Sometimes I worry I'm too picky when I'm spotting problems in the Harry Potter novels, especially the early ones. I mean, no writer is perfect and, especially in novels aimed at children, we shouldn't expect the story to make perfect sense to an adult every step of they way.
So I try to tell myself to back off, give J.K. a break, the benefit of the doubt.
But I still can't get past the fact that, in The Chamber of Secrets, Rowling has Hermione tear part of a page out of an old library book and carry the scrap around with her. It bothered me the first time I read the book - I remember saying to myself, "Wait a minute, the Hermione I know would never damage a valuable old book like that!" - and it still bothers me now.
The Hermione I know loves books so much that she would never purposely damage one, not to mention an old and valuable one owned by her school. Remember how scandalised Hermione was in The Half-Blood Prince when she saw Harry tearing apart his new potions text? She was outraged.
And yet we're supposed to believe that, just over three years earlier, that same young woman would have gone into the Library, taken an ancient reference book down from the shelf and ripped a part of a page out of it? No way. Our Hermione would have copied the short section she wanted onto her own piece of parchment, noted the title, author and publication date of the book from which the information came, and returned the book carefully to its place on the shelf.
I think, to be honest, that this little issue is an example of how, in the early novels, Rowling didn't quite have as clear and settled an understanding of her characters as she would have when she wrote the later novels.
And it's also an interesting demonstration of how sometimes the readers of a series of novels feel they've gotten to know the characters very well very quickly, so much so that they are willing to challenge the actions of those characters in the novels when such actions don't match their understanding of the character.
If it had of been Ron that tore a page out, I would have believed it... but then, I wouldn't have believed he would willingly go into a Library unless bullied by Hermione, so it couldn't have been an action of his either.
ReplyDeleteOnly just found your blog yesterday... and loving it!
Thanks so much and welcome, Char Mesan. I'll look forward to seeing more comments you post on other blog entries!
ReplyDeleteI think that under normal circumstances Hermione would have copied the info on spare paper instead of tearing a page out. But in this case she saw the information and solved the puzzle in her head. She wanted to go as soon as possible to tell others. And she knew she might meet the basilisk in a corridor. She was prepared with her mirror and that paper. Maybe she hoped that if she got petrified someone would find the page.
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