She takes it personally that people liked Ron better than Harry and Hermione and dumbed him down from PoA onwards.
The problem is she shoots herself in the foot doing this. It's like a 14 year old Sue writer who got their creation criticised and then goes 'Well, how about if I give them a tragic past? And a snazzy hat? Will you like them more then?' No, the problem isn't that they're not special enough, it's that they're too special already. IMHO, if people prefer Ron to Harry and Hermione, it might be because his flaws are acknowledged in the text and realistically affect his life (and also because what's JKR's definition of a flaw can sometimes be a value - Ron lacks the viciousness of H/Hr, which JKR might be seeing as her showing his cowardice or incompetence) so giving him more flaws and making Harry and Hermione more perfect in comparison is just encouraging the Ron fans, and creating sympathy for him among the people who are ambivalent.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2007-03-09 07:30 pm (UTC)The problem is she shoots herself in the foot doing this. It's like a 14 year old Sue writer who got their creation criticised and then goes 'Well, how about if I give them a tragic past? And a snazzy hat? Will you like them more then?' No, the problem isn't that they're not special enough, it's that they're too special already.
IMHO, if people prefer Ron to Harry and Hermione, it might be because his flaws are acknowledged in the text and realistically affect his life (and also because what's JKR's definition of a flaw can sometimes be a value - Ron lacks the viciousness of H/Hr, which JKR might be seeing as her showing his cowardice or incompetence) so giving him more flaws and making Harry and Hermione more perfect in comparison is just encouraging the Ron fans, and creating sympathy for him among the people who are ambivalent.