Ginevra (Ginny) Weasley: Character Analysis

[YellowRose]

Originally Posted by loveshopelost

Personally I have always found the double standard when it comes to Ginny astounding. It would seem that, for no other reason than because she is the hero's girlfriend, her every word and action is put under a microscope to be picked apart by overzealous readers, most of whom still feel the sting of their 'ship' being overlooked by J.K. Rowling in favour of Harry and Ginny's romantic relationship. As I have mentioned on the other thread, the poor girl just cannot catch a break. For example, she is either considered of questionable morals for having had the audacity to go out and have a life of her own by becoming popular and having two long term boyfriends before she and Harry got together or censured for having had a crush on Harry since her youth and never really giving up hope that he would notice her for the wonderful young woman she is. No matter what, there are some out there who will never like her regardless of what she does or how much Harry loves her or the extent to which she makes him happy.

Perfectly said

[the_legilimens]

Originally Posted by loveshopelost

I believe I have mentioned this before many moons ago when discussing the hexing of Zacharias Smith by Ginny Weasley, but I shall again repeat my take on the matter here for the sake of argument. Zacharias Smith, in a bullying fashion that was shown in Phoenix to be entirely typical of his character, accosted Ginny on the Hogwarts Express in an attempt to find out exactly what happened in the Depart of Mysteries between Harry and his friends and the Dark Lord's Death Eaters that night the previous June. After apparently telling him to get lost more than once, according to Ginny's version of events, and I see no reason why she would lie, he persisted and bothering her and so she lost her temper and hexed him. While talking with Harry during the first meeting of the Slug Club in Professor Slughorn's compartment on the train, Ginny expresses her surprise that, rather than punishing her with a detention for what she done, which, in my opinion, shows consciousness of having committed bad behaviour, she was rewarded with an invitation to lunch and inclusion in an exclusive of club of only the brightest and most well-connected of students. And while I am capable of acknowledging the fact that Ginny really should not have hexed Zacharias for being the snot-nosed little weasle he is (his character should really consider becoming a reporter-he is well on his way to becoming as pushy as Rita Skeeter herself), I do have some trouble feeling sorry for the recipient. It honestly could not have happened to a more deserving person.

In second instance mentioned I believe Ginny is allowing her emotions rather than her good sense regulate her behaviour. I shall try to put it in context as best I can: Not only did she get caught snogging her boyfriend by her older brother and his best friend (a rather embarassing thing in and of itself; I mean, who wants to be caught sharing affection with a love interest by a brother who obviously views you not as the young woman you are, but the little girl you used to be?), but Ron blew the instance entirely out of proportion. Things took a turn for the disastrous when Ron, whose anger was spurning him on as well, said he did not want others to go around saying his sister was a girl of loose morals (he never actually supplies a noun that defines this thought, though I rather think he was going for 'scarlet woman'). Here was where things began to get out of hand, and the reason why is because Ron's words imply he motivation for butting in has more to do with the way others percieve Ginny's behaviour, and its reflection on himself and thier family, than with her well-being. What it comes down to is the fact that Ron, with his thoughtless lack of tact (and please not I am not insulting Ron, whom I like very much as a character, so much as I am pointing out a distinct character flaw), made the entire situation worse by hurting Ginny's feelings when she was already very angry with him, and she responded by attempting to return the favour by wounding his feelings just as he had wounded hers. Therefore I find them both at fault: Ron for instigating/starting the entire brawl and Ginny for allowing his interference in her life to upset her to the point where his carelessly mean words goad her into biting back.

Personally I have always found the double standard when it comes to Ginny astounding. It would seem that, for no other reason than because she is the hero's girlfriend, her every word and action is put under a microscope to be picked apart by overzealous readers, most of whom still feel the sting of their 'ship' being overlooked by J.K. Rowling in favour of Harry and Ginny's romantic relationship. As I have mentioned on the other thread, the poor girl just cannot catch a break. For example, she is either considered of questionable morals for having had the audacity to go out and have a life of her own by becoming popular and having two long term boyfriends before she and Harry got together or censured for having had a crush on Harry since her youth and never really giving up hope that he would notice her for the wonderful young woman she is. No matter what, there are some out there who will never like her regardless of what she does or how much Harry loves her or the extent to which she makes him happy.

I''m sorry for not being clear what I meant in my previous post. I clarified in a later post. I feel Ginny doesn't always understand the consequences of her actions. After hexing Smith she thought she was going to get a detention- she is more worried about what is going to happen to her than the fact that what she did was wrong.

I also think that in the fight between her and Ron, both Ron's argument and her reaction were wrong. They both over reacted but Ginny I believe said the crueler things. We have no canon fact that Ron had ever said anything to her about either Dean or Michael before this, and the furtive way he hints about Harry at the end of Phoenix suggests that he wouldn't challenge her about them. Also, when Ginny notices Ron in the Common Room snogging Lavander she just calls him a hypocrit and doesn't seem to understand it was what she said that led him to do this.

I don't think this a major flaw in her character- I think it is more to do with her age (I am 16 and rarely fully consider the consquences of what I do). Ginny is actually one of my favourite characters and her relationship with Harry is one of the best bits of the series, IMO. I did not mean to attack her character the way it came across.

I hope this clarifies what I meant more clearly.

[GiavonnixSavant]

I think Ginny is just another teenage girl, and like most teenage girls she'd rather not get a detention before school has even started.

I like Ginny a lot, she's one of my favorite characters because she's so strong. She and Harry seem very well suited in my opinion.

<3

[superorange]

My only problem with Ginny is that she's had really no flaws written for her in the books. Too much of a Mary Sue, and I just don't think her and Harry make that great of a couple. Looks too much like puppy love.

[katishere]

Very well said the_legilimens ! I have one point to add though to defend the idea that, while Ginny's anger does sometimes get a bit heated, she always has a more than worthy reason for it to do so. In this situation, along with the points that the_legilimens said earlier, there is also the factor that Harry is there which can only bring more feul to her embarrasment. Not only was her brother there, and her brother's friend but Harry was a previous crush and she knew that pretty much everyone had known about her obsession with him. While she was finally over it, it must have been a very uncomfortable situation to see him standing there watching her snogging with one of his friends as well as to be told that she has a bad reputation amongst everyone in front of him. I think that all together everything Ron said coupled with the fact that Harry was there to hear it all, made her really lose her head and that in her mind, what she said to Ron was justified although we could never really know how badly his words hurt her. I agree with the later post by the_legilimens as well where they talk about Ginny's character flaw not necessarily being soley anger (because there is always a reason for the anger whether we see it or not) but the fact that she acts without thinking ahead to what the consequences might be. In the moment she was very hurt by Ron and all she thought to do was to cause Ron as much pain as she could to get back at him, I don't think she had any intention to really hurt him as badly as she did and she never really realized that what she said was something that he was already feeling. Both her and Ron managed to find eachother's hidden 'button' that they unconciously hit. Ron was just making a jab at Ginny's kissing people all the time and causing a bad name but he never realized that Ginny was still a bit insecure with her love life since it was still very new after her Harry-obsession, I don't think Ron ever figured out the sensitive subject that he brought up. Equally Ginny couldn't have know ROn's own insecurity with himself knowing that he wants to win over Hermione but always making the same mistake and losing her again. He knew that he had very little experience with romance and that made even more insecure. After GInny was hurt she just fought back with an argument that was probably just created in the spur of the moments heat, never realizing that her words also touched a very sensitive and meaningful subject in Ron's personal life. THey both made jabs at each other that happened to fall in exactly the right place to cause explosions in both of them and I think that while Ginny's blind-eye to future results is a definate character flaw that in this perticular situation it was a combined error on both there parts, heated by the tension of the situation and Harry's even more awkward presence in it. Ginny and ROn are my two favorite characters and I love them both. I think they're relationship with each other is incredibly sweet despite their constant nagging and temper tantrums.

[Leon_Lionheart]

Originally Posted by the_legilimens

I''m sorry for not being clear what I meant in my previous post. I clarified in a later post. I feel Ginny doesn't always understand the consequences of her actions. After hexing Smith she thought she was going to get a detention- she is more worried about what is going to happen to her than the fact that what she did was wrong.

I also think that in the fight between her and Ron, both Ron's argument and her reaction were wrong. They both over reacted but Ginny I believe said the crueler things. We have no canon fact that Ron had ever said anything to her about either Dean or Michael before this, and the furtive way he hints about Harry at the end of Phoenix suggests that he wouldn't challenge her about them. Also, when Ginny notices Ron in the Common Room snogging Lavander she just calls him a hypocrit and doesn't seem to understand it was what she said that led him to do this.

I don't think this a major flaw in her character- I think it is more to do with her age (I am 16 and rarely fully consider the consquences of what I do). Ginny is actually one of my favourite characters and her relationship with Harry is one of the best bits of the series, IMO. I did not mean to attack her character the way it came across.

I hope this clarifies what I meant more clearly.

Bearing all of that in mind, I have to wonder why everyone seems to think Ginny has no flaws...

[Jessica]

Let's keep this focused on Ginny herself rather than on why people do/don't like her.

[superorange]

Originally Posted by Leon_Lionheart

Bearing all of that in mind, I have to wonder why everyone seems to think Ginny has no flaws...

Because her flaws are constantly excused throughout the books. She's the one who's always written with a good reason for her "flaws," making them a lot less extreme than others.

[ladykrystyna]

Because her flaws are constantly excused throughout the books. She's the one who's always written with a good reason for her "flaws," making them a lot less extreme than others.

I'm using the above quote to kind of put my 2 Knuts in on Ginny.

I personally feel that the flaws of all of the heroes and heroines of the story are treated in the same way - we find good reason for them because, well, they are the good guys. We can admit that their flaws sometimes hinder them, but I think most of us agree that we are willing to forgive them.

Not to get off-topic because I know this is about Ginny, but by way of comparison:

Harry's character seemed to be greatly criticized in OoTP because he was too angry. But then I, and others, found that there was good reason for him to be angry, even if he was being unncessarily mean to Ron and Hermione and others. In other words, it was wrong of him to lash out, but we can understand why he did that. It's still a flaw, and something that he would have to learn to control, but there was a reason for it.

Hermione's character can be very annoying, bossy, and even emotional - but we excuse that, too. She's smart, she's playing up to the boys, she's insecure, Ron can be a prat. I mean, it was mean of her to turn the "birdies" on him in HBP, but I think many of us can agree that he kind of deserved it.

Ron's character - we know he's insecure and he reacts on that basis, like in GoF and HBP, and even in DH. But we can forgive him of it because we like him and he's generally a good guy and we're sure he'll grow out of some of it and/or learn to control it.

Same with Ginny:

Here's the only girl in a family of 6 boys. I'm an only child and I can't imagine that. It's obvious that she had to learn to "defend" herself from her older brothers, especially Fred and George who I am sure teased her. So she built up a bit of an attitude, and that was also fueled by her being the daughter of Mrs. Weasley, also quite the fiery one.

And maybe here I should further qualify this: Because of Ginny's and Harry's reaction to certain things I found myself, even at my age, identifying with them: Harry talking back to Snape and Umbridge, Harry's anger and not talking about his feelings; Ginny's lashing out at people that annoyed her, even her fight with Ron in HBP.

1. Attacking Smith - I agree with loveshopelost - he was a git and at the same age (and assuming that I had magical powers) I would have done the same thing. It doesn't make it right, but it does make it understandable. It's still a flaw though, even if we can understand it. For example, I can be kind of mouthy to people that annoy me too and on one occasion I was mouthy and my friends, though I'm sure they like me, didn't like that I did it. It may have been understandable, but it was probably over the top and I should learn to keep my mouth shut!

JKR is showing us that Ginny's not a Mary Sue, because a Mary Sue wouldn't attack a fellow student just for being annoying, right?

2. Fight with Ron - I really saw this as a BIG SIBLING FIGHT. The fact that they were both nasty with each other is natural. Really, how many horrible fights have any of you gotten into with family members and hurt them and then realized that you would probably never have been so mean to a stranger? Familiarity breeds contempt - something my mother has always said and I've always found it to be true. You get comfortable and you think you can say anything and it will be okay. Works for kids and their parents, too. They always behave better for the babysitter, right?

Anyway, Ginny and Ron were both wrong because they were both being hurtful, and their tempers and hurting each other are still flaws.

Maybe I'm having a hard time understanding what others mean by flaws and what they feel should be the ramifications of the flaw? I just feel like if a character has flaws, it doesn't mean that they are bad all around. They are just being portrayed as human.

I'm willing to admit to Ginny's nasty side, but it doesn't take away from the fact that she is also kind (see Luna), has a great sense of humor (too numerous to set out here, but my favorite is the hippogriff tatoo conversation that still makes me smile just to think about it! ), and is otherwise fairly emotionally strong and independent and smart (doesn't cry a lot like Cho, "gets over" Harry and doesn't really try to stop him from breaking up with her; Bat Bogey Hex [nasty but effective ].

Just like Harry and Ron can be prats, but let's face it, we gals know guy friends like this and we still like them.

Does it mean that if they have flaws we can't like them?

Anyway, I hope that didn't get too off-topic.

[padfootrules]

When she screamed at Ron in the sixth book I stopped liking her. But she does go to save Sirius and seems to care about him so I am torn. Plus the twins like her a lot so how bad could she be anyway? But yeah I agree to some extent her role in the books was to be there when Harry wanted to crank out kids....

[ladykrystyna]

When she screamed at Ron in the sixth book I stopped liking her.

I know this is not about why we like Ginny or not, but I found that interesting. One, because I saw that fight as between siblings. The way it was so heated, the way the said things to one another that just made me gasp. I have no siblings so I have no idea about how they fight, except to witness my parents and their siblings and my 2 daughters. Or frankly, family members fighting at all! It's always particularly nasty because you have all kinds of info on them, including their weaknesses which you can exploit and make fun of (sometimes, I'm ashamed to say, I do that with my husband.).

Yes, Ginny has a fiery temper (much like myself! ), and that is a character flaw, because she's bound to say something that will hurt someone. Harry did it, too, in OoTP.

Not to get off topic from this thread, but to add to what you said about something happening that made you dislike a character - I disliked the twins in GoF and a little in the beginning of HBP, because of the way they treated Ron. They were so obsessed in getting their money back, they seemed unduly rude and mean to him when he was just asking questions. Yes, it probably wasn't any of his business, but still. And charging your brother for stuff, but not Harry. I didn't think that was right either. But again, these could be just character flaws, because, in all, I did like the twins because I knew they were good underneath and I generally liked their sense of humor.

[Chris]

I don't think one sibling fight should make us condemn either sibling - they probably fought because they do care about each other. It'd be much worse if they were just ignoring each other.

And, I think that Ginny was more important to the HP story than just being there in the end for Harry to marry. She was central to CoS, and she made important contributions in OoTP and HBP, not to mention that she was leading the rebellion against the DE rule at Hogwarts in DH.

[metrobluejay]

She was important to the story as a whole because of all the things she did, but in the end what was she but Harry's wife?

[Ifink2much]

The only real problem I have with Ginny is her anger,but her righteous anger.Her beliefs that if she right she can act anyway she see fit.I mentioned once about the quidditch match and her charging into the commentators stand.Of course she meant not real harm,but something slight serious could have happened,her anger was just but her reaction wasn't.This could be put down to not considering the consequence of her actions,but it's still a flaw

As for her fight with Ron,it's not so much her getting angry but the things she said,especially with relation to Hermione.She really shouldn't have brought her into the conversation,Hermione is her friend to,she did her an injustice.Again not considering the consequences of what she says.

Ginny main flaw is her temper,but even by DH she seems to have gotten it under better control(of what we see at least).

[pandabear18788]

Originally Posted by Ifink2much

As for her fight with Ron,it's not so much her getting angry but the things she said,especially with relation to Hermione.She really shouldn't have brought her into the conversation,Hermione is her friend to,she did her an injustice.Again not considering the consequences of what she says.

Being a little sister myself, I could see my brother and myself in that fight in place of Ginny and Ron. Siblings know how to best jab at each other's weaknesses and therefore upset each other. It's perfectly normal... especially of a 15 year old girl who was just being told off by her brother. Siblings don't enjoy taking directives from each other. As to the fact that she brought Hermione into the conversation: well, Ginny isn't a dumb girl, she knew that there was some sort of tension between Hermione and Ron and that bringing Hermione's name up would certainly be a slap in the face for Ron, an extra jab at him. It wasn't about being mean to Hermione (which I don't think she was, Ginny was just pointing out the facts), it was about bringing Ron down.

Now, I'm not saying that any of it is excusable behavior, but it is typical of a teenage girl, especially one with a fiery temper such as Ginny. This flaw makes her all the more realistic, more human. To expect her to react differently would be asking for the maturity of a grown woman and that is just absurd to me.

Originally Posted by Ifink2much

Ginny main flaw is her temper,but even by DH she seems to have gotten it under better control(of what we see at least).

Precisely! She's maturing. When I was fifteen, I was certainly not any more mature than Ginny was depicted in that fight scene with Ron, but I certainly do not lash out that same way now. People mature over time, so it is certainly possible that Ginny no longer takes her temper out in such a rash way.

[Ifink2much]

Originally Posted by pandabear18788

Ginny isn't a dumb girl, she knew that there was some sort of tension between Hermione and Ron and that bringing Hermione's name up would certainly be a slap in the face for Ron, an extra jab at him. It wasn't about being mean to Hermione (which I don't think she was, Ginny was just pointing out the facts), it was about bringing Ron down.

True but it's a very cold slap in the face isn't it?Ron aside though,I don't think Hermione would have liked her 'pointing out that fact'.If she wanted to hurt Ron that one thing,but she should've shown Hermione some loyalty.From what we've heard,Hermione has always been a good friend to her.She doesn't seem to replay her friendship much throughout the books.

[pandabear18788]

Originally Posted by Ifink2much

True but it's a very cold slap in the face isn't it?Ron aside though,I don't think Hermione would have liked her 'pointing out that fact'.If she wanted to hurt Ron that one thing,but she should've shown Hermione some loyalty.From what we've heard,Hermione has always been a good friend to her.She doesn't seem to replay her friendship much throughout the books.

I see your point, but we don't see too many scenes of Hermione and Ginny together that talk about their friendship... and even fewer in Deathly Hallows, while Ginny is maturing. Friendship isn't about repaying people, but caring enough about each other that you stick through it. Generally, friends end up "repaying" each other for things they've done to help them out at completely different times, much further down the road. I have friends that I wasn't the nicest person to when I was younger, but they stuck with me and we're fantastic friends now and I've apologized for the way I was in the past. I think Ginny is much the same way... she reacted poorly in some situations as a young teenager, but Hermione was still caring and understanding and stuck by her. Later in life, they could become excellent friends and Ginny would "repay" Hermione for her patience later.

[padfootrules]

Originally Posted by ladykrystyna

I know this is not about why we like Ginny or not, but I found that interesting. One, because I saw that fight as between siblings. The way it was so heated, the way the said things to one another that just made me gasp. I have no siblings so I have no idea about how they fight, except to witness my parents and their siblings and my 2 daughters. Or frankly, family members fighting at all!

I have a sister and we do fight a lot but I would never ever scream at her (she's elder to me) that way in front of others. For that matter I would never insult her in front of her friends. Siblings don't fight like that. Inside four walls it would be a war zone but outside we are fiercely protective of each other. Most siblings are. We are best friends and worst enemies but my sister would never call me a "filthy hypocrite" in front of my best friend. She might call me an arrogant stupid prat but thats a whole other story....
Even her husband finds it difficult to get dirt on my sister through me...

[Yoana]

Originally Posted by padfootrules

We are best friends and worst enemies but my sister would never call me a "filthy hypocrite" in front of my best friend.

To be fair to Ginny, Ron deserved that.

[Ifink2much]

Originally Posted by pandabear18788

I see your point, but we don't see too many scenes of Hermione and Ginny together that talk about their friendship... and even fewer in Deathly Hallows, while Ginny is maturing. Friendship isn't about repaying people, but caring enough about each other that you stick through it. Generally, friends end up "repaying" each other for things they've done to help them out at completely different times, much further down the road. I have friends that I wasn't the nicest person to when I was younger, but they stuck with me and we're fantastic friends now and I've apologized for the way I was in the past. I think Ginny is much the same way... she reacted poorly in some situations as a young teenager, but Hermione was still caring and understanding and stuck by her. Later in life, they could become excellent friends and Ginny would "repay" Hermione for her patience later.

I suppose.It's just later when Rons with Lavender she doesn't seem bothered,even though it was clearly upsetting to Hermon,there's also the " don't pretend you understand quidditch comment",a bit too harsh if you ask me.We don't have many Hermione/Ginny scenes,but you get the impression that Hermione is very nice to Ginny and a source of comfort and consolation.I feel sad that Hermione had no one who was the same for her.

Originally Posted by padfootrules

I have a sister and we do fight a lot but I would never ever scream at her (she's elder to me) that way in front of others. For that matter I would never insult her in front of her friends. Siblings don't fight like that. Inside four walls it would be a war zone but outside we are fiercely protective of each other. Most siblings are. We are best friends and worst enemies but my sister would never call me a "filthy hypocrite" in front of my best friend. She might call me an arrogant stupid prat but thats a whole other story....
Even her husband finds it difficult to get dirt on my sister through me...

I find this true.But I will say that this depends on how you've been brought up,and what ur allowed to say.Even if I'm right,there are some things I can't get away with saying to my older sisters,and we're very open and close with each other.
What Ron said was wrong,but Ginny statements were intentionally cruel.That's bad