A Normal Affair

[uchidachi]

This was originally going to be a response to socaptivated‘s “A Weasley’s Affair” essay, but, it got so long that I figured it was an essay in its own right. I’m not completely bashing the other essay, but I am analyzing the family from a different, more positive, point of view.
So, here it is, as counterpoint to A Weasley’s Affair:

Comments

[hermione_like]

I agree with this. I think the main problem some people in general have is that they tend to confuse "perfect" with "normal." The Weasleys are definitely not perfect; they are, however, pretty normal. As you say, they are simply reacting to the times they live in. If there was no fight with Voldemort, then I'm sure their interactions with each other would be just a bit different. Molly, for example, probably wouldn't be as smothering as she is now, and for good reason. No Dark Lord out to kill people. :)

[socaptivated]

Wow... I inspired a counter-argument. Cool

[hobviously]

I think I may fall in the in-between area of opinion mentioned above. While I agree that the Weasleys are pretty normal, I don't discount that Something could have happened -- but then, no group of people is without turning points in their relationships. I think it's important to consider that Molly is by birth a Prewett, a family we know to have lost members to Voldemort. Not only were all her children born while he was still in power, but she lost what I surmise to be cousins (Gideon and Fabian) around the same time, so her protectiveness is perfectly understandable. For the most part I think that this essay is right on. However, I have a hard time just accepting that Ginny is going to raise herself to do good. Maybe I've just been tainted with fanon, but she does seem to me to be a bit of a loose cannon. As the youngest of seven, and the only girl, she's bound to have been babied somewhat, but she doesn't show it in her behaviour. Instead she seems extraordinarily composed and wise

[zanesfriend]

I beleive it says in canon that Gideon and Fabian were her brothers.

Since JKR is good at the Name Game, what can we make of those two names?

Gideon is a character from the Book of Judges in the Bible who was known for winning battles when outnumbered. Fabian was a Roman general who was known for defeating his enemies not so much by pitched battles as by gradually wearing them down.

I'm not wure what we can make of the names, but I think we can make something.

[beyond_pale]

I completely agree with your characterization of Percy, with one very important addendum, that I believe Red Hen has touched upon: that Percy is without a sibling cohort. Bill and Charlie are close in age, and nearly always mentioned in the same breath as each other. The largest Weasley age-gap appears to be between the two eldest brothers and Percy. Then the twins came along, ready-made to be "best friends" within the family, and he was kind of left in the cold, between cohorts. I think this, combined with the personalities of those four brothers, is probably what led Percy to be stand-offish and rule-oriented, identifying with the adults in his family (and later, with outside authority figures), rather than the children closest to him, who probably didn't have much time for him, being absorbed among themselves.

[skidmo]

This comment is coming very late, but I just wanted to say, "Hear, hear!" I had previously read the Red-Hen article before reading "A Weasley's Affair," and my one overwhelming thought throughout the article was, "This person must be an only child," a suspicion which was confirmed in another essay. I tend to be a pretty cynical person in general, and I certainly don't think that my upbringing was perfect (far from it actually), but the Weasley's seem to me to be very much like my own family (there were 6 of us kids). A mother of that many children is bound to come off as overbearing; she has no other way to keep track of them all at once. No family is perfect, but beneath the fighting, the nagging and the teasing is the most important characteristic of a good (not just normal) family: love.
Even the twins love Percy, though it may be hard to see. Do you think any of them would have been so upset at his "treachery" if they didn't?
"Any seventh child is probably going to have a more laxed upbringing than her predecessors, and be