What do you think of Molly Weasley?

[mountaingirl777]

BTW, it is page 70. I kind of made a rant.

[mountaingirl777]

Jul 9, 2012 22:23:34 GMT -5 teehee100 said:

The one with the emotionally distraught Molly? In a sense I can see that, but I don't think she would do that in front of everyone. Privately after everyone is away/asleep maybe.

no, not that one.

[teehee100]

Drat. So many pages, but I'll try.

[mountaingirl777]

it's my latest post on there. I actually posted on there right after reading your thought on psychology. You don't have to go through all the pages, just go to page 70.

[teehee100]

Thanks. I read it and I agree. A lot of them over do the abuse and it would be interesting to read that kind of a story.

[Nahara46]

I haven't read this thread, but I need to put in my two cents-

I love Molly, great character in my opinion. I agree she can be over-bearing, but that's just what a mother does. In regard to her not letting her children be prepared for the war, or join the Order, I want to mention her own brothers- Fabian and Gideon, who died fighting the first war. Loosing her two brothers probably gave her quite the impression of war- the want to fight to stop it before others got hurt, and the desire to keep her children safe. Not a good idea in hind sight, but she just wanted the best.

This ties in with my thoughts of her being an emotional person. Obviously, she's not the type to completely break down in the face of loss- as she went and killed Trixie instead of wallowing in her despair of losing her son. However, if you think back to Ootp, the boggart incident show how much she fears losing people, which I think would only enhance her desire to protect, whether or not protection is needed.

[Kitty279]

That is even understandable, but in the end she did more harm than good. And she is emotional, oh yes - look at how she's always so quick to scream and rant and all that.

My problem with her is particularly her blatant favouritism for Percy, and the way she puts Ron and the twins down. And that can't be excused with the first war.

[Nahara46]

Honestly, I don't think she put down Ron or the Twins. She punished them, which they kind of deserved. She shows that she approves of Percy's route in life- that he's obedient and sticks to a safer and more reliable job. If I were her, I'd probably hint quite a bit that being obedient and listening to your elders, and getting a good job is a great path in life. Yes, she went over board and may have been too obvious with her approval of percy and disapproval of the others, that I must agree. I don't think it had anything to do with favoritism in the child, just favoritism in their life style.

[Kitty279]

Just go to the very first post on this thread and read what I wrote there, then you see why I think so.

[kumainpink]

I'm under the personal belief that Molly was showing favoritism. It irked me the first time I read it in the books, and it irks me now.

[Nahara46]

Shall we agree to disagree then? After all, in the end it kind of is based on personal perception.

[kumainpink]

Of course I was just spouting my thoughts.

[Kitty279]

Yeah, don't want to argue about that now And I actually liked her in the beginning, but when I went back over the series and thought about it ... It may be an age thing, though - I see some things much more critical now than I would have at your age.

[kumainpink]

That's how I feel, Kitty. Things just become different as you get older. Well, your world view, anyway.

[Kitty279]

Oh yes. You become less naive and more cynical. Or at least I do And more than 30 years age difference can change a view immensely, too.

[kumainpink]

For me, it's only a few years, but even those few years do a lot

[Nahara46]

Probably. I consider myself to be the most cynical person I know... Always determined to look on the bad side of life. But probably way different still considering that age difference I guess. After all, to be old and wise you must first be young and stupid!

[Kitty279]

Nice way to look at it, Nahara And so far you don't sound cynical at all, not to me. You should hear me sometimes

[teehee100]

I think she wanted her children in a box so to speak. She had such an ingrained vision as to what she wanted them to do that she forgot to think about what they wanted. And don't most parents prefer the "perfect" child anyway? I think that if she talked about the other children's accomplishments less and thought about what each one was good at, Ron might have less of an inferiority complex. Controlling in a sense, but again she was trying to make them fit in a box. I also don't like the way she dealt with the twins. I wish she could have thought about the magic behind it rather than the joke itself.

[Kitty279]

Exactly. And how many times did she destroy the work they have put so much time and all their money in?
That box analogy fits well. She just sees Ministry=respectable, forgets what it really is, and wants all her babies there, safe and on the way to a good career. Over that, she overlooks that not everyone is made for a desk job. The twins would be very unhappy there, but I don't think Molly took even one minute to think about if that job would be appropriate for her. She completely disregards not only their interests, but their very character. It's really sad.

And yes, IMO most of Ron's inferiority complex can be laid at her doorstep. Plus, I don't think her adoration for Percy did help his relationship with his siblings.

[viralic1]

Plus she doesn't seem to care that they are adults. When the Twins are seventeen in OoTp, she destroys their work. In her own way, she's way more manipulative than Dumbledore, and more willing to go to any length to destroy what her sons work for.

[Kitty279]

True, she has an emotional leverage over them that Dumbledore doesn't have.

She really can't accept that her children grow up and live their own life, she's trying to decide everything for them even after they are of age. It's so annoying. And frankly, the way she worships Percy, the most stuck-up, while putting down the younger ones all the time annoys me so much.

The problem could be that she doesn't know *anything* beyond her housework (and that includes the real world) and lives for her children and husband. So, the children leaving one by one destroys the world as she knows it, and she can't deal with it and tries to keep the status quo and control their lives the same way she did when they were smaller, not noticing that she's just driving them away.
Does that make sense?

[physicssquid]

She also can't seem to realise that people don't want to look a certain way, or that they have different opinions to hers. The fact that she keeps trying to persuade Bill and Charlie to have their hair cut is a good example of this, and the way she forced Charlie to get a haircut the day before Bill's wedding, is another good example.

[Kitty279]

*sigh* Yes, it is. Plus, don't forget how she tried to prevent said wedding in HBP to begin with. She was downright nasty to Fleur, and Ginny and even Hermione picked that up. (Really, how can that girl complain about how elves are treated, seeing how she herself treats Luna and Fleur?)

The way Molly ranted in front of Harry and Hermione about the twins in GoF didn't do anything to endear her to me, either. Badmouthing her sons in front of guests is embarrassing, to put it mildly, and she should be ashamed of that.

[ykickamoocow]

I think Hermione was a bit mean to Fleur for a very different reason as Hermione did not like how Fleur's Veela powers affected Ron as Hermione got quite jealous when she saw Ron acting that way around Fleur.

[physicssquid]

But why would Hermione then get annoyed with Harry after he pointed out that Fleur was intelligent and not just a pretty face because she got chosen to represent Beauxbatons in the Triwizard Tournament?

[Kitty279]

Well, seeing that she wasn't much nicer to Luna, I doubt it's just Ron. Hermione turns up her nose easily at other women who aren't as obsessed with books and learning as she is, but interested in such flimsy things as clothing and the like. You know she never got along with Parvati and Lavender, either.

And no, I won't reduce the whole series to revolve around that relationship you put so much stock in

[ykickamoocow]

Jul 11, 2012 11:00:37 GMT -5 physicssquid said:

But why would Hermione then get annoyed with Harry after he pointed out that Fleur was intelligent and not just a pretty face because she got chosen to represent Beauxbatons in the Triwizard Tournament?

Hermione felt somewhat threatened by Fleur due to how Ron acted around her and as a result Hermione would not have liked to hear anyone say anything positive about Fleur.

Of course it was a irrational jealousy as Ron and Fleur were never going to get together but jealousy is not a rational emotion.

[G. Novella]

Ugh, don't get me started on Hermione's behavior with other girls. Very few RTBs address this issue, and it bothers me to no end. I definitely plan to do that. She's so condescending to almost any female besides Ginny that it drives me bananas. I think the reason she liked Ginny is because Ginny's stronger than she looks and tends to be no-nonsensy like Hermione. Otherwise, Hermione can be so, so, (insert word that fits here).

I have no idea really why Hermione seems to not like girls her own age. I mean, I get that she's socially awkward genius baby, please don't throw that argument at me. However, that doesn't explain why every girl her age is immediately reduced to smithereens by Hermione. She seems so ready to categorize everyone, like putting Ron in a box, or Harry in a box, that when they lash out she gets surprised. (If you haven't noticed, Hermione's character and I are going through a strained relationship at the moment in which she's really started getting on my nerves)

[Kitty279]

Completely agree, gnovella. While I can understand that Hermione isn't interested in dressing up and make up and all that girly stuff, there are more topics they could talk about. I've got the feeling that she went to the dormitory her first night, heard the two talk and giggle and decided she can't stand them, without even trying to get to know them. She feels she's so much better than them; it's really sad.

Wasn't she the one who said somewhere after the speech of the Sorting Hat about house unity that they should try? Coming from the one who can't even get along with her dorm mates, that's rich. Parvati and Lavender may be a bit silly, but they are nice enough. And I could imagine that Hermione with her bossy know-it-all-so-I-am-better-than-you attitude would put the others off quite a bit. She really doesn't accept other's opinions well, does she?