All right, Harry Potter fans. We have some quotes from author J.K. Rowling that will anger some of you and vindicate others. Are you ready? Spoilers ahead.
Rowling has an interview in the upcoming issue of Wonderland, which actress Emma Watson (who played Hermione) is guest editing. In it, in quotes that are being run today by the Sunday Times and which they tweeted a preview of last night, Rowling admits that she wishes she hadn’t paired Ron and Hermione up:
“I wrote the Hermione/Ron relationship as a form of wish fulfillment,” she says. “That’s how it was conceived, really. For reasons that have very little to do with literature and far more to do with me clinging to the plot as I first imagined it, Hermione ended up with Ron.”
“I know, I’m sorry,” she continued, “I can hear the rage and fury it might cause some fans, but if I’m absolutely honest, distance has given me perspective on that. It was a choice I made for very personal reasons, not for reasons of credibility. Am I breaking people’s hearts by saying this? I hope not.”
Watson agreed with Rowling, saying “I think there are fans out there who know that too and who wonder whether Ron would have really been able to make her happy.” These two women obviously know the character of Hermione well, but there are many fans who will certainly be frustrated by these comments. The headline of the article is “JK Admits Hermione Should Have Wed Harry” but there’s nothing more in the snippet posted last night nor in the full article now available that talks about Hermione and Harry in more depth. It’s clear that this piece was done mostly as PR for Watson’s Wonderland issue so that Harry Potter fans would feel they had to buy it to know more. Mission accomplished, right?
As a HP fan myself, I have really mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, I thought pairing Hermione with Ron allowed for some interesting dynamics in the trio, particularly in the last book. On the other hand, she is pretty much the smartest person ever and he’s occasionally an idiot. She’s also occasionally an insufferable know-it-all (I say with love, as she’s my favorite HP character) and I never could figure out how she could date him without murdering him for some of the things he said. Plus, I love Ginny and I like her and Harry together. But most importantly, I think there’s a great deal of value in showing kids and adults that girls and boys can have close relationships that are just friendships and nothing more, and Harry and Hermione are a great example of that. They clearly love each other in the books and movies but as friends only. Sometimes it doesn’t need to be more than that. Like with the Doctor and Donna Noble!
How do you guys feel about this revelation? Keep it civil in the comments.
(Via Io9)
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