[HPforGrownups] Re: SHIP: Pirate Ginny

[P. Alexis Nguyen]

No: HPFGUIDX 133391

anthyroserain:
<<<SNIP>>> 
> So: it's a decent teenage crush, but it's not love. I buy
> JKR's "love conquers all" mantra when it comes to parental and
> selfless love, but not teenage crushes. I really hope she's not
> putting them on the same plane here, because it cheapens real
> sacrifice.
> 
> And while I'm complaining, I'd like to say that the "Spider-Man"
> moment at the end where Harry breaks up with Ginny is silly. Does he
> really care more about the well-being of Ginny than Ron and
> Hermione? Surely Voldemort would attack his best friends before his
> just-acquired girlfriend.


Ali:

I have to concur.  HBP was a great book, definitely one trying to
wedge itself into the top HP book spot, but really, the SHIPs just
didn't jive.  Remus/Tonks, while cute and made me happy, really was
completely unexpected.  (If someone who saw this pointed at in Book 6,
please explain to this poor reader.)  Hermione/Ron, while always
hinted at, seemed to be overdone.  JKR seemed to hit us over the head
with their "relationship" (or, rather, the lack thereof), which makes
me stand stronger by my theory that this is one ship that will
definitely sail but not for very long.  (By the way, to the poster who
made this comment firstI think it true that Hermione felt more "real"
in this book, seeing that she was acting her age for once, but
unfortunately, she didn't act in alignment with her character in the
previous 5 books.)

Per Harry & Ginny, I didn't see any hints to this in the previous five
books, and I definitely felt a little cheated out of a build-up to
this relationship.  If JKR had written it off as a teenage fling at
the end, I would've understood, but the kind of dept that JKR was
hinting, I didn't understand.  There just wasn't enough there for us
readers to believe that sort of intensity in feelings.  Therefore, I
just don't buy into the theory that separating with Ginny makes Harry
weaker.  Harry's feelings for Ginny, being as young as these two are
and as immature as their relationship seemed, just can't compete with
the depth of feelings that Lily had for Harry.  Hence I agree with
anthyroserain in saying that putting Ginny on the same plane as Lily
cheapens things quite a bit.

However, I have to disagree with the Spiderman ending comment, though
not because I don't think the ending sent Spiderman-ish vibes, just
that I don't think he cared less for Ginny's well-being.  For one,
Harry "had meant [Ron & Hermione] to understand that he was
undertaking this most dangerous journey alone" (US Deluxe Ed., pg
651).  To me, that means that Harry was, once again, attempting to
separate himself from his friends for "noble reasons."  Harry, like
many heroes before him, seems to have the stupid idea that, for some
unknown reason, separating himself from the world is a good thing -
they won't be attacked; he won't have to worry about their well-being;
the hurt they'll feel when he's gone won't be as bad; ad nauseum; ad
infinitum.  Anyway, it seems to me that, with Ginny, Harry was just
trying to break more ties before he left on what, I believe, he
perceives to be an almost-impossible task (that is, the survival from
Voldemort in the end, not the finding and destroying of the
horcruxes).

That's all I have to say, at the moment, on this matter.  I hope it
makes some sense (as it is quite late at the moment).  I'll weigh in
more on this tomorrow.

~Ali, momentarily de-lurking thanks to HBP