Ginny's Anger (was:Re: SHIP Harry/Ginny (was:CHPDISC: HBP14, Felix Felicis)

[horridporrid03]

No: HPFGUIDX 152117

> >>Betsy Hp wrote:
> > I really don't like the idea of Ginny's anger (which leads to    
> > her being fairly mean) as a positive.  It doesn't make her      
> > strong.  In fact, her rage seems to control her rather than the 
> > other way around.  
> > <snip>

> >>Angie:
> Well, I think righteous anger has its place and it was that kind  
> of situation I was alluding to that might occur in Book 7, not the 
> petty stuff that we see with Ginny in HBP.
> <snip>

Betsy Hp:
But we've yet to see (especially in teenage Ginny) an expression of 
righteous anger.  It's all been petty and vindictive and done more 
harm than good.  I agree that righteous anger can be a powerful 
thing.  I just haven't see Ginny express it.  Not that she *can't* 
express it.  Just that I wouldn't say her actions in HBP 
foreshadowed any such thing.

If JKR had wanted to foreshadow the strength behind Ginny's anger 
she'd have given her a scene where she actually expressed righteous 
anger, I think.  Like sticking up for Luna, for example.  Or Ron, 
for that matter.

> >>Angie:
> I can't imagine JKR simply dropped in all these reference to how  
> powerful Ginny is and how angry she can get for no good reason. 

Betsy Hp:
I guess I haven't seen any evidence of Ginny being powerful.  She's 
not *weak*, by any stretch, but she hasn't stood out, to me, as a 
singularly powerful witch.  And her angry scenes, IMO, made her look 
weaker, if anything.  Honestly, I think JKR set Ginny's anger up as 
something Ginny needs to improve upon, not use.

> >>Angie:
> I also don't agree that tears necessarily signal a lack of        
> control -- Ginny's tears may have been the very thing that        
> actually prevented her from acting because they served as a       
> release.  Ron, who wasn't near tears, was the one who actually     
> fired off his wand, not Ginny.

Betsy Hp:
To me it illustrated the classic difference between boys and girls.  
Girls cry when they are overcome by anger.  Boys fight.  Neither Ron 
nor Ginny were in control in that scene.  That's why it was good 
that Harry was there.

> >>Betsy HP:
> > I would also point out that Ginny's dislike of Fleur, and her
> > certainty that her mother would break her and Bill up, also      
> > didn't play out.  It turns out Fleur *is* a good match for Bill.

> >>Catherine:
> Actually, Ginny disliked Fleur because she treated her like a     
> baby, talking down to her.
> <snip>

Betsy Hp:
I think this is a bit chicken and the egg.  Did Fleur talk down to 
Ginny because Ginny expressed her dislike for Fleur or vice verse?  
(I lean towards the former, but I have the scene of the anouncement 
in my head, with an excited and happy Bill and Fleur, and a 
horrified and angry Molly and Ginny.  No canon to support it, so I 
could well be wrong.  I think either interpertation could work.)

Either way, my point was more that Ginny's anger with Fleur turns 
out to be misguided.  Her actions don't do anything to help the 
situation, and in fact, Ginny's anger only goes towards adding more 
tension to an already tense time.  That this is another situation 
where Ginny's anger is a negative, not a positive.  She isn't 
righteously protecting her brother from a shallow harpy.

> >>Catherine:
> I also think that Ginny has a certain fondness for Bill more than
> her other brothers.
> <snip>

Betsy Hp:
Oh, absolutely.  I completely agree that there's a lot going on 
there and Ginny's dislike of Fleur doesn't make her a bad person.  
(I have a feeling Ginny would find any girl Bill brought home 
unworthy of her brother.)  My only point was that this was not a 
situation where Ginny's anger turned out to be a good thing.

Betsy Hp