Though she was thrilled to receive the Hogwarts letter, little did Hermione Granger know that there were multiple setbacks already in place for her within the wizarding world – patriarchy and wizarding lineage-based supremacy, to name a couple. As she became older, Dumbledore considered her to be a useful pawn in the great game of Harry vs Voldemort. To top it off, she became best friends with two people who did not appreciate her as much as they should, occasionally treated her badly, and she even went on to marry one of them – Ron Weasley.
JK Rowling herself admitted that Hermione and Ron were not a good match and that Hermione should have married Harry. But why were her marital options limited to the two men who had (sometimes unwittingly) dictated her actions throughout the series the most? Harry repeatedly fails to stick up for her, there is no guarantee that he would have been a good husband to her. More importantly, did she have to take on the domestic route of marriage and children? Hermione Granger was a stickler for school rules, but she was also extraordinary and above convention and ‘normalcy’.
In The Philosopher’s Stone, Ron was continuously judgmental towards her and Harry never bothered to intervene. When she tried to correct him in Charms class, Ron sulked and made a mockery of her. It took the three of them nearly being killed by a troll together and Hermione taking the blame for it for her to be admitted into the boys’ club. All Harry and Ron had to do were get placed in the same compartment on the Hogwarts Express.
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In Prisoner of Azkaban, Ron suddenly found himself concerned about an ailing rat whom he never really cared much for in the first place. Of course, he had the right to be angry with Hermione when he thought Crookshanks ate Scabbers (who in reality was a grown man in disguise watching teenage boys dress and undress and sleeping on the same bed as them). But he and Harry (who conveniently did not want to take sides) went on to neglect her after she reported the Firebolt to Professor McGonagall – a gesture out of concern for her friend’s life. When Scabbers was found alive, Ron didn’t bother to apologize to Hermione.
It took them nearly being killed by a troll for hermione to be admitted into the boys club.
Goblet of Fire saw Ronald Weasley’s behaviour take a turn for the worse. Hermione became a last resort for him to take to the Yule Ball. When she turned him down and went to the ball with Viktor Krum, he was incensed. Last I checked, Hermione was not his personal property. This sense of entitlement and ownership over Hermione was further exercised when he accused her of “fraternising with the enemy”. The lines between Hermione’s agency and Ron’s entitlement would not have been blurred even if she had gone with someone from Hogwarts. He was jealous, but this jealousy stemmed from the sense that Hermione, whom he had always taken for granted, was his. Harry silently agreed with Hermione when she accused Ron of treating her like a last resort, but as usual, did not intervene.
Half-Blood Prince showcased an all-time low, even by Ron’s standards. His jealousy of Viktor Krum and Hermione’s relationship erupted with a lava-like fury when he found out they kissed – two years ago. This was right after he slut-shamed his sister Ginny when he found her making out with her boyfriend (kudos to Ginny for holding her own, calling him out on his immaturity and insulting the living daylights out of him). He then went on to be consistently cold and derisive towards Hermione for days. Harry, the perpetual pacifist, again did not intervene. He only shook Ron up when he realised his Quidditch captainship could be affected by Ron’s performance.
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Harry’s internal monologue stated, “He did not see how he could possibly explain to Hermione that what she had done to offend Ron was kiss Viktor Krum, not when the offence had occurred so long ago”. Her offence? For kissing who she wanted? Also, was Hermione expected to understand Ron’s misogynist behaviour? I personally cheered when Hermione attacked him with the birds. A few days after, Harry found himself missing his best friend, after spending a lot of time in silence in the library alongside Hermione. Instead of sticking up for her, he worried about his voice vanishing from lack of use and how life wasn’t as fun with Hermione.
In The Deathly Hallows, Hermione consistently protected and saved her two friends. What did she get in return? Ron’s jealousy and entitlement peaking, after being enhanced by the Horcrux. Ron got suspicious about Harry and Hermione getting together, and had to be assured that Harry loves Hemione like a sister. About that – were six years of friendship and consistently staying together not proof enough for darling Ronald? Harry and Hermione wore the Horcrux too. Yet, Ron could not muster enough rational sense to stick it out for the girl who had always stood by his side, if not for Harry. Instead, he snapped at her, accused her of “choosing him (Harry)” and stormed out, despite Hermione in tears begging for him to come back.
Yes, he did come back. Again, I cheered when Hermione started beating the crap out of him. It was only when Hermione initiated an attack though, did Harry suddenly find his backbone and intervene with a Shield Charm. It only took him six years to intervene in a conflict situation between his two best friends – and only to protect his precious ‘bro’ Ron. The series culminated in Hermione marrying Ron. She married a coarse, mediocre, patriarchal, angry, entitled man who expected his food to be delivered into his lap 24/7.
For Hermione to qualify as a friend and as a substantial character, she had to be brilliant, provide the two boys with notes so they didn’t fail, look over their homework, save their lives and occasionally take the blame for their rule-breaking. Ron merely had to be mediocre and crass. Can you imagine a friend-Hermione who cracked fart jokes? To be a part of the wizarding bro-code, Hermione had to be extraordinary. On his part, Harry failed to be a better friend to Hermione. He understood cruelty and he understood neglect, having had first-hand experience. Yet when the time came to do something about it in his very inner circle, he was a spectacular let down.
To be a part of the wizarding bro-code, Hermione had to be extraordinary.
I really wish Ronald Weasley had contracted Spattergroit. Standing naked in a barrel full of eel’s eyes with a toad’s liver wrapped around him would have been a small comeuppance for the way he consistently treated Hermione. Given Ron’s temper, his entitlement and the immense career aspirations Hermione had, would Ron have given her the support she needed from her significant other? I cannot help but wonder if such a foul-tempered and jealous person would have gone on to become an abusive partner. The only thing Ron and Hermione had in common was that they were Harry’s best friends and that they both punched Malfoy.
Potterverse would have collapsed without her. Hermione Granger was such a force of nature that in Chamber of Secrets, she saved the day while she was petrified, directing Harry and Ron towards the existence of the basilisk. While Dumbledore awarded Harry and Ron awards for special services to the school, I do not remember Hermione receiving such an award. Yes, Harry did a chunk of the heavy lifting (he did battle a basilisk after all), but only after Hermione set them down the path by doing something highly unlikely (and I bet soul-crushing) – ripping a page out of a library book, stealing it and writing on it.
Hermione Granger deserved better. Dumbledore saw the brilliance in her and used her to slow down Harry’s hot head, which he later admitted. Only Hagrid saw her for who she truly was, appreciated her and stuck up for her. He sternly reprimanded Ron and Harry in Prisoner of Azkaban regarding their friendship being limited by rats and glossy broomsticks and the cruel neglect meted out to Hermione. To quote Hagrid, after Malfoy called Hermione a “mudblood”, “An'[d] they haven’t invented a spell our Hermione can'[t] do”. She is hands down the strongest pillar of the magical community. She consistently saved the lives of the people around her and loved them selflessly. Keeping that in mind, this 31st July (and for the rest of my life), I celebrate Grangerverse and not Potterverse.
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Well said. I’m incensed once again at the shoddy treatment of Hermione in the books.
Wonderful article. Loved it. Great job.
I celebrate Hermione more than anyone else from wizardverse. She is my favorite kickass character.
However, I would like to make a point in Harry’s defense. Personally I feel that it is better that Harry did not intervene in Ron-Hermione’s relationship. He remained neutral in that sense cause if had then he would only take Ron’s side.
Also, both Ron and Harry acknowledge her brilliance.
“Where is Hermione when we need her?” – Ron, HP chamber of secrets.
“I am not as brilliant or brave as you”- Harry, HP philosopher’s stone
” You wont last a day without her” -Ron, HP deathly hallows
“You are the best at spells” -Ron, HP deathly hallows
“She is brilliant” -Ron, multiple occasions.
Excellent article. Felt the same while reading the series. She is my favourite character too.
As is usual by people who are against Ron and Hermione’s relationship, Ron is demonized and Hermione is glorified. Apparently, Ron could become abusive to Hermione, meanwhile the author praises Hermione when she physically attacks Ron twice in the series. What hypocrisy.
Feminism is about giving women the same rights as men, including their ability to choose their own life, not about superiority. Hermione chose her life through her own free will but the author does not respect that and shows that with the article that isn’t so much about promoting Hermione but instead hating on Ron, it suggests the article is written by a misandrist rather than a feminist.
Just some dot points for everyone to think about:
1. It’s clear the author thinks the multiple times Ron risked his own life or overcame his biggest fear for Hermione (like going into the Forbidden Forest in CoS to find a cure for Hermione) does not matter at all.
2. We found out later that Ron brought home a lot of money from his job and was the primary caretaker for his children, leaving Hermione free to pursue her career.
3. Ron did not have to become friends with Hermione or Harry. At all. He could have become friends with Dean and Seamus instead but he actually wanted to be friends with Hermione.
4. Ron is the person who has cared about Hermione emotionally and comforted her emotionally the most through the series.
5. Ron is the person who consistently noticed what Hermione is up to when nobody else does.
6. Ron even said specifically what he wants Hermione to do so he will speak with her again and it’s not a tall order in PoA and nobody else offered to help with Buckbeak’s appeal.
7. Jealousy is a terrible thing and Hermione has done far worse under its cloud than Ron, but the author doesn’t ever care about any of the bad things Hermione did.
8. This X deserves better rhetoric is precisely the kind of nasty, hateful elitism that Rowling warned us about in the books and Hermione herself fought against. But the author doesn’t get it just like she doesn’t get what exactly did JKR say in the Wonderland interview.
Very well said..
This article is not about feminism, but about spewing hate on the character Ron, who in my opinion is the most realistic of all characters in the HP universe.
It is okay for Hermione to physically hurt her friends( beat, cast birds), be insensitive to others pets (in PoA). Ron was the only one who understood her and cared for her emotions, whereas Hermione always used to snarl at him. Ron was the one who stood up for her against Malfoy, Snape, death eaters. Ron was the one who could have easily used his ‘pure-blood status’ and sided with the death eaters. Ron was the one who was concerned about Hermione being over-worked in PoA and had suspicion about Hermione’s conflicting schedules and the use of time-turners.
And in the Cursed Child (even though I don’t consider as canon), Ron is shown as the home maker fully supporting his wife who is pursuing an ambitious career.
The books were great, because it showed the flaws of all the main characters and we loved the trio in spite of their flaws. As a team, each member of the trio compensated for the weaknesses of other members.
Whereas in the movies we see Ron’s flaws being grossly exaggerated and all his strengths given to Hermione who is glorified as a super-woman.
Yes, in the real world, male chauvinism is indeed a real issue which needs to be opposed.
But dissing out these kind of articles based on a fiction to propogate hate against a particular character totally ignoring the flaws and misdeeds of the other in the garb of feminism is laughable to say the least.
Great reply. I am particularly amused at the author’s claim that she wants Ron to die a slow, painful death because that surely shows a lot of love to someone who has risked his life multiple times to bring down Voldemort. The fact there are people agreeing with it just saddens me.
When CC is released there are people who call themselves feminists but go around scourging for clues to prove how horrible Ron is and how Hermione is too good for him so unfortunately these kind of people who have hijacked the word feminism are never going away.
i love u guys
ron doesn’t deserve so much hate
Just some dot points for everyone to think about:
1. It’s clear the author thinks the multiple times Ron risked his own life or overcame his biggest fear for Hermione (like going into the Forbidden Forest in CoS to find a cure for Hermione) does not matter at all.
2. We found out later that Ron brought home a lot of money from his job and was the primary caretaker for his children, leaving Hermione free to pursue her career.
3. Ron did not have to become friends with Hermione or Harry. At all. He could have become friends with Dean and Seamus instead but he actually wanted to be friends with Hermione.
4. Ron is the person who has cared about Hermione emotionally and comforted her emotionally the most through the series.
5. Ron is the person who consistently noticed what Hermione is up to when nobody else does.
6. Ron even said specifically what he wants Hermione to do so he will speak with her again and it’s not a tall order in PoA and nobody else offered to help with Buckbeak’s appeal.
7. Jealousy is a terrible thing and Hermione has done far worse under its cloud than Ron, but the author doesn’t ever care about any of the bad things Hermione did.
8. This X deserves better rhetoric is precisely the kind of nasty, hateful elitism that Rowling warned us about in the books and Hermione herself fought against. But the author doesn’t get it as he has too much hate just like she doesn’t get what exactly did JKR say in the Wonderland interview.
I never really liked Ron, he literally has nothing going on for him except that he’s loyal imo.
I ship Hermione with Snape, but then again, maybe I’ve been reading too many fanfics ?
You’re right about Harry not sticking up for Hermione, but you have to remember, Rowling planned the romantic pairings from the start. She always planned on forcing Hermione into a relationship with Ron. So if Harry was written as intervening during the fights, then well, it would’ve undermined the Romione ship… Even more than the fighting did on its own.
This article does not help your case for feminism because let’s be honest, this isn’t feminism. This is just bashing Ron Weasley as a character by claiming Hermione Granger never should have met him. The entire article is purely propaganda and is contributing to anti-feminism. In fact, I might go as far as to say that this is an example of a fraudulent ideology, right-wing feminism. As I am so angry with this article, I will destroy it once and for all. So without further to do, let’s debunk this shit.
DEBUNKING THIS ARTICLE
Though she was thrilled to receive the Hogwarts letter, little did Hermione Granger know that there were multiple setbacks already in place for her within the wizarding world – patriarchy and wizarding lineage-based supremacy, to name a couple. As she became older, Dumbledore considered her to be a useful pawn in the great game of Harry vs Voldemort. To top it off, she became best friends with two people who did not appreciate her as much as they should, occasionally treated her badly, and she even went on to marry one of them – Ron Weasley.
Rebuttal: So the first part was correct. Pure-Blood supremacy was definitely a problem as was patriarchy to some extend (though apparently not as much as the Muggle world). However, Ron being Pure-Blood doesn’t make him a Pure-Blood supremacist. In fact, one of the reasons the Weasley family was looked down upon was because they were “blood-traitors” which were Pure-Bloods that associate with Muggle and Muggle-borns alike. To say that Ron was actually a Pure-Blood supremacist is an insult to him and to all Pure-Bloods who rebel against the supremacist structures that those like the Malfoys and the Blacks supported. And Dumbledore and Voldemort are not mere rivals. One was the champion of Muggle rights while the other mass murder Muggles for their amusement. Where’s the comparison? To use chess game language for the Second Wizarding War, one must assume Voldemort never committed any atrocities. So Dumbledore didn’t just use people for his game. Rather, Voldemort had to be defeated before he torture, enslave, and murder more innocents. Finally, how much did Harry and Ron need to appreciate Hermione. Harry in particular had never been seen treating her badly and neither did Ron for that matter. I think the person who wrote this was an idiot. Give me evidence that Harry under appreciate her or treated her badly. Oh wait, there’s none. Even if Harry didn’t listen to her, not listening to someone is not the same as treating them badly. People are entitled to their opinions and freedom of expression. You can’t go around telling people to do what you want them to do every point of their life. Sorry to say but people can disagree. Now, there is evidence of Ron under appreciating her but there is no objective evidence of him treating her badly.
JK Rowling herself admitted that Hermione and Ron were not a good match and that Hermione should have married Harry. But why were her marital options limited to the two men who had (sometimes unwittingly) dictated her actions throughout the series the most? Harry repeatedly fails to stick up for her, there is no guarantee that he would have been a good husband to her. More importantly, did she have to take on the domestic route of marriage and children? Hermione Granger was a stickler for school rules, but she was also extraordinary and above convention and ‘normalcy’.
Rebuttal: So the two people who cared most about her are bad options? Just think about what this person just said. It is stupid and idiotic, that’s what it is. I ask you this question, who’s better? Those she has a shallow connection with? Some random person she comes across that she finds charming? And unwittingly dictating their actions is not the same as being a dictator. It’s just a shallow argument and it’s intellectually embarrassing. If she was friends with anyone else, they would also dictate her actions the most. And to assume Hermione never dictate Ron or Harry’s actions is idiotic because she definitely did as you will see me give proof of later on. But for you, unless she makes her own decisions through and through, that’s an example of “patriarchy” and “dictatorship-like behaviour” which is just flat out incorrect and again, it’s intellectually embarrassing. Furthermore, Harry fails to stick up for her because many of the times you think he should, he can’t because he might not have a solid case to or because the conflict is with Ron, who was also Harry’s friend. So conflict of interest and even due process for Ron, not patriarchy, was why Harry didn’t stand up for her. Embarrassing I tell you this is but let’s continue because this person actually gives “evidence” which we will find out is just more propaganda.
In The Philosopher’s Stone, Ron was continuously judgmental towards her and Harry never bothered to intervene. When she tried to correct him in Charms class, Ron sulked and made a mockery of her. It took the three of them nearly being killed by a troll together and Hermione taking the blame for it for her to be admitted into the boys’ club. All Harry and Ron had to do were get placed in the same compartment on the Hogwarts Express.
Well Ron doesnt care. He has kids with hermione and she loves him.