Why so dissatisfied? H/G

[Diana]

No: HPFGUIDX 135895

Rizza wrote:
> "I don't understand why so many readers are so dissatisfied with 
the Harry/Ginny relationship. I guess one of the biggest reasons I 
don't have a problem with it is because it allows me to use my 
imagination." <snip>
 
Del replies:
> And that's precisely why I have a problem with it: because it is 
left entirely to our imagination.  <snip>

Diana replies:
  There are a few clues about the 'quality' of their romantic 
relationship in the book, but this was done with no descriptive 
scenes of groping and/or snogging.  The only kiss described is the 
first kiss.  
  We get several descriptive sentences regarding Harry's feelings 
about Ginny post-kiss and about how he feels while dating Ginny.  
Here's what I've pulled from the book:

Pg 535: "The fact that Harry Potter was going out with Ginny Weasley 
seemed to interest a great number of people, most of htem girls, yet 
Harry found himself newly and happily impervious to gossip over hte 
next few weeks.  After all, it made a very nice change to be talked 
about because of something that was making him happier than he could 
remember being for a very long time...."

Pg. 535-536 Ginny tells Harry that Romilda Vane kept bugging Ginny 
to tell her if Harry had a hippogriff tattooed on his chest, so 
Ginny told her Harry had a Hungarian Horntail tattoo.  This implies 
that Romilda Vane (and probably everyone else at Hogwarts) assumes 
that Ginny has seen Harry without a shirt on.  Her next comment 
about Ron having a Pygmy Puff tattoo somewhere on her body indicates 
she has seen Ron naked or at least partially naked (which as his 
sister in a crowded house is likely).  The positioning of her 
teasing Ron about a hidden tattoo right after discussing Harry's 
tattoo (yes, they don't exist but that's not the point here) is 
meant to indicate at least some physical intimacy between Ginny and 
Harry, or at the very least an *assumed* physical intimacy by other 
students at Hogwarts.  This assumption and speculation of private 
physical intimacy between them is probably because they aren't going 
around snogging in public. (Pg 536 Ron says "And just as long as you 
don't start snogging each other in public-")   

Pg 536 (Pg 536 "...Harry was sitting beside the window in the common 
room, supposedly finishing his Herbology homework but in reality 
reliving a particularly happy hour he had spent down by the lake 
with Ginny at lunchtime...")  Harry's and Ginny's time together is 
greatly curtailed by her upcoming OWLS and Harry's Saturday 
detentions, which means there's not much to describe when they're 
both so busy they can't go out on dates.  But the times they are 
together Harry treasures and relives in his thoughts. 
 
Pg 635 [Harry talking about Fleur] "She's not that bad," said 
Harry.  "Ugly, though," he added hastily, as Ginny raised her 
eyebrows and she let out a reluctant giggle."   

pg 646 [Harry breaking up with Ginny] "It's been like...like 
something out of someone else's life, these last few weeks with 
you."  Throughout the conversation, Harry has to "steel himself" and 
have "resolve" to break up with Ginny because he feels she's the 
best thing to ever happen to him.  He even expresses regret that he 
was so slow to notice her and ask her out, even lamenting that they 
could have had "years" of dating if he'd just woken up earlier.  
This is not something someone says if they're not in a terrific 
romantic relationship.  Harry could never talk to Cho easily because 
they weren't actually friends.  Harry's dating relationship with 
Ginny is so great because they are friends too.    
Notice how his thoughts about Ginny are described versus his 
thoughts about Cho from OotP.  With Cho, Harry was always a bit 
uncomfortable around her.  Part of it was Cedric's death between 
them and Harry being younger, but most of it was because Cho and 
Harry weren't comfortable around each other just hanging out.  With 
Ginny, Harry can be himself.  If Cho had told Harry that she'd told 
another girl that Harry had a Hungarian Horntail tattoo on his 
chest, Harry would have nearly died of embarassment.  But Ginny 
tells him that and he thinks it's quite funny and actually thanks 
her for it!

As for JKR leaving it to our imagination, I agree she did leave 
portions of it to our imagination, but the framework for Harry's 
feelings for Ginny and how Ginny made him feel about himself are in 
there.  This is going to sound very wierd, but I believe JKR left a 
lot of it to readers' imaginations to respect Harry's *privacy*.  
Yes, I know the books are from Harry's POV, but we don't see him 
going to the loo being described, do we?  Harry doesn't strike me as 
a character that would like his lovelife described in great detail, 
so JKR went with that *feeling* when writing about his relationship 
with Ginny.  Remember, we didn't get a description of his kiss with 
Cho either, just the lead-up to the kiss and his discussion of it 
with Hermione and Ron afterwards.  The lack of intimate details 
about his physical relationship with Ginny definitely fits his 
character, IMO.  Like Rizza, I like using my imagination for Harry's 
lovelife because 16-year-old first love is so sweet that it's fun to 
imagine. :)

Diana L.