This blog is named after Hermione Granger of Harry Potter fame, and her ability to solve any problem because of her superior research skills and love of books, and her knapsack would hold all this knowledge. As Ron says to Harry about Hermione’s book dependency in Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets, “Because that’s what Hermione does. When in doubt, go to the library.” Plus she is the perfect mascot for Children’s Librarians everywhere. Yay books and knowledge!
Taken from: https://nary-san.deviantart.com/art/Hermione-and-books-446977341
I loved her character in the books and even the movies, and I think this woman’s perspective on our spunky heroine is the reason why:
“Hermione is a hero because she decides to be a hero; she’s brave, she’s principled, she works hard, and she never apologizes for the fact that her goal is to be very, extremely good at this whole “wizard” deal. Just as Hermione’s origins are nothing special, we’re left with the impression that her much-vaunted intelligence might not be anything special, on its own. But Hermione is never comfortable with relying on her “gifts” to get by. There’s no prophecy assuring her importance; the only way for Hermione to have the life she wants is to work for it. So Hermione Granger, generation-defining role model, works her adorable British ass off for seven straight books in a row. Although she deals with the slings and arrows of any coming-of-age tale — being told that she’s “bossy,” stuck-up, boring, “annoying,” etc — she’s too strong to let that stop her. “
I adore her and J.K. Rowling for creating her because she is showing us, girls and women in particular, that it is okay to be strong and smart. I don’t think we as women have to take people calling us “bossy” or a “know-it-all”, we are who we are and no amount of societal pressure is going to change that. As Alyssa Yeager blogs about in this article, “Smart women think more, seek questions more, have a viewpoint and argue it more, and are capable of effecting change. Smart women can also generally be seen as a royal pain in the ass in the eyes of some men. But smart women also know that those men don’t deserve them.”
Eventually men will get their act together and realize that brains are just as sexy if not more so than looks, especially as they get older. Or at least I can hold out hope that this is the case. Because the alternative, as explained in this article, “It seems that, even if men say they want a smarter woman, when push comes to shove, they’re not so into women who threaten their own intelligence. Translation: Men who blow off intelligent women might just be protecting their fragile masculine egos,” is pretty sad.
Back to the wonderful world of Harry Potter. I’ve had a little bit of time to re-evaluate her and the other students of Hogwarts as I have been reading my six-year old son the illustrated editions of Harry Potter’s books 1 & 2 (which are amazing by the way). I haven’t actually touched these books since I started reading the series a few years after it came out in 1997. I actually rebelled reading them at first, as I tend to do with super popular kids series’. I became more open to the idea after some kids I was watching at a summer camp, where I was counseling at during the summer of my sophomore year of college (circa 2001), were going on and on about how awesome the series was. So naturally I wanted to give it a try. Thankfully the library on campus had copies and the rest is history.
A lot of people like to poo poo Ron and Hermione’s relationship, but as I am re-reading the series, and several articles on the two of them, I can see that they are a lot more compatible than some people would have us believe. A lot of this stems from the way both of them are portrayed in the movies, for example making Hermione the heroine with the Devil’s Snare in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets or defending Harry from Sirius Black in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (when it was actually Ron both times) or as Ryann Whelan’s article points out:
“Hermione’s weaknesses are completely glossed over. She can be, at times, overly cautious, judgmental, insensitive to social cues, rigid and legalistic in her perfectionism, and overly rational. The movies depict her as a bossy but endearing know-it-all, but fail to delve into how obnoxious she can come across.”
The author of the previous article also points out how much of Ron’s personality is left out entirely in the films, namely:
“He’s the heart and soul of the trio— emotionally grounded, strategically-minded, generally calm and cool (excepting when spiders are involved -[who can blame him, they give me the heebie jeebies]). He’s trustworthy and honest, always upfront about how he really feels, even if it doesn’t come across politely. He’s truly funny and often the primary comic relief of the series, not simply because of pratfalls, but because he’s got a great sense of humor.”
And despite what Hermione says in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, about Ron having “the emotional range of a teaspoon”, he so much more than that. I mean think about it, you’re stuck between the famous Harry Potter (who despite his everlasting friendship with Ron is still the most well-known person in the wizarding world) and the cleverest witch at Hogwarts, Hermione. It’s possible you would feel a little bit out of place, not to mention being the youngest brother in a wizarding family whose siblings have already accomplished so much. Ron tends to use humor to deflect from his own insecurities and worries.
Ron and Hermione compliment each other. Yes she is serious, whip smart and in-charge, but she needs someone she can relax with, who calms her down and makes her laugh. Who better than someone who co-owns a joke shop?
