Ginny's Behavior

[sistermagpie]

No: HPFGUIDX 152367

> Ceridwen:
> I'm not sure which you want canon for - the ages of the Weasley 
> children?  Ginny's adoration for Bill?  Or for the criticism by 
> a 'snot-nosed fifteen year old sib who adores him and probably 
> doesn't want him to marry *anybody* who will take him away from 
her, 
> which pretty much means anybody at all'?
> 
> I saw Fleur as fighting back against a tide of dislike from her 
> fiance's mother and sister, not as being the agressor in the 
> criticism war.  It hadn't gotten to the most horrible point during 
> the summer, but by Christmas, it was out of control.  So when 
Fleur 
> called Molly on her unfounded assumption in the hospital wing in 
HBP 
> (US Scholastic hardcover pg 623) I was not at all surprised.  She 
had 
> been fighting that attitude from Molly and Ginny the whole year, 
and 
> between the stress of the year and the stress of the moment, she 
most 
> definitely told them off:
> 
> "You thought I would not weesh to marry him?  Or per'aps, you 
> hoped?"  said Fleur, her nostrils flaring.
> 
> I completely saw where she got the idea that Molly didn't like her 
> and *hoped* she would forget about Bill.  And on page 622, Ginny's 
> eyes narrow slightly as she watches Fleur with Bill.  Eyes usually 
> only narrow in dislike, absent bright light.  One way people try 
to 
> drive away an unwanted person is by treating them shabbily.  I 
> thought Molly and Ginny treated Fleur very shabbily.  

Magpie:
Absolutely.  What's going on in those scenes is far more subtle than 
just Fleur being self-centered and completely insufferable while the 
three women in the house have to suffer it.  It's very consistent 
that Ginny and Molly are clearly not happy with Fleur (and 
Hermione's jealous of her effect on Ron), and this seems to be more 
about the wedding than anything else.  Even Harry doesn't agree with 
their reaction to Fleur and then figures out that he'd better not 
stick up for her around the girls.

Ginny tells us right off, "Mum hates her," and Molly claims she 
doesn't hate her, just thinks they're rushing the wedding--iow, she 
doesn't want her marrying Bill.  It's pretty consistent--the first 
we hear about the wedding is Fleur expecting Harry to know about it 
and looking "reproachfully" at Mrs. Weasley, who says she hasn't 
gotten around to telling Harry about the wedding, unlike, oh, the 
details of Arthur's promotion, the success of the Twins' shop, how 
much Ron has grown...she tells him Hermione's there, but not Fleur.  
Because she doesn't want the wedding happening, she doesn't talk 
about it.  From a kids' pov Fleur may be sounding self-centered and 
boring talking about a wedding, but actually, the way all of the 
women go silent and awkward whenever wedding stuff comes up is a 
clear signal of their disapproval.

Not to get too into rigid sex roles here, but Fleur is staying in 
their house because she is marrying their son.  The wedding is 
supposed to be a family occasion, only they're not treating it that 
way.  As the women, traditionally, they're expected to show a 
minimal interest.  Molly's the mother of the groom, Ginny's a 
bridesmaid--guaranteed if this were Ron and Hermione or Harry and 
Ginny's wedding they would be showing tons of interest and probably 
we'd hear how they're gabbing all day about dresses etc.  Sure women 
can get bored with wedding talk too, but Fleur's not talking about 
the wedding very much at all--and Molly and Ginny never do.  
Whenever the wedding is brought up by Fleur there's no positive 
reaction.  It's not rude of her to say that she thinks Ginny and her 
sister will look great in gold and that Ginny would look horrible in 
pink--if she were being a bitch she'd make sure the dresses were 
pink so Gabrielle would look pretty and Ginny would look bad.  It's 
not like Ginny's overly sensitive about the fact that red headed 
coloring requires flattering shades of clothing.  

The fact that everyone acts as if Fleur's wedding talk is boring, 
intrusive, and imposing on the family (with every sign that they've 
never mustered a positive, supportive or enthusiastic response to 
her because they're all so against her marrying Bill) is far more 
than just finding Fleur herself conceited.  It's disapproving of the 
wedding.  That first moment is the most important--Harry has arrived 
at the Weasley home the night before and Mrs. Weasley gave him a 
rundown on what's going on with the family.  Yet the next day he's 
like, "What's Fleur Delacour doing here?" Molly doesn't include an 
upcoming wedding in the family news?  And then Ginny reveals that 
the news is more that Molly hates Fleur than that there's a wedding 
happening. Molly looks bad-tempered and seems to, as Ginny says, 
dislike being alone with Fleur.  That's what makes the situation so 
hostile, as opposed to just good-natured laughter at Fleur's OTT 
Frenchy stereotype-ness.  As stereotypical one might find Fleur's 
story in the books JKR seems to always make it clear that the worst 
thing about her is her effect on men, particularly certain men.

-m