Hermione is Umbridge

[serenadust]

No: HPFGUIDX 93003


> --- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Kia" <kiatrier at y...> wrote:
> > Umbridge is exactly how Hermione could be. 

Sienna replied:

> Hi Kia,
> 
> I think you make some interesting points but ultimately Hermione 
has 
> something that Umbridge lacks completely - compassion.  We see 
> Hermione quite clearly going into bat for Elf-rights.  Umbridge is 
> quite clearly anti this position. For this reason, I don't think 
> they are in reality anything alike.  
.

Umbridge may not be in favor of Elf-rights, but I wasn't exactly 
impressed with the depth of Hermione's compassion in book 5.
The thing that surprised me most in OOP (apart from Sirius' untimely 
exit) was the strange and unexpected sense of pity I found myself 
feeling for Rita Skeeter. In GoF I didn't find her sympathetic in 
the least and was delighted to see her get her comeuppance, although 
IMO Hermione would have been much smarter if she had turned her over 
to Dumbledore.  I expected this decision to backfire on her in OOP.  
Instead we see a broken, apparently poverty stricken Rita, being 
blackmailed (sorry, there's no other word for it) into using her 
skills to further the agenda of a 15/16 year-old schoolgirl.  Not 
only does she have to write what Hermione wants her to write, she 
has to do it for free (although I imagine that Luna's father 
profited financially).

Anyway, I don't necessarily agree that Hermione's compassion gets in 
the way of her ruthlessness in dealing with people she just doesn't 
like.  I think that Kia's point is that because we're reading from 
Harry's POV and that Hermione's clearly meant to be a sympathetic 
character, we're supposed to give her a pass when she does something 
we'd find unforgivable in a character we're not supposed to like.  
Personally, I think that JKR is setting us (and Hermione) up for a 
big shock when the chickens come home to roost, but if she isn't 
then I'm going to like Hermione less and less over the course of the 
last 2 books.

Sienna continued:

They might share a liking for 
> rules and order but Hermione will break those rules to serve 
> others.  When Umbridge breaks them she serves herself.

Well, she's also serving Cornelius Fudge and the current policies of 
the MoM.  She's really quite the loyal supporter from Percy's POV.

Again, I'm not convinced that Hermione only breaks rules for the 
benefit of others.  Her actions toward Rita Skeeter are only 
partially for Harry's benefit.  She's got a personal grudge against 
Skeeter for blackening her name in The Daily Prophet and maybe even 
more importantly, calling her a "silly little girl" in public, which 
has Hermione almost spitting nails.  She's out for revenge.

In Marietta's case, there was little benefit to Harry or the DA 
members from Hermione's jinxing the DA list. She could have set up 
some way of warning the members so they would have time to excape 
the minute someone began to expose them.  Instead, Harry gets caught 
and Dumbledore is forced out of Hogwarts just when he's needed 
most.  Again, Marietta's spots are pure vengance on Hermione's part.

Sienna concludes:
 
> Unless something drastic happens to Hermione to poison her heart 
and 
> mind, I don't think she's in any danger of turning into an 
Umbridge.


I don't really think Hermione's going to turn into another Umbridge 
either, but that doesn't mean that she's not headed down a morally 
uncertain path at this point in the story.  I'm really glad that Kia 
posted this essay and am curious to hear reactions from other 
listees.

Jo S.