DMark. I assure you and everyone else here this is merely me reacting to the Ron / Hermione relationship as portrayed in the books, as my recent re-reading has gotten me thinking. I’ve seen the movies and read the books and agree that too often Ron plays too much the comic foil. He goes bug-eyed and whimpering so much I keep thinking, “I’m sure glad his character ain’t black. Damn.”
I will admit that one thing that no one seems have touched on is how self-pitying Ron can be, and how that tends to melt Hermione’s frosty facade. Now me, I can’t stand it when I’m down on myself and I tend to get annoyed with women (and men, but especially women) who try and cheer me up or mollycoddle my mood, so when Hermione does it to Ron I’m all like, “Why?”
Different strokes.
Anyway, quite a few of you made some good points and have presented some interesting theories, and I particularly like Dio’s rather valid point regarding the book’s POV characters and interactions seen mostly through Harry’s eyes.
Though I was thinking about Luna Lovegood’s observation that Ron can be funny but a bit mean might be seen as an attractive quality to some.
You’re trying to explain the relationship in terms of showing why it makes sense. It doesn’t make sense. Rowling simply isn’t very good at creating plausible romantic relationships. She thinks it’s clever to introduce two characters who dislike each other at the beginning but who will fall in love later in the story. The first time that Ron and Hermione were introduced in the first book I said to myself that Rowling is going to eventually create a romance between them. I also saw from the moment that Ginny was introduced that Rowling was going to create a romance between her and Harry, even though that relationship doesn’t make much sense, although for different reasons.
I don’t think we should undersell Ron’s loyalty. (Rowling considers it one of the crucial aspects of friendship.) Loyalty is far more than a minor qualilty in the HP universe (for example, it is Harry’s loyalty to Dumbledore that saves him in Chamber of Secrets). I think those who have already mentioned that Hermione is not as pretty as Emma Watson hit the nail on the head: Hermione is picked on mercilessly until the troll incident in PS (hell, even Ron says something like, “she’s miserable–of course nobody likes her” before said run-in), and obviously she is gravely insulted by Malfoy and the like afterward. Ron is always there, and because his life is not screwed up like Harry’s, he’s there in a more complete sense. I think Hermione really appreciates that. Ron’s also fun (and funny), and I think that would seem very appealing to someone with Hermione’s sometimes serious demeanor (remember also that we’re talking about crushes and teenaged relationships–will they get married…who knows?).
Anyway, most of the good points have been covered, but the best reason to support Ron and Hermione is the fact that it will bug the completely insane “Harmonian” branch of Harry/Hermione supporters.
/supports Ron/Hermione
//was a huge Harry/Ginny fan for some time, but is increasingly moved by Neville/Ginny and Harry/Luna
> When have teenage relationships ever made sense?
If this is simply a ridiculous teenage relationship that makes no long-term sense, let’s say so. Let’s not pretend that it’s got any potential to last. I was objecting because people in this thread were trying to make the relationship make sense for something permanent, and it doesn’t. Rowling didn’t portray this relationship as being a silly teenage relationship that almost certainly won’t last but as being something deep and permanent. In her writing, she has no adult perspective on the silliness of teenage relationships. As a writer, she has the emotional depth of an average teenager, not an adult.
I rather like the movie Ron. If anyone ever wants to make a biopic about Pink Floyd’s early years, he’s the (slightly more attractive) spitting image of Roger Waters.
Althogh I’m neither here nor there on Ron and Hermione, Harry and Ginny seemed quite genuine and moving to me.
I should hope so. I didn’t quite understand what Hermione saw in Ron in the books, since it seems like every time they were together she was doing his homework. She mostly seems to be annoyed by him, or at best exasperatedly tolerant. But it made even less sense in the movies, because my God is that one ugly boy. He’s seriously painful to look at.
Here’s my answer. Though the big hands and feet and nose thing might play at least some role.
That’s a rather simplistic aphorism. I’ve never really known it to be true in real life.
People in general aren’t very good at creating plausible relationships. Not just teens; think of some long-happily-married couples you know of. I’m thinking of some of my aunts and uncles here, who to all appearances have very happy and stable relationships, just nobody can figure out why or how.
I’m with Chronos. Really, can anyone explain attraction? For instance, I can tell you plenty of things that I “see in” my husband, but that’s not why we’re together. I didn’t write out a list of things I wanted in a man and check them off. When we met, our “chemistry” was mainly physical attraction (which is obviously subjective) and our ability to keep an enjoyable conversation going. Later on, we just enjoyed being together and didn’t want to live without the other. We differ in plenty of ways, and we both have bad qualities along with the good, so who can say why we’re happy together?
I’m going with the “mysterious ways” explanation. And hoping to see some great R/H scenes in Book 7.
> For instance, I can tell you plenty of things that I “see in” my husband, but
> that’s not why we’re together. I didn’t write out a list of things I wanted in a
> man and check them off. When we met, our “chemistry” was mainly physical
> attraction (which is obviously subjective) and our ability to keep an enjoyable
> conversation going. Later on, we just enjoyed being together and didn’t want
> to live without the other. We differ in plenty of ways, and we both have bad
> qualities along with the good, so who can say why we’re happy together?
That’s a realistic adult relationship. The Ron/Hermione relationship isn’t. There’s no development in that relationship over several years. An adult relationship often begins with physical attraction, followed by the couple discovering that they have other things in common. The only thing that has changed in the Ron/Hermione relationship is that they’ve gotten better at criticizing each other.
Looking at it from their points of view, it can make sense.
Hermione doesn’t know that many people anyway. For pretty much the whole of the first (and some of the second) books Harry and Ron are the only two people she’s beyond aquaintances with (and in the second year, she literally had no time to socialise). It’s only in the more recent books that she’s shown having other friends outside the trio, and they’re all girls; Parvati, Ginny, Luna etc. She’s usually studying or in the library; it’s probably pretty fair to say that while she does have a social life that we don’t see, it doesn’t take up much of her time. The only other time we’ve seen her with a partner - Krum - was a result of him coming onto her, and she talked about even them not being that close. Harry and Ron are the only two close male friends she has, so it makes sense that with hormones and lack of other “oppurtunities” she’d fix on one of them. Why not Harry? Probably because he hasn’t shown any interest in her, beyond a brotherly friendship.
So why does Ron show interest in her? Ron hangs out with Harry most of the time, so again he doesn’t have a huge amount of time for relationships. The biggest problem for Ron though is that he has horrible self-confidence; his brothers were prefects/very intelligent/great quidditch players, and (whether or not that’s true) he doesn’t see any of that in himself; he likely doesn’t attempt to date because he thinks no-one would want him. Ron doesn’t actively try to get into the dating scene until he’s pushed by realising Hermione and Krum were an actual item. Ron’s attraction to Hermione probably also stems from this, though; she is, as it’s been said so very often, incredibly intelligent, great at magic, etc., and maybe he hopes that some of that success will rub off on him (that’s most likely why he originally became friends with Harry, too). Hermione does already help him with his work.
And then there’s always the kicker of going through several traumatic incidents together. Always helpful for bringing people together to try and comfort one another.
So to summarise;
Hermione: Hey, he’s kinda cute.
Ron: …does Hermione like me? That’s…pretty cool.
Hermione: Ooh, I think he likes me back!
Ron: Yeah, she definetly likes me…I think…
Voldemort: “Ahahahahah!”
Ron & Hermione: :eek: “Arrgh! Scary! Let’s hug!”
…aaaand repeat.
And btw, if anyone tries defending Ginny/Draco I may have to slap them.
Sure, but I’m not the only person who was sort of annoyed at the sort of cutesy trope of bringing a couple together, showing them bickering constantly, and then falling for each other. I know that’s what we see in every romantic comedy in the world, but I actually would have liked it a lot better if Rowling hadn’t chosen the cliché path she did. It would be much less expected, and therefore more entertaining to me, to show two friends bickering constantly, and then continuing to bicker. And not falling in love.
Anyway, what makes the relationship seem improbable to me is not the fact that Ron and Hermione bicker but just that I can’t see what she sees in him. Hermione’s a pretty good catch - after she fixed her teeth, it was apparent that she at very least cleaned up nice. And she’s smart, capable, confident, and so forth - she’s got a bright future ahead of her. Ron, on the other hand, simply doesn’t bring as much to a relationship. He’s not that smart. He’s never described as particularly good-looking. And ninety percent of the time, during their adventures, he’s sort of deadweight (except in the ridiculously contrived chess game in the first book, whose ending in general was pretty contrived.) Plus, he’s got a real wussy side, as revealed in his performance as keeper.
Not like there’s anything wrong with Ron, but Hermione seems to leap into most aspects of her life with a view towards improving herself and achieving. Most real high-achiever types like that that I’ve known generally have fairly high expectations for others. It’s one thing to pal around with someone like Ron, but it just doesn’t seem likely that Hermione would be satisfied with a guy who’s frankly much less intelligent than she is and probably won’t be doing nearly as much with his life. It just doesn’t seem likely to me that Hermione would want someone who doesn’t challenge her.
Obviously it’s just a personal opinion, but I’m used to even “ugly” people in movies being average-looking people at worst. Like on the Simpsons: “I wanted Mary Anne from Gilligan’s Island ugly, not Cornelius from Planet of the Apes ugly. TV-ugly, not ugly-ugly.” And to me, at least, Rupert Grint is seriously homely. He might grow up to be good looking, but I just think he’s a sight to make eyes sore.
Same here. I’m not a perv or anything, but the 15-year old teenybopper in me has a serious crush on Grint. He’s got dreamy eyes and I love his hair (fie on anyone who says it’s getting too long and he should cut it). He’s just cute to me, and getting cuter by the movie. He’s going to be a seriously adorable adult, at which point I can stop feeling guilty and pervy for finding him seriously adorable.
Her other choices being? I mean, even before the events of Half-blood Prince, Dumbledore was way too old for her.
And yes, the chess match was contrived, but I suspect that it was contrived magically, not authorially. Remember, the set was made by McGonagal, head of the house that values bravery above all. I think that it was specifically enchanted not to play to win, but to play to require a painful sacrifice.
