parental roles in HP books - Molly

[elizabeththedragonslayer]

No: HPFGUIDX 136370

There are soo many Molly haters out here that I should have KNOWN 
that even after all these years of bashing her we're all still 
game for more.  I'll adress you point by point.  So, lets dig in, 
shall we.  First off:  JKR is quoted as saying that she writes more 
from a real-life perspective rather than a text book.  So we can 
assume that she isn't using a psychology text to define her 
characters.

Betsy Hp:
> Speaking as someone who loaths Molly Weasley and her methods of 
> mothering, I think her children are a *perfect* example of how 
> she's *not* a good mother.  Her two oldest boys have not only 
> left home, they left the country.  It took a war to bring back
> her eldest and he managed to pick out a girl to marry guaranteed
> to put Molly's back up.  (And a girl who seems well able to stand 
> up to Molly, so congratulations Bill.)

Bill is the wild one.  It is his nature to want to be where 
the action is.  Doesn't the fang earing prove it?  Bet Egypt is the 
most dangerous place for curse breaking.  Bill and Molly will never 
be bosom buddies for this reason.  Doean't mean that they don't get 
along. 
Bill's type will always marry the best that he can (in this case a 
very beautiful, strong-willed woman). The best because she's hard 
to acquire and harder to keep.  It's the strong will that ticks 
Molly off more than anything else.
I don't know any men who marry to please their mother.  Thank 
heavens!!

Charlie seems to get along with Molly.  Charlie chose dragons.  Is 
there canon to support that she worries deeply about his safety?  
As I recall, she really only fusses about Bill and over issues 
about appearance (earring and hair).  Oh, dear, what will the neighbors think.  That being said while there are dragons in 
Britain, there may not have been a position available for Charlie 
at the time of his graduation in Britain.  Keep in mind that the twins moved to Diagon Alley and nothing was mentioned about her frequent visits to them.  

I think Bill and Charlie wanted adventure and to explore after 
leaving school (first born usually do) and their choosing to leave 
had little to do with how far they could get from Molly. 
Remember, Molly had the twins, Ron and Ginny to look after.  In 
all likelihood she probably had little time for Charlie and Bill during the two months that they were home from school.

> Percy has turned his back on his family.  Which, considering the 
> abuse he put up with from his family, was hardly surprising. 

Yes he did.  Poor self-righteous Percy.  Life isn't turning out 
quite as easy for him as it was at Hogwarts.  The rules have 
changed and he no longer has the control that he enjoyed in school.  
Truthfully, of the Weasely children he is the most spoiled and it 
shows.  Molly did dote on him.  Perhaps he's angry with her for not 
toughening him a bit more.  
 
> Ron has *huge* self-esteem issues (illustrated by his quidditch 
> playing) that come near to crippling him at times. 

There are seven Weasely children and only one has self-esteem 
issues.  I think the odds have played in Molly's favor on this 
point.

> Ginny is an accomplished liar and has a rather cruel temper when 
> she's pushed.

There is so very much I could say here. She's a fifteen (?) year 
old teenager.  Hormones, breasts, sexual desire...we could go round 
and round the temper issue for days.
  
Lying to her Mom....my six year old lied to me today about her 
brussels sprouts.  I found the evidence much later when a spoon 
fell down the garbage disposal. Is six too young to be 
accomplished?
    
You know, Ginny really should have picked up the dung bombs.  She's 
shown little cunning in not picking them up and yet she's been very 
sneaky before. She wasn't caught by the twins, THE TWINS, when 
she'd take their brooms in turn to practice.  I wonder why she 
chose to leave them?  

Remember that teenage daughters and mothers almost always clash and 
frequently.

> As to Molly's relationship with Arthur, their marriage doesn't 
> seem all that great, IMO. (Arthur works all the time. 
> he's disengaged from his family, and it shows,
 
They've been married twenty-plus years.  The honeymoon phase ended 
some time ago.  They seem to have a solid friendship and a good 
working relationship, though.  This is the reality of being married 
to the same someone for that long.  The romance lies not in the big 
things, but in the little things.  Right, Molly bubbles?

"elizabeththedragonslayer"