Yes, Ginevra, R/H *is* canon.
Many things puzzle me in life. This is one of them.
Why is it that so many people in this fandom -- intelligent, literate people -- continually say things like "no matter what you may wish or predict, R/H isn't canon until it happens?" There seems to be very widespread tacit assumption that a romantic relationship doesn't exist in a literary work until it is consummated. Openly acknowledged by both parties. 'I love you's and snogs exchanged.
I can hardly say how vehemently I disagree. Literary relationships are plot lines. They start existing when the plot line starts, not when it finishes. In the typical love story, "getting together" is the end of the plot line. But the plot line exists all along. To think otherwise is absurd.
Say you are watching Pirates of the Caribbean (a procedure I enthusiastically endorse) for the first time, and the power goes out before the final reel. Is Will/Elizabeth any less canon at any point in the movie than it is in the end? I say no. Any culturally-literate viewer will have been aware since very early in the movie that they are watching a Will/Elizabeth romance. W/E is canon when Elizabeth strokes Will's forehead and says "I'll take care of you." It is canon when she says "Good day, Mr. Turner" and he stares after her and whispers "Good day... Elizabeth." It is canon when Elizabeth flirts with Jack and when she agrees to marry Norrington and when Will suggests that she go back to her fiancé. Thoughout the movie, W/E is canon.
This widespread perception that a subplot can't be said to exist until it is resolved and proved beyond a shadow of doubt and no one can possibly argue against it is just bumfuzzling to me. How many frames do you have to be into 48 Hours before it becomes a buddy picture? How many pages do you have to read of Gone with the Wind before it turns into a novel about the Scarlett/Rhett romance? Did you have to wait until the prophecy was revealed at the end of Book 5 to proclaim that the Harry Potter series is a Good vs. Evil plot pitting Harry against Voldemort?
Of course not. That would be ridiculous. It's all very well trying to be open-minded and even-handed and stuff, but... let's get serious. Audiences are not blank slates. We are perfectly capable of recognizing what kind of story we are watching.
J. K. Rowling is well along in writing a romantic subplot pairing Harry's two best friends, Ron and Hermione. This has been recognized and openly discussed by pretty much everyone involved in adapting these books into movies, including the child actors portraying the trio on film. Movie and book reviewers discuss the existence (current, not future) of a Ron/Hermione relationship subplot matter-of-factly and with no hint of doubt or unease. It is simply apparent.
Now, this doesn't guarantee that Ron and Hermione will "get together" or live happily ever after or have dozens of babies with bushy red hair. This doesn't guarantee that neither one of them will be involved in a romantic subplot with someone else (though the time grows tight). Not all romantic plots end happily; the Rhett/Scarlett one certainly didn't. Not all romantic plots are lasting. But it is a FACT that Ron and Hermione are currently being written in a romantic subplot in the Harry Potter books.
I understand that not everyone who reads these books agrees with the above statement, but that doesn't make it any less true. The scriptwriter Steve Kloves recognizes the existence of the R/Hr romantic subplot -- if he didn't, he would be unfit for the job of adapting novels for the screen. The directors Christopher Columbus and Alfonso Cuaron recognize the existence of the R/Hr romantic subplot -- failure to do so would be an astonishing lapse on the part of men who break down and portray stories for a living. J.K. Rowling makes repeated allusions to the existence of the subplot. R/Hr is canon.
And what of those who feel that it isn't? Well, that's not a problem, is it? I mean, not everyone has to be aware of every single thing that exists in the universe. You can happily enjoy reading the Harry Potter books without catching every sublot and theme. Unless you are someone like Steve Kloves, there is no particular reason for you to need to recognize that there is a Ron/Hermione romance subplot in operation. However, if you do happen to have missed it, I am not going to be putting a lot of reliance on you as a predictor or analyst of how romances in these books will ultimately play out.
Why is it that so many people in this fandom -- intelligent, literate people -- continually say things like "no matter what you may wish or predict, R/H isn't canon until it happens?" There seems to be very widespread tacit assumption that a romantic relationship doesn't exist in a literary work until it is consummated. Openly acknowledged by both parties. 'I love you's and snogs exchanged.
I can hardly say how vehemently I disagree. Literary relationships are plot lines. They start existing when the plot line starts, not when it finishes. In the typical love story, "getting together" is the end of the plot line. But the plot line exists all along. To think otherwise is absurd.
Say you are watching Pirates of the Caribbean (a procedure I enthusiastically endorse) for the first time, and the power goes out before the final reel. Is Will/Elizabeth any less canon at any point in the movie than it is in the end? I say no. Any culturally-literate viewer will have been aware since very early in the movie that they are watching a Will/Elizabeth romance. W/E is canon when Elizabeth strokes Will's forehead and says "I'll take care of you." It is canon when she says "Good day, Mr. Turner" and he stares after her and whispers "Good day... Elizabeth." It is canon when Elizabeth flirts with Jack and when she agrees to marry Norrington and when Will suggests that she go back to her fiancé. Thoughout the movie, W/E is canon.
This widespread perception that a subplot can't be said to exist until it is resolved and proved beyond a shadow of doubt and no one can possibly argue against it is just bumfuzzling to me. How many frames do you have to be into 48 Hours before it becomes a buddy picture? How many pages do you have to read of Gone with the Wind before it turns into a novel about the Scarlett/Rhett romance? Did you have to wait until the prophecy was revealed at the end of Book 5 to proclaim that the Harry Potter series is a Good vs. Evil plot pitting Harry against Voldemort?
Of course not. That would be ridiculous. It's all very well trying to be open-minded and even-handed and stuff, but... let's get serious. Audiences are not blank slates. We are perfectly capable of recognizing what kind of story we are watching.
J. K. Rowling is well along in writing a romantic subplot pairing Harry's two best friends, Ron and Hermione. This has been recognized and openly discussed by pretty much everyone involved in adapting these books into movies, including the child actors portraying the trio on film. Movie and book reviewers discuss the existence (current, not future) of a Ron/Hermione relationship subplot matter-of-factly and with no hint of doubt or unease. It is simply apparent.
Now, this doesn't guarantee that Ron and Hermione will "get together" or live happily ever after or have dozens of babies with bushy red hair. This doesn't guarantee that neither one of them will be involved in a romantic subplot with someone else (though the time grows tight). Not all romantic plots end happily; the Rhett/Scarlett one certainly didn't. Not all romantic plots are lasting. But it is a FACT that Ron and Hermione are currently being written in a romantic subplot in the Harry Potter books.
I understand that not everyone who reads these books agrees with the above statement, but that doesn't make it any less true. The scriptwriter Steve Kloves recognizes the existence of the R/Hr romantic subplot -- if he didn't, he would be unfit for the job of adapting novels for the screen. The directors Christopher Columbus and Alfonso Cuaron recognize the existence of the R/Hr romantic subplot -- failure to do so would be an astonishing lapse on the part of men who break down and portray stories for a living. J.K. Rowling makes repeated allusions to the existence of the subplot. R/Hr is canon.
And what of those who feel that it isn't? Well, that's not a problem, is it? I mean, not everyone has to be aware of every single thing that exists in the universe. You can happily enjoy reading the Harry Potter books without catching every sublot and theme. Unless you are someone like Steve Kloves, there is no particular reason for you to need to recognize that there is a Ron/Hermione romance subplot in operation. However, if you do happen to have missed it, I am not going to be putting a lot of reliance on you as a predictor or analyst of how romances in these books will ultimately play out.