Feminist reading of Hermione’s character in Harry Potter

How do the character portrayal of Hermione and other female characters support feminist discourse?

Web Resources

• From sexist to (sort of) feminist representation of gender in the Harry Potter Series

• Ginny Weasley: Powerful and Weak

• THE WOMEN IN HARRY POTTER’S WORLD: A FEMINIST PERSPECTIVE

illustrations

Hermione as Bookish Girl: The role of Hermione throughout the Harry Potter Series remains limited to only book knowledge. Hermione is shown as an intellectual girl having bookish knowledge which helps at the time of crisis. She is very punctual and clear in pronouncing Spell and Charm and it always became true also. For example, once she was telling Ronald Weasley that…

Ron:

Wingardium leviosa!

Hermione:

Stop, stop stop! You're going to take someone's eye out. Besides, you're saying it wrong. It's Levi-o-sa, not Levio-sar

So, Ofcourse Hermione's character is strong but only circling around bookish knowledge beyond that she is not participating in any sport activity. And this point remains at the center when we are doing Feministic Reading of Hermione's character.

Objectification of women's bodies: Slowly and Steadily we see that children are taking a major shift towards adult or teenage literature by incorporating the elements of Love, Romance or Jealousy, Notion of beauty in Goblet of Fire.

Objectification of women's bodies through color is clearly visible here in Yule Ball Party, where most of the fair skinned girls are taken by boys for and Black and brown skinned girls remain at the end. According to Gwendolyn Limbach

“Ginny Weasley: Girl Next

Doormat?”, female characters, such as Ginny Weasley, are depicted as traditional

wives, which are “objects,” not “subjects.”

Stereotypical Shaping of Children's mind regarding their roles in society:

With the growth of character gender consciousness is also slowly and steadily poured into teenager's minds by narrating their different roles. Before the Yule Ball party professor McGonagall gave one speech in which she said…

"Inside every girl,

a secret swan slumbers, longing to burst forth and take flight. Inside every boy a lordly lion prepared to prance."

So, Above statement clearly makes a distinction between gender roles to be performed in society. Where a girl should have fair skin like a swan has the desire to fly in the sky while a macho-image of a boy is presented through the use of lions as symbols.

Victimization of Ginny in the Chamber of secrets: For Male characters targeting women become easier. We see in the second part Harry Potter and chamber of secrets where Tom Riddle targets Ginny Weasley to accomplish his own selfish desires. He kidnaps Ginny and gains control over Ginny's Action. Here the so called misogynistic nature of man flourishes which ultimately says that Man doesn't want women to be educated. Tom Riddle says to Harry that...

"(How)Damage a silly, little book can do especially in the hands of a silly little girl."

So, Here It seems that J.K. Rowling is criticising the immorality of society where men feel free to victimize women and also put blame on women for every unfortunate event. Like the Bible or Paradise Lost where Eve is at fault for the fall of mankind on Earth.

Professor McGonagall or Hermione as secondary characters under the control of Male Figure: If you observe the Harry Potter Series minutely then we find that all women characters portrayed here are secondary in their role. Women characters are shown as they are serving men and they don't have any individual freedom to make their own choices.

Hermione is shown as a mere assistance of Harry Potter helping him at the time of high crisis.

Professor McGonagall was head of Gryffindor only following the orders of Professor Dumbledore.

And Yes how can we forget Dolores Umbridge who blindly follows the orders of the Ministry of Magic shown as Stereotypical woman character who wants to preserve the old education system.

Misogynistic Nature of Man:

"When a man gives his opinion, he's a man. When a woman gives her opinion, she's a bitch."

Above statement by Bette Davis shows the misogynistic nature of man in patriarchal society where man is free to give their opinion. Same happens in the Harry Potter Series where Hermione's voice was oppressed by Draco Malfoy who says to Hermione that...

“No one asked your opinion, you filthy little mudblood”

(Draco Malfoy)

By referring to Hermione as a “filthy mudblood” Draco expresses his disgust towards Muggle born wizards. And Additionally by adding the word “little” Draco also demonstrates his misogynist view. Here Draco wants to show Hermione or we can say any other girl as inferior to the boys.

Less Participation of Girls in Sports Activity:

Generally it is considered that 'Sport is a naturally male activity.' If you see the Quidditch Game in Harry Potter then most of the male characters are actively participating in the Quidditch Game while girls are less in number. The Boys are always the captains of the team and Seekers of the Game are also male. Women remain almost absent during the complex situations of Game.