My Daughter on GoF

[fantasyfiend09]

I'm reading Goblet of Fire to my 7 year old (in the hopes of finishing the series before her friends give away everything).  I question her as I read to see if she's understanding. I read her the part where Ron is furious with Hermione at the Yule Ball and asked my daughter what she thought was going on. She said that Ron was jeaous. I probed more, and she said she thought Ron wanted to go to the ball with Viktor.

I had never considered that. I am so proud of her for not making the heteronormative assumption, and I realized that her assumption actually has more support from the book than what I had assumed and JKR intended. We see Ron obsessing over Viktor, following him around, wanting his autograph, and even having a doll of him. My daughter interpreted that (quite sensibly) as a boy with a crush.

I wonder how many queer youth read it the same way as my daughter and thought that this beloved series was providing them with a gay or bi main character, only to have their hopes dashed. I ship Ron/Hermione, but in that moment I was sad to know that Ron would choose Hermione and rule out any same sex pairings.

All the more reason to take my kids to the new Beauty and the Beast before they come to assume that all male characters will want only women.

Comments

[digthewriter]

That is so smart!

[fantasyfiend09.livejournal.com]

She really is. She loves books and facts and wants to be a Ravenclaw. Of course she is also sneaky and manipulative, so I'm not certain she won't be a Slytherin. 4 years until Sorting. ;)