[HPforGrownups] Re: CHAPTER DISCUSSION: Chapter 19: Hermione

[Barb Roberts]

No: HPFGUIDX 99937


> Ginger:
>  Ohh, Alina, that was good! But it also got me thinking on a realted
>  thought:  Hermione's fear is failure.  What if she chose Gryffindor
>  because she feared she'd fail in comparison to the Ravenclaws? 
>  Better to be the big fish in the small pond, so to speak.

Insecurity may have played a part in Hermione's choice of houses, but 
not because she thought necessarily Ravenclaw was the best. Oh no.  In 
the first book, we find out that she had read that Dumbledore had been 
in Gryffindor.  We get a clue from the scene that she views Gryffindor 
as the most prestigious of the houses.  I think she needs to gain 
approval, so she strives for to get into what she thinks is the best 
house.

But more than that I think Hermione is a true Gryffindor.  She feels 
called to do things that would make the world a better place.  Her 
campaign to free the house elves...her attempts to help Neville in 
potions (even though it gets her into trouble with Prof. Snape)…her 
organizing the DA are just some examples of her quests to make things 
better.  She's not content just to be a passive, ivory tower 
intellectual.  Just being considered smart isn’t good enough for her.  
It looks like she will have the credentials to consider a career in 
banking, an occupation that may appeal to a pure Ravenclaw, but she 
doesn't “much fancy a career in banking.”  It just doesn't catch hold 
of her imagination.  Hermione like any true Gryffindor needs to be 
actively doing something.  She needs a quest. Her acts of bravery may 
seem small, but in the end some of her deeds are very important.  
Reminds me of the things that we heard that Harry's mother did.

Barbara 

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