Harry Potter and author's remorse

[rthstewart]

In case you missed it, last night JK says that Hermione and Ron were a mistake she regrets, that Hermione should have married Harry, and that Hermione and Ron was a form of wish fulfillment.  One of the stories is hereI wasn't really part of those shipping wars, and wow, really do not want to relive those ever.  But I do remember the hurt over the

Comments

[slyvermont]

I don't have the mental energy right at this moment to digest this news and deal with it. All I'll say is that I saw Harry and Hermione as a couple, I eventually grudgingly accepted the pairings as presented in the books, but I do think JK should have kept her mouth shut. At least she didn't go on to say that Harry and Hermione have an affair resulting in divorces all around. Although my favorite fan fic pairs Harry and Hermione, so maybe I'll reread that.

[rthstewart]

You are still traveling, right? I hope you are having a great time during the new year! and yes, I remember you were an H/Hr shipper, which just goes to show that reasonably minds can read the same text and come away with very different things. I really liked Hermione and Ron, far more than Harry and Hermione, at least in part because I thought they were great friends and I really liked that portrayal. and yes, agreed about just keeping quiet. There was a lot of hurt over that and really to what end in bringing it up now?

[rthstewart]

HUZZAH! YOU ARE HERE, JUST WHEN LJ IS DYING AND TAKEN OVER BY RUSSIAN SPAMBOTS

[katharhino]

WOULD READ. Just saying.

[mrstater]

Why is everyone acting like she said Harry/Hermione was what she would have done instead of Hermione/Ron, though? Because she didn't say who she would have paired Hermione with (if anyone) just that she didn't think Hermione and Ron would have the best marriage. (Rhetorical question, I suppose, because the biggest shipping wars were H/R or H/Hr.) I have no stake in this--I really didn't care who any of the Trio ended up with, and it's silly to infer that because a couple has rocky times or would need counseling would mean they couldn't still have a good marriage or be good for each other ultimately

[rthstewart]

The excerpt in one of the article I saw did say that she wished she had paired Hermione with Harry. I'd have to go back and see if that's what she really did say or if it was just poor reporting.

YES to Remus and Tonks. Gosh there were some wonderful works with them because there was so little on the page and at last one author stopped writing the story because she felt there was no point in growing them both when they were just going to die a year later.

It's naive to assume I think that no one ever revisits earlier work and regrets some of what they did. I do wish there hadn't been so much acrimony in dissing those who were H/Hr shippers and I really, really wish that there hadn't been so much Ginny hate -- and there still is. What I really liked about both characters was that both were jilted and they went out and did their own thing and snogged some other boys. THAT was great and I'm always grateful that JKR gave us that.

[mrstater]

I just saw an article that claimed that, too, but it wasn't a direct quote, so...

R/T was hard. I kept on writing AU for a while after DH, but eventually I'd said everything I had to say about them, and it was also difficult to reconcile Remus' actions in DH with what I'd imagined after HBP. :(

As I said I had no strong feelings about who the Trio ended up with, although it kind of bugs me how neatly it all tied up with everyone marrying their high school sweethearts (and giving their children stupid names).

[lady_songsmith]

I think JKR is finally 'growing up' as a writer. The HP books were her virgin outing into it, and in some ways it's a shame they became mega-hits because she didn't have the opportunity to refine her craft first. Now that she is, she sees things she did wrong in her early work, as we all do. But they did become mega-hits and people are invested in them deeply, so perhaps she ought to keep her craft-related revealations between herself and her writing circle/editor.

[rthstewart]

I think those are really excellent points. If there hadn't' been so much acrimony and dissing, fine. But there was and she did help contribute to it and following up on your point, maybe a more experienced author wouldn't have stirred the pot in quite that way 7+ years ago so that the statements today wouldn't be greeted with that tinge of betrayal I'm seeing.

[intrikate88]

Thankfully, I was otherwise busy in 2006 the first time all this shit went down

[rthstewart]

Dead author! dead author! LA LA LA. Time spent in the Narnia fen with the Word of Lewis and the writers who assume they are capable of divining authorial intent from beyond the grave and write what they believe is slavishly consistent with that intent, well, it's colored my views to be sure. Plus, of course, Lucas and his Han shot first and midichlorians and now maybe Disney jossing every single bit of it (or a lot? who knows?) well I've come to a very very flexible view of these things. We change. Our opinions and views change. I don't read Eowyn the same way today that I did 35 years ago and why would an author's experience be any different. Moreover, as you say, it's just not relevant to how I interact with the text. I like Ron and Hermione and I think they could have a great relationship and I'm trying really hard to not start writing a marital counseling fic.

[intrikate88]

Go for it! I have no problem with Ron/Hermione, I don't see needing counseling as any sort of barometer of whether two people are soulmates or not

[lady_songsmith]

We NEED to talk Bletchley at some point!