Quote Originally Posted by pendell View Post
I actually was pretty angry at Hermione in that novel. First, because she went on her crusade without any concern for the lives of the elves once freed, and attempted to so radically change their situation without preparing any kind of transition or soft landing for them. Then, by the next book, she seems to have completely forgotten about the whole thing. As if, because her initial chidish steps were misguided she's unprepared to make the effort to get educated and become really effective as an advocate and an activist; instead she's just going to slot seamlessly into her post-Hogwarts life as an Aurore and for the most part leave the wizarding world's approach to house-elves unchallenged.

I'm given to understand that she still worked on the matter, but I haven't really seen anything to that effect in the text, almost the author writing an excuse for her characters.

But then, perhaps we're expecting too much, both of the books and of the movies. JK Rowling, bless her heart, was neither a deep thinker nor highly educated when she wrote those books. They struck a chord with a generation of young people -- but maybe it's well past time for those young people to re-think the assumptions from the books, decades on.

Me? I didn't encounter the books until I was an adult and my convictions were already formed, so not the same issue.

Respectfully,

Brian P.
I mean, she was a literal child. Or a teenager, which can be called a child with attitude. Her being childish and her help causing more harm than help is pretty common for teenagers finding a cause for the first time and trying to tackle it on their own.

Anyways the books in general fall apart as they get into the last novels. As children's novels Harry Potter works fine. But as you try and take it more seriously, it starts to fall apart hard.