Working mothers, was Did the Slytherins come back

[horridporrid03]

No: HPFGUIDX 182064

> >>Pippin:
> Then may I humbly ask that you apply  said skills and 
> intelligence to explain how  your theory  accounts for Cho Chang, 
> Mme Maxime, the Patil sisters, or Fleur Delacour, all of 
> whom were able to enjoy a good snog without having set their cap 
> for someone or being  morally deficient?

Betsy Hp:
Up until she gets married, Fleur is not considered a good girl.  The 
Patil sisters, like Lavender, are considered flighty, Cho Chang is 
painted as completely untrustworthy by Ginny in the final battle of 
Hogwarts (Ginny's extreme worry about Cho being the one to take Harry 
to the Ravenclaw dorms).  Mme Maxime did dodge a bullet in not 
settling down with Hagrid, but she's hardly a main player.

Now I'll freely admit I have a hard time figuring out how JKR wants 
us to see her characters (besides her obvious wish that we like the 
big three).  And I've generally gotten it wrong in the past.  But I 
think we're supposed to see Ginny and Hermione as judging people 
correctly for the most part.  So if either of those two girls judge 
another girl as morally deficient (and they are two rather judgy 
girls) I figure JKR wants us to agree. For example, I think we're 
supposed to think Ginny quite the clever young thing for switching 
Luna in as Harry's Ravenclaw guide.
  
> >>Pippin:
> <snip>
> Then of course there's Merope, who would clearly have been better   
> off if she'd  gone for a roll in the hay instead of a family.

Betsy Hp:
I think we're supposed to see Merope's lust (or as JKR would call it, 
love) as a bad thing that set this whole trainwreck in motion.  That 
she tried to force it into the marriage sphere was, I think, JKR's 
attempt to paint Merope as a tragic victim as well.  (She *tried* to 
be a good girl.)

> >>Pippin:
> BTW,  if JKR sees not getting to marry Draco as a punishment,
> it would seem her opinion of him isn't as low as some think <g>.

Betsy Hp:
Well, Draco's a boy.  JKR prefers boys to girls as far as I can 
tell. :)

> >>Carol:
> <snip>
> What about Ginny, who calls Ron a hypocrite for his double standard
> (it's okay for him to snog Lavender publicly but not for Ginny to   
> snog Dean)? Surely, we're supposed to side with Ginny in this      
> respect?
> <snip>

Betsy Hp:
Whenever Ginny says anything, I think we're supposed to side for her; 
but Ginny only snogged other boys to be worthy of her true love.  The 
boy she picked out when she was 10 (if not earlier).  So 
Ginny's "playing the field" was okay because it made her more ready 
for the marriage bed.  Ditto with Hermione.

But neither Ginny nor Hermione seemed all that sexually interested in 
the boys they dated before their husbands.  Ginny dumped both her 
boys, and Viktor annoyed Hermione more than anything.  And we know 
Hermione was interested in Ron when she dated Viktor, hence her 
yelling at Ron to ask her first next time.

Combine that with the fact that girls can enter the boys dorms 
whenever they like and you've got a series of books that seems to 
deny the existance of female sexuality as a natural thing.  Which is 
a throw-back view, IMO.

Betsy Hp (all my opinion! <g>)