take over if necessary.  

Del replies :
Yes, but there's a major difference between HP and Narnia. In Narnia,
parents never appear, they are not part of the picture at all. In HP,
on the other hand, parents and parental figures are *very much* part
of the story.

Right from the first book, we are told that JKR didn't make Harry an
orphan just so he would be free of annoying adults : Harry has a deep
emotional issue over his parents' death. And when Sirius dies, many
readers' reaction is not : "Oh no, I liked him so much" but rather "Oh
no, he was Harry's only parental figure, Harry is orphaned again"

Ron's family is also very heavily present in the story. Arthur and
Molly Weasley are important figures in the WW (kind of Lucius Malfoy's
counterpart), Ron has problems with his parents being poor, and Harry
finds a foster family in the Weasleys.

So how come Hermione's parents are not part of the picture as well ?
Maybe it's because they wouldn't bring anything to the plot, or maybe
it's because Shaun is right and there's something wrong in Hermione's
relationship with her parents. Maybe it will have an impact later,
too. Hermione is a teenage girl : if she keeps cutting herself from
her theoretically most important source of support, then she might
suffer from it someday (after all, she keeps giving support, but we
don't see her getting much of it, if any). Or more simply, maybe
Hermione's parents will throw a tantrum someday, and force her to stay
with them at a very unconvenient moment.

Del