Ron WAS: Re: DH reread CH 4-5

[Carol]

No: HPFGUIDX 186297

-sartoris22:
> 
> I totally get what you're saying here, but Ron's saving grace is that he argues with Hermione, which is one reason, I think, Hermione likes him. In OOTP Harry comments on their constant arguing, almost equivalent to our "get a room." While Ron hiding his driving failure from Hermione is problematic, I don't think he's really like Arthur, who never challenges Molly. Ron will challenge Hermione; he'll also tease her and tell her to lighten up. Obviously, Hermione benefits from that in her life. <snip>
>
Carol responds:
Just a tiny comment since I essentially agree with what you're saying here (though "get a room" usually implies that something other than arguing is going on, ahem!). I think several posters are exaggerating what you call Ron's "driving failure." It's not as if he failed the whole test. He *can* drive a Muggle car. He only Confunded the instructor to conceal his forgetting to look in the sideview ("wing") mirror, which, to Ron, is a small thing since he can "use a Supersensory Charm for that" (755). Sure, his attitude is "What Hermione doesn't know won't hurt her," but it's not as if he's concealing something major from her--like Umbridge intending to conceal her use of the Cruciatus Curse on Harry from Fudge. It's more like Arthur concealing some new "improved" Muggle artifact from Molly, or Harry and Ron together cheating on their homework and concealing it from Hermione back when they're in school. I seriously doubt that Ron lives in terror of Hermione's disapproval or that she rules his life--as you say, he's learned to stand up to her and she's learned how to take a tease. Ron is just being Ron, not above cheating a little and being amused by it, but confident in his ability to use both a Confundus Charm and a Supersensory Charm.

All this discussion has come out of one little quotation in Alla's post about rereading DH. We're all just reacting to Ron's annoyance at Hermione, early in DH, for being surprised that he Stunned a DE while he was riding on a broom, and jumping from there to his deserting Harry and Hermione and trying to return. I seem to be the only one discussing his battle with Horcrux!Tom and what I consider to be his victory over the demons that caused both his self-doubt and his jealuousy, culminating in his walking out in anger and being unable to come back. (How many of us have at some time in our lives stormed out of a room, slamming the door behind us, only to cool off and come back later, ready to apologize or at least work things out? Only that option wasn't available to Ron because of the protective spells that Hermione had cast around the tent.)

IMO, his experience parallels Percy's. Both of them walked out on people who loved them and needed them because they were hurt and angry and felt misunderstood, both of them were sorry, and both of them eventually returned and redeemed themselves and were forgiven. Both of them learned a valuable lesson from their mistakes. You might even say that both of them grew up as a result. Percy is still Percy and Ron is still Ron, but both of them have gained self-confidence and maturity, demonstrated by Percy in battle and Ron in entering the CoS so that Hermione could destroy the cup Horcrux.

I also think we're judging Ron prematurely without closely examining the reasons for his behavior, but I don't want to ruin Alla's thread by getting too far ahead of her. Maybe we can wait till she gets to "The Silver Doe" and analyze the canon in detail then. Just a suggestion. :-)

Carol, who doesn't have time to go canon hunting now, in any case