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Ginny Weasley: A Little Nerve, A Little Talent

Let’s talk about Ginny Weasley.

It’s a Weasley extravaganza all up in this blog now, folks. I love me some Weasleys. And I especially love me some Ginny.

Ginny gets some hate from time to time, and for the life of me, I can not figure out why. She’s badass. She’s strong, she’s in control, and most of all, she’s kind. 

For anyone who’s not familiar with the website tvtropes.org, I strongly suggest you check it out. It’s like a lit nerd’s dream. For this article, i want to examine Ginny in tropes. There are a few tropes that I think sum up Ginny and ought to convert anybody who isn’t a fan. They are: Fiery Redhead, Broken Bird, and Action Girl, which I think in Ginny’s case is a natural progression of the first two tropes. 

Fiery Redhead is pretty much Ginny’s default state. She’s got confidence, she has opinions, and she has pluck. Please, feel free to ignore how she’s presented in the first few books, because they are, of course, from Harry’s point of view, and Ginny’s meek demeanor in his presence is clearly supposed to be the exception, not the rule. She was, after all, breaking into the family broomshed to teach herself flying from the age of six. She wasn’t letting her big brothers tell her what she could and couldn’t do.

Broken Bird is a trope in which a female character goes through something traumatic, and deals with that trauma by becoming as kickass as possible. Ginny, it is easy to forget, partially because she handles it so well, was possessed by Tom Riddle. She was violated to her core by the greatest Dark wizard of the time at the age of eleven, and she came out of it as headstrong as ever. Ginny didn’t let that slow her down. She transcended that experience, and she made a name for herself inside Hogwarts and out of it. She became one of the most popular girls in school, not only for her beauty, but for her magical prowess (think the Bat Bogey Hex) and her kindness. Ginny knows what it feels like to be an outsider, after all, she was the only girl among so many boys, so she doesn’t stand for anyone letting anyone feel excluded. She sticks up for the bullied. Don’t you dare call Luna “Looney” in front of her. She acts decisively when someone is being rude. Just ask Zachariah Smith and the head injury he surely received when she purposely smashed her broom into the commentator’s box.

And, of course, Action Girl. This is a trope for any female character who isn’t afraid to put up a fight, and not only that, is good at it. We’ve talked about how Ginny has power, despite her size, but let’s talk about her Gryffindor bravery. In her fourth year, Ginny is one of the few who volunteer to fight at the Ministry, but her older friends try to keep her out of it. She’s too young, they insist. But Ginny knows that’s unfair and illogical. Ron and his friends have been fighting evil since their first year, and how dare they shelter her now. When Harry and the rest of the trio are gone in her fifth year, Ginny, Neville and Luna take charge of the DA, in secret, in a far more dangerous climate than even when Umbridge was around. She leads a risky expedition to try and steal the sword of Gryffindor. This is some covert, underground rebellion stuff. 

And when her mother, bless her heart, tries to convince Ginny to stay in the Room of Requirement during the final battle, Ginny isn’t putting up with that. She runs away from safety at the first chance she gets, and she goes up against the most batshit crazy of Voldemort’s followers, because that’s what Gryffindors do. 

In conclusion, if you hate Ginny Weasley, you have no soul. ( I kid, I kid. You are entitled to your own opinion, I’m just giving you serious side-eye.)

And if you call Ginny “The Girl Who Waited”, just know that you are seriously off the mark, even if you mean it as a compliment. Ginny Weasley isn’t the Girl Who Waited. She’s the Girl Who Refused to Wait.

Two beloved literary icons enter.

Only one will leave.

Our Best YA Novel finals begin… NOW.

This is the cruelest poll ever.

my loyalties…

I voted for Harry Potter. (It wasn’t even a particularly tough choice for me.)

HP is the most important story for a generation of readers and is one of the central reasons that my career even exists, so it’s a bit silly even to be in the ring with it here at the end.

Of course, the whole idea of a poll of Internet voters deciding the best YA novel of all time is also a little silly. But I am nonetheless very honored to have TFIOS around at the end, and thankful to all those who’ve read and shared it the past 22 months.

But yeah. Harry. Obviously.

(I voted for Harry Potter too)

You’re fired.

Hermione reminds me of me when I was younger - JK Rowling.

I got upgraded to business class once (because of an error with my flights, don’t ask) and when the stewardess asked me if I would like a copy of the Financial Times I straight out laughed in her face and then had to apologise because I realised she was being serious.

Same mirror - same place - different orphan by *button-bird

*strangled cry*

NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO.

  But also YES.

  Because for me this is a pretty important part of the final battle. A lot of folks accused JKR of just wanting to kill people off, and Lupin and Tonks were one of the major “sins” in that category. But for me, one of the major themes of her books is vicious cycle of violence, and another is the ways ordinary people can break that cycle. It’s important that we know that Harry doesn’t stop all the pain, that he’s not the last war orphan. Just like the first War, parents and adults have to make choices, choices with consequences.

  Like James and Lily, Lupin and Tonks didn’t risk their lives to defeat Voldemort. They gave their lives for each other, because no one person should bear the weight of the sacrifice. They gave their lives for their son, who deserved a better world. They gave their lives for love, not for victory.

  I think it’s important to see the ways Voldemort’s evil creates these cycles, children taken from their parents and parents taken from their children, again and again. I think it’s an important sobering note in the victory—yes, this time Voldemort is really dead, but there’s another baby this time, another infant who will never know his beautiful, wonderful parents because of Voldemort and his message of hate and violence. Another child who will grow up wondering where he came from, what his parents were like, what would be different if they were alive.

  But it’s also beautiful that Teddy will have such a different experience. And his experience will not be different because Voldemort is “really gone.” His experience will be different because his grandmother will tell him about his brilliant mom. Because Harry will tell him about his wonderful dad. Because Harry will help him deal with his pain and loss, be a sympathetic ear who understands what it’s like to grow up without your parents. Because the Weasleys will welcome him as another grandchild, and he’ll grow up with Victoire to throw dirt at, and James as a little brother. His experience won’t be different because Harry won a war, it will be different because of love.

  That’s the whole story of Harry Potter. Sometimes we have to fight for what’s right, but what really makes life worth living and what really changes the world isn’t magic or power or moral superiority. It’s love.

/crying

brb sobbing

OK AT THIS POINT I AM CONVINCED THAT TRELAWNEY IS A 100% LEGIT SEER

you know what else

in greek mythology there was a seer named Cassandra who was given her powers by the god Apollo, and Apollo later cursed her so that nobody would believe any of her prophecies, which all turned out to be true, when she refused to sleep with him.

what’s trelawney’s great-grandmother’s name? CASSANDRA.

CAN WE ALL APPRECIATE TRELAWNEY RIGHT NOW

How keen are you to re-brand your image, so to speak, because people do think of Harry Potter when they hear your name. Is that something that’s in your mind? (x)