From the very beginning of the book, Harry and Ron do not
like Hermione. The very first word Harry uses to describe her is “bossy” (112),
and shortly after this Ron proclaims “whatever house I’m in, I hope she’s not
in it” (113). Hermione is introduced to the reader as a loud, nosy,
goody-two-shoes know-it-all who thinks she is better than everyone else. But I
think it is very important to remember that this story is being told from
Harry’s perspective, which can extremely bias our judgement on Hermione and
other characters.
Let us imagine Hermione’s perspective for a moment. Judging
from her character traits we see revealed throughout the book, I think it’s
safe to assume that Hermione likes to be in control, to know what’s going on,
and to be on top of things. When she is first introducing herself to the boys,
she proudly says “Nobody in my family’s magic at all, it was ever such a
surprise when I got my letter” (112-113). So, a girl who likes to feel in
control is suddenly thrust into a world where none of the laws of physics or
reason she has learned so far make sense anymore- that would be pretty
traumatizing. In order to feel in control again, she has “learnt all our sets
of books off by heart, of course” (113) and done extensive additional studying.
Once she learns that not all wizarding children come from muggle families, I’m
sure Hermione feels a need to prove her right to be there, which she does by
answering every question in class and trying excessively hard in every lesson.
Where Ron and Harry see an annoying little girl, I see a very stressed and
nervous girl trying to prove herself and cope with a drastic life change.
This is not a critique on Harry and Ron, though- they don’t
know Hermione’s backstory to the extent that the readers do, and as
eleven-year-old boys I can imagine that they are not the most empathetic
people. Although Hermione does use superiority and intelligence to try and
cover up her self-doubt, she quickly learns that it is not an acceptable or
healthy coping mechanism. This could be due to multiple occurrences: when she overhears Ron saying “It’s no wonder
no one can stand her… she’s a nightmare, honestly” (184), when the trio defeat
the troll and she takes the blame, or maybe just the general reaction she gets
from people because of the way she behaves. Either way, by the end of the book
Hermione has learned that she doesn’t need to prove herself to get friends or
respect. By using her knowledge in practical application instead of boasting
about it, she earns the admiration of Harry, Ron, and the rest of Gryffindor.
Hermione has such a great character arc in this book, and as someone who was once a know-it-all goody-two-shoes, I feel that it’s very
relatable to its young readers.
(I have a British version of the book, so I'm sorry if page numbers or certain words in the quotes are off!)
I agree that Harry and Ron’s initial dislike of the “goody-two-shoes” Hermione Granger is representative of their age and the intended young audience. From her first appearance on the train and throughout subsequent scenes, Hermione is not the most likeable character. She disrupts Harry and Ron frequently, even threatening to tell them off for breaking the rules. Ron and Harry’s perspective are exactly what an eleven-year-old would be (as eleven-year-old boys are already prejudiced against annoying girls).
ReplyDeleteHowever, by the end of the book, Hermione leaves all of this behind, stating, “Books! And cleverness” is nothing against the importance of “friendship and bravery” (287). To Hermione, being a true witch and fitting in needed to be learned from books and studying. She realizes that there are things that cannot be learned from reading but applied in life as well. The “bossy sort of voice” and attitude vanishes the moment she finds trust in Harry and Ron (105). They save her from the mountain troll, regardless of their preemptive negative feelings toward her. Hermione, young and afraid of not fitting in, finds that she can find true friendship by simply being herself. She displays her human vulnerability when Ron insults her, running away “in tears” and “crying in the girls bathroom” all of Halloween (172). Hermione’s discovery teaches young readers that trying to fit in cannot protect one from a full-grown mountain troll, but finding true friends definitely will.
This is a really great analysis of Hermione's character in this first book. I would be interested to read a social analysis of her impact– how many other annoying, book-loving, know-it-all girls have seen themselves in Hermione, for once not as a comic relief or overbearing character, but as a hero?
ReplyDeleteYou mention her need for control– that immediately makes me think of "or worse– expelled." Hermione isn't just being a stick in the mud who loves rules more than anything else. Expulsion from Hogwarts means expulsion from the entire world of magic. I don't think she's joking at all about that being worse than death to her. She's just had this world of possibility opened up to her, and she recognizes that it could be taken away.