[HPforGrownups] Re: Ron and Hermione in Deathly Hallows

[Maeg]

No: HPFGUIDX 172647


Kris wrote:
> I normally lurk in this group, but had to respond to this topic.   
> Ron and Hermione are my two favorite characters and I love them  
> dearly.  JKR presents their romance through Harry's eyes.  He's not  
> going to see a heart-to-heart that R/H might have, so we're not  
> going to see it.

That excuse doesn't work. Not everything in the books is shown  
through Harry's eyes; there are plenty of scenes -- nay, entire  
chapters -- that Harry has no knowledge of.

(Kris continued)
>   JKR didn't write a romance novel - so you don't see a lot of  
> blatant romance.  I think it's believeable (come on, doesn't Ron  
> act exactly like a teenage boy acts?  Especially for a boy who had  
> confidence issues? And the scene with his destroying the locket  
> explains why -- he fears that deep down Hermione would prefer Harry  
> -- it's all back to his feeling like second-best.  He doesn't feel  
> like he's worth her love).

Yes, these aren't romance novels, but they are *drama* and JKR talks  
a lot about the redeeming power of love. I felt Harry's love for  
Sirius, I really believed it, much more than any romantic  
entanglement. The Remus/Tonks thing was completely unbelievable, I  
never saw that Harry really loved Ginny (as opposed to being told),  
and she hit us repeatedly over the head with the Ron/Hermoine  
relationship. Bleh. She can't write convincing romantic love, which  
is really a problem when the kids start to grow into these kinds of  
relationships.

LKH wrote:
> And the Harry/Ginny was creepy. I like H/G... I'll admit I wanted
> them to end up together... but JKR constantly talking about Harry
> apprieciating a girl who didn't cry (unnormal... everyone cries)
> and the infatuation with his mother (he wanted to FEAST upon her
> image) made the ship entirely creepy. There wasnt enough true
> buildup.... No connection of souls so to speak.

Exactly what I was trying to say. And isn't Ginny just a heavy-handed  
surrogate for his mother? I don't know how many times I had to read  
about them both having red hair.... Got a bit irritating.

Sandra x wrote:
> I think the romantic side should have been an important and
> significant aspect in the last few books because it would have
> showed the emotional development of the characters beyond the
> combative "all wands blazing" fights and arguments.
> Instead of Hermione thumping Ron during the dullest and most
> uninspired part of DH (when Ron returns to the camp thanks to
> the embarrassingly convenient glowing light) they should have
> had a flare up followed by a heart to heart telling of their feelings,
> or at least a display of  genuine vulnerability rather than a burst of
> hotheaded anger. I don't regard JKR as a romantic writer, I think
> there's a hard streak in her that shys away from it. Had the
> heartfelt angle been picked up more, and given me more
> reasons to feel close to the characters, I'd have rated the whole
> series a lot higher.

Good point about needing balance between action and personal  
development. As it was, we had a balance between action and  
exposition -- which made it tough going at times. As the books grew  
longer and longer, there was more and more exposition, which was  
never a good sign. I reached my limit in DH. The most Harry seems to  
grow is in the epilogue, when he whispers that Snape was brave. And  
that was just thrown in, so it isn't saying much.

Thanks for pointing out the "embarrassingly convenient" Put-Outer.  
What an awful deus ex machina for Ron.

Margaret

martin at hitthenail.com
Design for a Better World
www.hitthenail.com