Status: Our newest rescue pup, Shadow, is getting along very well with the other three dogs. So far, only problem is Indy has figured out that Shadow is a bit of a pushover, and has become extra bossy. We're trying to break him of that habit.
Number of queries sent: 22
Number of form rejections: 8
Number of requests for additional materials: 0
So I follow Professor Snape on Twitter (why wouldn't I??). He tweeted the link to something very interesting on International Women's Day, and since I keep thinking about it, I figured I should probably go ahead and do a blog post. Maybe that will get it out of my head. Here's the picture:
In case the text is too small...
Next to Hermione: "When the love of Hermione's life left her, she continued to search for the keys to destroying the world's most powerful dark wizard."
Next to Bella: "When the love of Bella's life left her, she curled up in the fetal position, went numb for months then jumped off a cliff."
My first reaction was something along the lines of, "Exactly!" or, "You got that right!" Which is actually kind of odd, because Twilight is one of my favorite books, and I love Bella. Granted, I love Harry Potter more, and I think Hermione is fabulously fabulous. But still. My reaction surprised me. So I thought about it for a bit, to decide if I actually agreed with what this picture is conveying.
And, to make a long story short, I don't. The main reason for this? Was Bella tracking down horcruxes to try to stop Voldemort from taking over the world? No. Was she doing anything at the time Edward left her to try to save the world? No. No, she wasn't. Was she doing anything but going to high school in a tiny ass town in the middle of nowhere? No, I'm pretty sure she wasn't.
On the flip side of the issue, were Hermione and Ron dating/in love/planning the rest of their lives together? Nope. They were still in that angsty refusing to admit their feelings phase. And I'm pretty sure Ron didn't say, "I'm leaving you. I want nothing to do with you. I don't love you. You'll never see me again." He just got pissed and went home.
So, to summarize, I think this little picture is kind of crap. Do I think Bella Swan would've risen to the occasion and kicked some serious ass if she'd been in a situation even close to Hermione's? Honestly, I do. I really do. I think she demonstrates a great amount of strength throughout those books. But guess what? Having your heart ripped out and stomped all over hurts like hell. If my husband suddenly told me that he didn't actually love me, I'd probably be worse off than Bella. I'd definitely need therapy for...well, forever. Because when you fall in love that deeply, that other person quite literally becomes a part of who you are. And having that part ripped off/destroyed/amputated, or whatever else is going to hurt like hell. At least Bella figured out a way to deal with that pain. Eventually. And in that book, when there were several otherwise blank pages that just had the names of months on them? I think that is some of the best, most heartbreaking writing I've ever seen. Just a simple, beautiful way to show the readers how dead and empty Bella was feeling. I still get chills every time I read that part of the book.
And to all those people that say Bella and Edward's relationship wasn't healthy, to you I say suck it. Edward is frickin awesome. And I wasn't even a teenager when I read those books.
You're way wrong...
ReplyDeleteFirst, Ron didn't go home, he left for a bit and then immediately started trying to find them again. So there.
Second, while I agree the situations don't match, I believe Hermione has much better strength of character. She's clearly the kind of person who knows what she wants and does whatever it takes to get it. Bella is a self conscious wreck who, whenever something goes wrong, doesn't know how to cope and just becomes miserable and gives up. Point in case, they would have never in a million years considered casting Kristen Stewart as Hermione, even if she had been the right age.
Oh, don't bring Kristen Stewart into this. I have and always will think she was a horrible casting choice. Besides, age or appropriateness would've had nothing to do with it. J.K. Rowling refused to let non-British actors cast in the films, so she could never have been in the running. Even if she could act. :P
ReplyDeleteAt any rate, I disagree with some of your statements. First of all, Ron did go home. Eventually. He did try to find his way back at first. But then he couldn't, so he went home and, if I remember correctly, pretended he was the ghoul in their attic until he was led back to Harry and Hermione.
As for your second statement, I both agree and disagree with you. I do agree that Hermione is a stronger character, and on many levels. But I don't think that Bella is weak. Do you see what I'm saying? She shows an incredible amount of strength when the stakes were high. Granted, it's mostly self sacrifice. But she's 100% willing to do anything it takes, including giving up her own life, to save the lives of the people she loves.
I'm pretty sure you're wrong on the Ron thing, I'll have to go back and look...
ReplyDeleteAnd if Bella had any strength or conviction at all there wouldn't have been a werewolf/vampire war over her because Jacob would have never even been lead on to believe she loved him in that way. She would have said "No I love Eddo no matter what and I'm not going to lay around feeling sorry for myself and being a burden on everyone I'm gonna go find him and tell him"
Not wanting to hurt someone you care about doesn't make a person weak. Just because Jacob isn't the love of her life doesn't mean she doesn't love him. And she never tells him that she wants to be with him. She makes it very clear all along that Edward is "the one." Hell, she broke her hand from punching him when he kissed her against her will! But he's still her best friend. She still wanted him in her life. And that was the part that Jacob just didn't get. Which is why Jacob drives me crazy in the books. Kid needed to catch a clue.
ReplyDeleteWell maybe if he wasn't constantly saving her life that she was being careless with (because she's weak) he wouldn't have emotionally bonded with her in that way.
ReplyDeleteWhen is he constantly saving her life? He saved her when she jumped off the cliff, yes. Which was probably stupid. But you know what? I've done similarly stupid/careless/what have you things in my life. As you well know (Jason Turcotte is my beloved husband, by the way...), and I better not hear you saying you think I'm weak. ;)
ReplyDeleteBesides, he's been in love with Bella from the very beginning of Twilight. Long before she jumped off the cliff.
And you don't like the whole paranormal genre, anyway, so I'm not even sure why we're having this debate! (Yes, beloved, I just told you to shut it. :P) I'd love to hear what others think about it, though!
My goodness this is heated :) Second attempt. And now that I've had time to think more, I wonder if some of the issues are based on when we meet each character. We're given a much longer span of Hermione's life to see the kind of person she is. Boarding school at 13? I'm pretty sure that makes you have a tighter bond with your school mates and more willing to take on the world with them. However, we only get to meet Bella for two years of her life after being uprooted and plopped into a new world. We don't get to know her or watch her grow nearly as much.
ReplyDeleteI think they are both strong but demonstrate it in very different ways.