[ SECRET POST #4356 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #4356 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

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[Babylon 5 (episode Comes the Inquisitor)]


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14. [SPOILERS for The Letter]



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15 [WARNING for discussion of suicide]

[2004 adaptation of Elizabeth Gaskell's North & South]













Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 00 pages, 00 secrets from Secret Submission Post #623.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 1 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

I don't think Hermione was really bullied for being smart. She was called out on a few times, but... Hermione could kind of be pushy and know-it-ally, quite frankly. I love the girl, but I think the interpretation of her being a sweet brainy girl is 50% Emma's Hermione, 40% fandom projecting themselves onto her, 10% canon. (She does have sweet moments, for sure, but...)

[(Anonymous)]

I strongly disagree with this. I agree that she wasn't sweet. But she was bullied. Not that every reference to her being smart was bullying, a little give-and-take with Ron isn't something to make a federal case out of, but she was bullied and her pushiness doesn't really justify that.

[(Anonymous)]

I never dislike Hermione, but on my first read around she came across as the smart girl who was SUPER defensive about it because that was like... her defining thing. If she wasn't the Smart One, who was she (is the vibe I got from her).

Now, that could just be the writing, and it never excuses the way Snape treated her, but I don't remember anyone else being cruel to her because she was smart? I mean, Umbridge was a bitch to everyone, so I don't think that counts.

[(Anonymous)]

Agreed. She was bullied by Slytherins for being muggle born and they would mock her for being a pushy know it all. But they didn't bully her because she smart and I can't think of any instances where anyone else did, either. Even her friends had issues with her need to show off how much she knew yet still valued her intelligence.

[(Anonymous)]

Shunning is bullying. The Sorceror's Stone has less than 80,000 words. That's lean for a fantasy book. Rowling didn't expressly show it. She had to tell it with Ron going "She must've noticed she has no friends." (pg 172 of my hardcover edition) For over half the book (302 pages) Hermione is ALONE, unlike Harry she doesn't even have a Ron.

These kids don't come to Hogwarts out of a vacuum. Smart kids have strange defense mechanisms. Often, we go hardcore smart/nerd. Being called a know it all or a swot or being derided in class to want to answer the questions, that's bullying. But we stay smart because it's the ONLY way to get attention.

And btw, it never got better. Fourth year Draco anyone? "Who would ask YOU to the ball?" That shit hurts. Outside of Ron and Harry, Hermione was never shown with any close friends other than MAYBE Ginny and a few times Luna. Ginny, a tomboy and Luna, who is strange. These aren't the type of friends you share close confidences with either.

So, I must disagree... she was bullied. Part of it is word count. Part of it is bad story construction on JK's part.

[(Anonymous)]

Not wanting to be friends with someone is not the same as bullying them. Hermione wasn't shunned. People acknowledged her existence. They just didn't want to hang out with the stuck up little know-it-all on their downtime. No one is obligated to be anyone else's friend, and people who conflate "this person doesn't want to hang out with me" with "this person is abusing me" are either deliberately being manipulative or suffering from a Cluster B personality disorder.

[(Anonymous)]

Hermione's pretty obnoxious herself, she doesn't get a free pass because her grades are high. Everytime she's shown interacting with a girl in her dorm, she's holding forth on why they're silly or superficial in some way, she criticises the Slytherins as much as they do her, she speaks sympathetically about Cho but doesn't interact with her, and she bickers with Luna; I can't imagine many outside of desperate Hufflepuffs would want to be bffs with her.