By Madeline Poage, Staff Writer, Emerson College
It’s one of the most beloved and renowned series in the world: the Harry Potter books, written by J.K. Rowling, a woman instructed to use her initials so consumers would believe she was a man and be more willing to buy her books. With a a generation of loyal readers, it’s undeniable that Harry Potter is a cultural phenomenon. In fact, one character says within the very first pages of that fateful first book, “This boy will be famous. There won't be a child in our world that won't know his name!” While Harry makes a great protagonist, there’s another character that often receives even more love that the titular hero - that bushy-haired girl who liked to read, with the strange name that now sits so easily on readers’ tongues: Hermione Granger, who is a character who narrowly avoids the Madonna-Whore Complex, and becomes a sexual being without becoming a sexual object.
It seems like a lot of girls identified with Hermione early on - she had uncontrollable, frizzy hair, she loved school, and she wasn’t very good at making friends. She was an outcast. For the majority of the earliest books, her primary characteristic was her intellect, defining her as a welcome reprieve from female sidekicks who exist solely to be the “token female.” Her popularity only went up in the third book, when she stood up to one of her bullies by punching him in the face. At that point, Hermione was established as a complex character, yet one still growing and coming into her own.
It wasn’t until the fourth book, when the main characters were expected to find dates for a school dance, and secret crushes, jealousy, and experimentation come to the surface, that Hermione’s more feminine side was explored. Even her two best friends were surprised when she showed up to the dance looking like ten different kinds of dynamite, with sleek hair, a gorgeous outfit, and an outstanding new smile. For the first time, her friends and classmates view Hermione in a way they haven’t before - as a sexual being. This includes the readers, who are shown a side of Hermione they haven’t seen before. Previously, there was a larger focus on her feeling uncomfortable in her body and getting teased mercilessly. Yet in this segment of the series, a famous athlete that has girls fawning over him shyly brings himself to ask Hermione out, depicting a cute reversal of roles that also remains cohesive with Hermione’s character. She’s not the type of girl who is desperate for a date to a school dance or one who desires a man based on his fame and fortune. Even when she accepts the date, she remains levelheaded and calm.
The entire portion of the fourth book devoted to the school dance is one of the first examples of Hermione’s budding sexual and romantic experience emerging, without eclipsing her character. Even when that beautiful girl, a famous Quidditch player’s date, is revealed to be Hermione, Rowling doesn’t reduce her to arm candy or a sex symbol for others to gawk at. While others are staring, the chapter doesn’t become a discussion of Hermione and how she’s making all the boys’ libidos boil over. It becomes a very real and emotional interaction commenting on jealousy and a girl’s right to express her sexuality without the permission of men. This goes back to a small, yet important scene, where the boys realize that they can just ask Hermione to the dance, exclaiming the equivalent of “Wait, Hermione! You’re a girl!” This upsets her, and she informs them that she already has a date to the dance; just because it has taken them years to notice that, it “doesn’t mean no one else has spotted [she’s] a girl!” Due to how Hermione has never shown any development in this regard thus far, no one even believes her when she says she has a date. Thus, when she does arrive with the boy every other girl in the school was drooling over, it’s a victorious moment as she nervously dips her toes into adolescent romance and begins to express her femininity in a manner she sees fit, at a moment when she decides that she is no longer just “one of the guys.”
It’s one of the most beloved and renowned series in the world: the Harry Potter books, written by J.K. Rowling, a woman instructed to use her initials so consumers would believe she was a man and be more willing to buy her books. With a a generation of loyal readers, it’s undeniable that Harry Potter is a cultural phenomenon. In fact, one character says within the very first pages of that fateful first book, “This boy will be famous. There won't be a child in our world that won't know his name!” While Harry makes a great protagonist, there’s another character that often receives even more love that the titular hero - that bushy-haired girl who liked to read, with the strange name that now sits so easily on readers’ tongues: Hermione Granger, who is a character who narrowly avoids the Madonna-Whore Complex, and becomes a sexual being without becoming a sexual object.
It seems like a lot of girls identified with Hermione early on - she had uncontrollable, frizzy hair, she loved school, and she wasn’t very good at making friends. She was an outcast. For the majority of the earliest books, her primary characteristic was her intellect, defining her as a welcome reprieve from female sidekicks who exist solely to be the “token female.” Her popularity only went up in the third book, when she stood up to one of her bullies by punching him in the face. At that point, Hermione was established as a complex character, yet one still growing and coming into her own.
It wasn’t until the fourth book, when the main characters were expected to find dates for a school dance, and secret crushes, jealousy, and experimentation come to the surface, that Hermione’s more feminine side was explored. Even her two best friends were surprised when she showed up to the dance looking like ten different kinds of dynamite, with sleek hair, a gorgeous outfit, and an outstanding new smile. For the first time, her friends and classmates view Hermione in a way they haven’t before - as a sexual being. This includes the readers, who are shown a side of Hermione they haven’t seen before. Previously, there was a larger focus on her feeling uncomfortable in her body and getting teased mercilessly. Yet in this segment of the series, a famous athlete that has girls fawning over him shyly brings himself to ask Hermione out, depicting a cute reversal of roles that also remains cohesive with Hermione’s character. She’s not the type of girl who is desperate for a date to a school dance or one who desires a man based on his fame and fortune. Even when she accepts the date, she remains levelheaded and calm.
The entire portion of the fourth book devoted to the school dance is one of the first examples of Hermione’s budding sexual and romantic experience emerging, without eclipsing her character. Even when that beautiful girl, a famous Quidditch player’s date, is revealed to be Hermione, Rowling doesn’t reduce her to arm candy or a sex symbol for others to gawk at. While others are staring, the chapter doesn’t become a discussion of Hermione and how she’s making all the boys’ libidos boil over. It becomes a very real and emotional interaction commenting on jealousy and a girl’s right to express her sexuality without the permission of men. This goes back to a small, yet important scene, where the boys realize that they can just ask Hermione to the dance, exclaiming the equivalent of “Wait, Hermione! You’re a girl!” This upsets her, and she informs them that she already has a date to the dance; just because it has taken them years to notice that, it “doesn’t mean no one else has spotted [she’s] a girl!” Due to how Hermione has never shown any development in this regard thus far, no one even believes her when she says she has a date. Thus, when she does arrive with the boy every other girl in the school was drooling over, it’s a victorious moment as she nervously dips her toes into adolescent romance and begins to express her femininity in a manner she sees fit, at a moment when she decides that she is no longer just “one of the guys.”
Hermione’s sexual development is explored deeper in the sixth book, where jealousy rears its ugly head again to affect the friendships that are already established, as well as the relationships that have potential. When one of her best friends, Ron Weasley, with whom she has a complicated relationship underscored by sexual tension, begins dating another girl, Hermione becomes jealous and emotional, often lashing out. Yet this isn’t diminished to a stereotypical love triangle and Hermione isn't written off as a hormonal girl unable to reign in her estrogen. Instead, she’s handled realistically, fairly, and with complexity. When Hermione acts on her emotions, rather than her logic as she usually does, the situation doesn’t contain the slut-shaming implications that are present in many popular songs by Taylor Swift.
More importantly, Ron isn’t depicted as a stud the girls go crazy over. He’s the same red-haired boy we’ve watched grow up, saying all the wrong things but trying to be better. He’s attempting to deal with new romances and his sexuality in the same way the girls are. This is a great example of complicated relationship - where no one is right, but everyone is just doing the best they can, feeling things they have never experienced, and making the rest up as they go along.
While Hermione changes as she matures throughout the series, she never loses what made the readers fall in love with her in the first place, particularly in instances where Rowling demonstrates Hermione’s romantic and sexual growth. While Hermione is not a flawless character, her entrance into the dating world and exploration of her sexuality is handled just as respectfully and realistically as that of her male counterparts. The story of Harry Potter is, at its core, a coming-of-age tale, and it’s important that the primary female protagonist is neither overly sexualized nor unrealistically portrayed as a sexually static figure. This leaves her as what she was intended to be: a girl who is intelligent beyond belief, simultaneously cunning and brave, and remains, according to most fans, a badass extraordinaire.
Madeline Poage is a WLP major from New Jersey. When she was little, she wanted to be a professional ghost hunter. She's a Virgo, enjoys long walks on the beach, and enjoys poking dead things with a stick. You can find Madeline on Twitter.
Images: Fanpop
More importantly, Ron isn’t depicted as a stud the girls go crazy over. He’s the same red-haired boy we’ve watched grow up, saying all the wrong things but trying to be better. He’s attempting to deal with new romances and his sexuality in the same way the girls are. This is a great example of complicated relationship - where no one is right, but everyone is just doing the best they can, feeling things they have never experienced, and making the rest up as they go along.
While Hermione changes as she matures throughout the series, she never loses what made the readers fall in love with her in the first place, particularly in instances where Rowling demonstrates Hermione’s romantic and sexual growth. While Hermione is not a flawless character, her entrance into the dating world and exploration of her sexuality is handled just as respectfully and realistically as that of her male counterparts. The story of Harry Potter is, at its core, a coming-of-age tale, and it’s important that the primary female protagonist is neither overly sexualized nor unrealistically portrayed as a sexually static figure. This leaves her as what she was intended to be: a girl who is intelligent beyond belief, simultaneously cunning and brave, and remains, according to most fans, a badass extraordinaire.
Madeline Poage is a WLP major from New Jersey. When she was little, she wanted to be a professional ghost hunter. She's a Virgo, enjoys long walks on the beach, and enjoys poking dead things with a stick. You can find Madeline on Twitter.
Images: Fanpop