Re: Harry's Better Half: My problem with Ginny.

mueckelein wrote:
On 11 Feb., 18:34, Ron Hunter <rphun...@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Karnak17 wrote:
Joe Curwen wrote:
In article <1149618033.186500.290...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Karnak17
says...
Joe Curwen wrote:
In article <1149536259.589159.76...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Karnak17
says...
<<SNIP>>
Now, I don't blame him for wanting to deal with his trauma in his own
way, and I don't think that it was his fault exactly that they didn't
work out. It was just bad luck. But what he was looking for from Cho
was emphatically NOTHING like a real relationship. To say that he has
gotten with Ginny what he wanted with Cho is to concede my point. It
is not a relationship. It's just snogging. I realize many teen
relationships are like that, and Rowling has portrayed a few
relationships which are clearly meant to be learning experiences rather
than deathless romances. But she seems, from her interview comments,
to actually regard Ginny and Harry as the latter rather than the
former. Which is sad.
IIRC, Rowling felt that the only reason to include romance in her stories is
that it is a part of life. Even so, she didn't want to emphasize that part of
the story because it would detract from the "mystery" part of the story. The
relationships were written to be shallow out of necessity.
I don't see how necessity demands any of the things that I am
complaining about. Did I not point out how JKR has portrayed Harry's
compassion and freindship for Neville far more movingly and
convincingly than his "love" for Ginny. Yet Neville is an even more
minor character. Hermione/Krum and Draco/Parkinson were both far more
convincing than Harry/Ginny.
I threw that in there because its important (to me) to keep in mind that we're
not dealing with romance novels. The point of the thing with Neville was to have
Harry realize that Neville was more deserving of others' sympathy than he was.
On the other hand, perhaps we are not giving Ginny her due. Maybe she kept
things light because she understood Harry very well, and knew how to give him
exactly what he wanted and needed at that time in his life. And when Harry broke
up with her, her response was perfect, at least from Harry's point of view. Her
understanding of his needs is in fact so deep that she made no mistakes at all
and left him wanting more. From there, when Voldemort is finished, she has a
shot at developing something more meaningful with Harry if that's what she
wants. Had she tried to get too serious too soon, she would have lost any chance
she had at a future with Harry. So maybe what you claim is shallow is actually
part of an intelligent plan.
Oh, so you think that she is a RULES girl.
Now, just to be clear here, _I_ didn't say that Ginny was shallow.
That was you.
To be even clearer, I'm not saying Ginny, herself is shallow either. She is
keeping her relationship with Harry light, easy and fun (shallow) because that's
the only kind of relationship anyone can have with Harry.
Harry is a throw-yourself-on-a-hand-grenade kind of guy, and that's how he shows
he cares. Ginny knows this and that why she likes Harry as much as she does.
Anything else though, she knows he is no good at yet.
Possibly. Part of the problem is that Rowling is telling rather than
showing. How Harry feels about Neville, Hermione, Luna is shown to us
-- i.e. she shows us Harry focusing on them, thinking about them and
their feelings, and generally paying attention to them as human beings.
With Ginny, other than descriptions of roaring monsters in chests, we
are simply TOLD that he cares, and are not SHOWN him doing any actual
caring.
And if she is just playacting and concealing her true
self in order to "land" a man, then I guess you are right.
She isn't playacting at all. She is making the best of the situation she is in,
and having fun with it. That's not a bad thing, its just smart. In fact, I'm
guessing she is following Hermione's plan which will be revealed in the last
book.
Well, that still seems awfully Rules-ish.
I said that she was too much like Harry Potter, and that she shared and
encouraged his faults. They aren't Yin/Yang, they are Yin/Yin. I also
said that Rowling failed to convey that Harry genuinely gives a rat's
ass about her. That has nothing to do with Ginny herself being
shallow.
It's not that Harry doesn't care, it is that he is emotionally and romantically
retarded through neglect and circumstances beyond his control, mostly. In Book
6, Harry spent a lot of time with Hermione and couldn't for the life of him find
a single word of consolation for his friend. He is an emotional schlump. I can't
imagine what JKR could have done to make a convincing romance working with a
character like that.
But that was effective and moving. You could tell that he cared about
Hermione, and WANTED to help her. But naturally there were no words.
That was fine. It was believable. Just the way he followed her into
the classroom and stood there like an idiot was an attempt to show he
cared and wanted to comfort her, and I'm sure Hermione knew him well
enough to realize it. He didn't have any WORDS for Neville either, but
WE, the reader, get to feel what he feels about it, even if he cannot
express it to those around him.
I think she could have turned out a much better character if
she had just been Ginny instead of Harry's girlfriend.
But her character has no other point, really.
She has as much point as any other Weasley. Like I said, Percy and
Bill are more credible characters despite smaller roles.
I think that you will find that Ginny is the pivotal character in book
7. It has been reiterated many times that Harry's power comes from
love, and I picked Ginny as his 'love interest' way back in book one.
Soon, we all shall see if I am right on that.

Yep!! Same oppinion - she has turned out to be a really strong
character with an own oppinion, a pretty, courageous, smart and witty
young girl who does not care abbout gossip: she is the one who makes
friends with Luna despite everybody nagging her, she accepts people
the way they are, giving Luna and Neville courage and selfconfidence.
She has much more character than any of the Weasleys! Even more than
Harry! I agree that it will be her love for Harry which is, as we
learned at the end of HBP, completely selfless, that will bring
Voldemort´s downfall once more!

I believe, that in the end, she will jump in front of Harry, saving him from AK, and giving him a chance to kill Voldemort. I think their love will allow her to live through it as Lily's did for Harry.
That would be, for me, an ideal ending. We shall see.
.