Harry, Ginny, and age appropriateness / Abusive Harry (combined answer)

[Marianne S.]

No: HPFGUIDX 136054

Rather than adressing things point by point, which we already know won't convince Del ;) 
anyway... I just want to say this:

Harry, as we all know, is the hero of these books. Harry is instructed by Dumbledore 
enough time that one can argue readers are instructed that it is our CHOICES that matter.

If you or anyone CHOOSES to interpret that Harry is abusive or controlling of Ginny, it 
seems nothing anyone can say can stop that. It is YOUR CHOICE that makes the difference. 
It saddens me that someone would have choose such a jaded interpretation of the book 
and think that JK Rowling is shirking her responsibilities and giving her (female) readers a 
bad role model, etc. 

I think there are some things that the author intends readers to not sure which choice to 
make... as in Who is R.A.B. or Is Snape Evil or Good or Somewhere In Between? But, she has 
also met with incredulity the fact that people make choices she never intends ... i.e. Harry/
Hermione or Luna/Neville or Sirius/Lupin as "ships". I can only imagine that if she were to 
know that someone so fervently believes that the relationship between Harry and Ginny is 
abusive and a poor example especially for her adolescent girl audience (including her own 
adolescent daughter).. she might wonder if they were reading the same book, and perhaps 
hope that person just makes the choice to not read the books if they choose to see the 
hero as an abuser. Certainly Harry can have flaws, but being an abuser is far too extreme 
for Rowling, who clearly cares about her characters, to ever write.

It is our CHOICES that make the difference, and I choose to see the relationship as good 
for all the reasons I've previously stated and to see that the way Rowling wrote it was in 
part  due to what I am sure she knows is her responsibility to her fans. It is my choice as 
an educator with extensive training in Children's and Adolescent Literature,and a keen 
interest in Rowling and the how and why she writes... to believe that we saw only a brief 
glimpse of the POSITIVE effect of their HEALTHY relationship, and that I am confident that 
there is more GOOD to come of it.

And now it is my CHOICE not to address this further, and hope that people will consider 
the author's Point of View when coming to their own conclusions about Harry/Ginny if they 
in fact think it harmful. Because, ultimately, it was HER choice. 

Marianne S.