[HPforGrownups] Re: SHIP Harry/Ginny (was:CHPDISC: HBP14, Felix Felicis)

[Magpie]

No: HPFGUIDX 151935

> Betsy Hp:
> See I *did* see Ginny as a bit more warm and fuzzy.  Her
> interactions with Harry in OotP seemed to point in that direction,
> her ability to calm and even soothe him when no else could.  And we
> see more of that in HBP, like at the end where only Ginny is able to
> lead Harry away from Dumbledore's corpse.
>
> And even with Ron, Ginny had been more warm and fuzzy before.  Her
> care of Ron when he totally humiliated himself in GoF by asking
> Fluer to the Yule Ball struck me as warm.  But now, when Ron is
> obviously suffering, she attacks him in a manner that not only
> doesn't help, but actually makes his playing worse.  It's
> contradictory, IMO.  And speaks to either bad writing on JKR's part,
> or something going on with Ginny that will clear itself up in book 7.
>
> However, Ginny is *consistently* angry at this point.  She's angry
> and cruel to Ron during practice.  She's angry and cruel to Ron in
> the corridor.  And then she's angry and cruel towards Zacharias at
> the Quidditch match. As Angie pointed out in the part I snipped, she
> was angry and cruel towards Zacharias on the train to Hogwarts.
> Heck, she was even angry and cruel towards Fluer back at the Burrow
> (with a side of angry and cruel to Ron at the same time).  Which
> points away from JKR being a bad writer and towards something being
> up with Ginny.

Magpie:
I honestly think a lot of what we're seeing here is just the author trying 
to make this character stand out in a way she thinks is positive.  Ginny's 
"real" personality is revealed in OotP when she enters the book establishing 
herself as no longer ordinary and a little shy, but aggressive, cool and fun 
(so anything from books 1-4 goes up in smoke).  She's not treated as a 
little sister in many ways in this new incarnation; the twins respect her in 
ways they don't respect Ron.

That's when it becomes clear Ginny is supposed to be the ideal girl (and so 
the ideal girl for Harry).  She gets funny one-liners that make everyone 
laugh, puts people in their place easily.  She's not dating Michael Corner 
in secret--Ron just doesn't happen to know and is surprised because he's a 
bit virginal, but Ginny's always cool (as in the opposite of being a loser) 
with Michael (dumping him for being a sore loser, saying he can go comfort 
Cho, I think she once goes over to stop him "being an idiot").

In HBP her idealness steps up a notch and I think that's just what we're 
seeing is the author's coolest girl ever.  She has a fiery temper.  She 
stands up for herself, especially when the issue has a feminist angle.
Basically, I think it's just a good way to showcase Ginny and make her 
flash.  Put-downs are some of the most easily recognized jokes you can do, 
so given that Ginny's got limited time they make her stand out.  (I admit I 
think the jokes sometimes gets downright clunky like when Ron's feeding 
lines so Ginny can deliver a joke about the tattoo.) Since her baseline is 
tripping Ron, calling Fleur Phlegm and dismissing Michael Corner I think she 
just gets a bit shrill when it's stepped up a notch when she or Harry's been 
slighted.  And I think many times we're just supposed to think it's funny 
and honestly not think it's cruel.  I was completely sideswiped by the 
attitude towards Zach, for instance.

-m