Re: Who’s to blame, the students or the professor, the readers or the writer.

[saraquel_omphale]

No: HPFGUIDX 134380

This was a great post, but I want to come back in defence of JKR 
here.  Your post was very long so I'll do my best to <snip> sensibly.

Neil wrote:
> 
> I think that JKR made a distinctive writing decision when she 
decided to have Ron, the sidekick, end of with the girl instead of 
the hero 
> getting her.  The problem is that she seemed to stop there as if 
> making the decision was all that mattered.  In a love story--- and 
> the shipping part of the HP series is a love story whether you 
>want 
> to admit it or not---you can't just make a decision to put two 
people 
> together.  You must also sell this relationship to your readers.

I think she did sell the relationship, and you mention all the anvil 
size hints.  But, I also think that JKR is very concernd to make her 
characters real.  I for one feel that I could bump into a Ron or a 
Hermione any day on the street.  I don't feel that so much about 
Harry.  Of all the major characters, I feel he the least real to 
me.  He is the hero, he is the one who is going to defeat LV (well 
maybe!) When people read novels they often read for escapism, and 
escapism is nowhere less like life, than in romantic fiction, where  
idealised love and idealised lovers abound. But IMO JKR is much more 
concerned to present what life might really be like for mixed up and 
confused teenagers who end up with all sorts of people who they 
don't match with.  The relationship between Hary and Hermione is 
much less fraught with tension, therefore in contrast, it could seem 
more ideal, more romantic, more "desirable". But to me, it never 
showed any spark of passion on either side, it always seemed, as I 
assume JKR intended, platonic.


> It 
> is not enough for the writer to decide that she wants this or that 
to 
> happen in relationships; she must also make her readers believe 
and 
> want this, also.

If a reader wants to see a certain type of example of a relationship 
because that's what they enjoy reading about, they will see it. JKR 
didn't do the set thing and have Harry get the girl.  IMO she was 
faced with a dilemma, should she oversell R/H to overcome the 
expectations that the hero always gets the girl, or should she stick 
to her style of trying to be real and therefore not hang out signs 
with the washing.  I think she told it like it is, and it worked for 
me. I never doubted, from very early on that it was a R/H ship.


> Rowling forgot to draw the line.  She got carried away with the 
> fighting and making Ron look the fool.  She had ample 
opportunities 
> to show a real affection between Ron and Hermione, but she never 
> choose to use them, rather she went for another fight or a laugh.  
> 
> We as readers did not fail to see the romance and affection 
between 
> these two people; Rowling forgot to convey it in her writing.  She 
> failed to convince half her readers that Ron and Hermione belonged 
> together and now she basically calls us stupid for not seeing 
> something she failed to write.

No, I think that both Ron and Hermione, kept in character.  There 
was no way, Ron was going to be openly affectionate with Hermione in 
previous books. It would have been out of character.  His total 
geekiness around Hermione when she was upset, was to me one of the 
biggest clues to how much he felt for her.  Both Ron and Hermione 
strike me as being extremely sensitive people who disguise their 
acute vulnerability under a mask of agression. Ron not only had to 
mask his vulnerability but also his total inexperience.

I feel that Hermione and Ron's relationship would probably turn out 
to be very much like Molly and Arthur's (although I was greatly 
relieved by Ron's comment somewhere to the effect of - stop bossing 
me about Hermione, it was only after that that I had hopes that 
their relationship might just work out!)

Saraquel
Who is not a shipper, but surprised herself once before by writing a 
shipping post.