[HPforGrownups] Re: Why did JKR not explore H/Hr as canon?

[elfundeb]

No: HPFGUIDX 168737

honeypi:
Ron is hilarious. He's the 'fun guy' and represents a carefree spirit that
no doubt seems
attractive to a youthful Hermione who is very much on the opposite end of
the spectrum. I
think it's typical of teens to look at all of their peers and learn what
types compliment
them best. I don't see Ron and Hermione as a viable pairing because he'd (or
I guess she
would) have to change too dramatically to really be even matched with her. I
like Ron as
he is, so I'd hate to see that happen.

Debbie:
As a longtime member of C.R.A.B. (Cut Ron a Break!), I have to take issue
with the notion that Ron needs to change dramatically to be worthy of
Hermione.  Ron's problem is lack of confidence, not lack of ability or
interest.  And others (especially Hermione) lose confidence in him because
he doesn't have confidence in himself.  We know he can succeed (because he
does just fine on his O.W.L.s) but in the normal course he does not try.
And no wonder, as he's set himself an impossible standard to follow:

"Bill was Head Boy and Charlie was captain of Quidditch.  Now Percy's a
Prefect.  Fred and George mess around a lot, but they still get really good
marks and everyone thinks they're really funny.  Everyone expects me to do
as well as the others, but if I do, it's no big deal, because they did it
first."

See, I don't think Ron's nearly as carefree as he appears.  He puts too much
pressure on himself.  When he wants to, Ron can apply himself -- he spent a
lot of time on Buckbeak's defense, for example.  Hermione gets on his case
-- rightfully so -- for slacking off, but Ron is capable of standing up to
Hermione.  It's Ron, not Harry, who challenges Hermione on her attempt to
free the house elves by stealth.  Ron can temper her overzealousness in a
way that Harry cannot.

And applying himself won't deprive Ron of his sometimes sarcastic (but
accurate) sense of humour, which is one of my favorite things about him.

Don:
If you are looking for evidence that JKR didn't want H/Hr for her story, I
suggest that you don't seek it within the first five books of canon. It
isn't there, in my opinion...in fact, I'd say she was exploring H/Hr up
through OoTP (particularly in Book 5)..

Debbie:
I know many H/H shippers who were very pleased with the H/H interaction in
OOP; however, I found Hermione too dictatorial and/or stealthy to have been
operating as a team with anyone. I also found that some H/H shippers
identify with Hermione and apply their own standards in assessing the
suitability of various romantic pairings.  But having said that, I agree
that it is possible to read books 1-5 with a H/H slant, and only in one or
two spots is the H/H reading at all strained.

Structurally, however, H/H (or H/G, or anything else) never seemed right for
the story.  There's the point already made that a romantic relationship
might freeze Ron out.  That can't be allowed to happen because the Trio are
a balanced threesome, and imbalance among them has historically not been
good for Harry's emotional well-being.  Even more importantly, Harry, as the
archetypical hero, needs to face the adversary alone.  Ginny demonstrates
her Hero's Girl credentials by anticipating and accepting the breakup.
Hermione has control-freak tendencies which might make this difficult; in
fact, she and Ron insist on going along with Harry in DH.

Hermione will stay with Harry until she is physically prevented from
continuing, because her main role is Sidekick and not Hero's Girl.  As
Sidekick, she doesn't need to bow out.  And Sidekicks are free to pair up
with each other (hey, it gives them something to do when the Hero goes on
alone!), even if it does sometimes seem a bit too Star Wars.  Structurally,
it works.  Whether we as readers find the matchup reasonable is secondary.

I don't like Ginny much, with or without Harry, and before or after her
alleged personality transplant.  But that's because she's too allied with
other characters I regard as bullies, like the twins.  She is performing her
role well, and in a way that Hermione would not.

Shaun:
The Harry Potter novels are not romance novels. Romantic relationships are
not at the core
of the story - and, in fact, the overriding storyline doesn't require them
at all. JKR has chosen
to have some relationships shown in her novels, in some detail - but they
are not the core of
the story. The same basic story could easily have been told without any
romantic
relationships developing at all.

Debbie:
I would have been happy for JKR to leave the shipping out of the book
altogether, especially since she is perhaps at her least successful in
attempting to write romance of any kind.  And yet, even though I found HBP
to be overrun with awkwardly handled shipping, from Bill/Phlegm to
Lupin/Tonks and every one in between, I still was able to appreciate how she
chose to juxtapose teenage infatuation and teen and adult romance
against HBP's chief revelation about Riddle's mother.  That said, I think
she did all the matching and dispatching she has planned for the entire
series in HBP.

Debbie
who thinks Ginny suffers from some of the same problems as Sirius (another
bully I dislike); in performing their roles in the mystery plots of CoS and
PoA, both are forced by JKR to act in ways that appear inconsistent with
their characters as subsequently revealed


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