[HPforGrownups] I still dont like Fleur

[Ladi lyndi]

No: HPFGUIDX 134644


To just quote two but the response is for quite a few:

 

Shannon wrote:

Well you know I've never been a big fan of Fleur, but frankly the way Molly, Ginny and Hermione treated her throughout the book really irritated me.  I mean, yes, Fleur was arrogant and kind of awful, but that doesn't excuse nasty nicknames and mocking.  

 

Lynn:

 

Quick question.  So you think Molly, Ginny and Hermione have a greater duty to be nice than Fleur?  It’s okay for Fleur to be openly rude and disrespectful but the others can’t express their feelings in private?

 

phoenixgod2000 wrote:

Fleur hadn't done anything but be pretty in a way that had even 
Hermione thinking there was nothing below the surface.

I loved Fleur from the beginning, but that isn't all that surprising. I am a guy after all :)  

 

Lynn:

 

Does this mean Fleur appears superficial?  As for not doing anything but be pretty, what about all the insults, rudeness and disrespectful behavior?  Though, you admit you’re probably looking at it from a guy’s perspective.   Think of it this way.  You are Arthur and Fleur is a guy who is Ginny’s fiancé.  He comes into your workshop and just starts taking over, makes fun of your passion for Muggle things, keeps looking at himself in the mirror, puts down your friends, shows a total lack of respect for your home and thinks he’s the center of the universe.  Still think he hadn’t done anything to deserve people thinking he’s nothing besides being good looking?

 

It's at times like this that I wonder whether I'm reading about the same characters as other people and realize that we see these characters from different perspectives.  Right from the time we first meet Fleur in GOF, she is haughty, arrogant, rude, vain and not only acts superior but does it by putting other people or things down.  Some examples can be found in GOF on UK p. 221, 241, 271, 282 and I know there are others but I don’t feel like thumbing through GOF right now.  

 

She hasn’t changed in HBP.  She’s treating Ginny as if she’s 3 or, in other words, talking down to Ginny.  Nice way to treat your future sister-in-law.   Bet she doesn’t treat her own sister that way.  She keeps putting down Tonks even though Mrs. Weasley has made it clear that Tonks is a friend of the family.  It makes no difference whether or not she thought Mrs. Weasley was trying to push Tonks on Bill, it is rude to go into someone’s home and criticize their friends.  And, in doing so, points out that beauty is apparently everything since the fact that Tonks isn’t taking care of herself is such a mistake, all this while checking herself out in a spoon.

 

She takes over Molly’s kitchen by taking Harry’s tray without asking.  Again, totally rude and disrespectful.  Fleur should have asked if she could take the tray.   This is Molly’s house, not Fleur’s and it’s not Bill’s either.  Fleur is a guest and therefore should not take things upon herself when it comes to doing things within the home unless she has asked or been given permission to do so.   And, has she even asked if she could help?  Apparently not otherwise she would have been helping with the dinner not saying how much better Beauxbaton does things than Hogwarts.  I wouldn’t dream of going to someone’s house and acting as Fleur did here.  Even my Dutch mil doesn’t come into my house and do whatever she wants until I tell her it’s okay.  Then she’s a whirlwind but she respects that this is my house, not hers.

 

Let’s not forget Fleur whips Molly across the face with her hair.  Why?  Apparently because Fleur feels the first thing Harry should have been told upon entering the house was that Fleur and Bill were getting married.  Can we say self-centered and self-absorbed?   She knew Harry had arrived in the middle of the night and that he had just woken up.  Apparently, even though there is a war going on, she feels there’s nothing more important than her.

 

We learn why Molly has some concerns about the relationship and, these are genuine concerns.  Other than good looks and intelligence (and the way Fleur is acting, I’d question the intelligence part myself), what do they have in common?  Bill is hardworking, Fleur is only working part-time and doesn’t appear to be showing any sign of helping in the house; Bill is down-to-earth, Fleur is full of herself and, remember, Molly reproaches Ginny for calling her Phlegm.   I think Molly has genuine doubts about Fleur and, from what Fleur has shown in Molly’s presence, they are reasonable.  Molly should take Bill’s word that Fleur makes him happy and he wants to spend the rest of his life with her.  But, Molly may also be wondering if it is the Veela part of Fleur that is influencing Bill.  Again, that’s reasonable – look how Ron’s affected. 

 

Fleur is constantly comparing what she knows to what is available in England and things English always come out unfavorable.  So, if it was me, I’d be asking why she’d want to marry someone who is English.  I didn’t even wonder why Molly didn’t make Fleur a jumper – the way Fleur disparages things, Molly probably figured Fleur wouldn’t want or wear one.  

 

Let’s not forget Christmas.  Apparently no one likes listening to Celestina, Arthur even apologizes to Harry about it, but everyone else has enough respect to put up with it, except Fleur of course.  Even worse, she makes fun of it after it becomes apparent that there is sentiment involved.  If Fleur was truly a woman in love, wouldn’t she have understood that type of sentiment?  I would.

 

 I blame Bill for not stepping in and stopping Fleur from showing such utter disrespect to his family and friends.   This is not someone I’d want for a daughter-in-law.  Heck, this isn’t someone I’d want for a houseguest for the weekend.  I would have serious doubts if this person could truly make someone happy.  Whether this person is capable of thinking of someone other than themselves.

 

Fleur has given Molly no reason whatsoever to believe that she loves Bill for anything other than superficial reasons or is more than what meets the eye.  People bring up being chosen for the Triwizard Tournament but we have no one to compare her to to understand the competition.  Fleur’s initial reaction to Bill after he gets hurt is hard to interpret.  If it was me, I wouldn’t have been standing there with a frozen expression on my face.  It’s no wonder Molly feels Fleur will probably leave.  Yes, Fleur gets upset about it.  But Fleur should realize that she had a hand in giving that impression.   But then, she continues to show she is still full of herself by saying she’s good looking enough for both.  Hello?   That’s not humor, that’s what she honestly believes.  It is at the bedside that Fleur finally lets Molly know that she truly loves Bill.  From Molly’s reaction, that’s all she’s needed to know.   I think Molly can put up with Fleur’s obnoxiousness and self-centerness as
 long as she knows that Fleur truly loves Bill.

 

Now, as much as she irritates me and I find her obnoxious, I like Fleur because she showed a depth of feeling for her sister and I believe she can have that for someone else.  But then, we have been privy to this while Molly has not.  However, Fleur is old enough to know what respect is and should be showing Molly and Arthur that respect simply because they are Bill’s parents.  


 

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