Did JK intentionally model Ginny Weasley after Lily Evans?

[Laura]

I think because JK Rowling made Harry so alike James, she also purposefully created the character Harry was to marry in the future similar to his mother (after all nothing's ever a coincidence with JK). I had always wondered whether I was right in thinking this and so I ask you to please give your opinion.

[Avani]

I do think that Lily and Ginny are similar; they are physically similar, as well as fiery, ambitious, smart, loyal, firm (by this I mean not swayed by what others think) and proud to be who they are.

I don't know whether JK did this on purpose (knowing her, she did, because usually nothing is a coincidence with her), but if it was a coincidence, it's really nice, meaningful one :)

[Ayesha]

Psychologists say that men tend to look for women that remind them of their mother. It wouldn't surprise me it JKR purposely gave Ginny and Lily similar characteristics.

Eew, Harry's symbolically having sex with his mother! XD

[[deleted user]]

I think she did! Yuck! Just yuck! At least Ginny's eyes are brown....

[Sarah]

DUH!!!!

[Jeni]

Just because you marry someone that reminds you of a parent, it does not mean you wish to be intimate with your parent. Women choose men all the time that remind them of the good qualities (or bad, sometimes!) their father had, or men choose women that resemble the mother they loved. As a parent, I would be quite flattered if my children picked someone that was similar to me in act and looks--it's a compliment, not a secret perversion!

My father was brilliant, kind, loving, and gentle with his children and a good provider and loving husband to my mom. Why wouldn't I look for those qualities in a mate? I want my children to feel as safe growing up as I did! It certainly doesn't mean I am thinking of my dad when I'm sleeping with my husband, though.

[Robert]

There's an old song, a barbershop quartet standard, "I Want A Girl Just Like The Girl That Married Dear Old Dad". I don't think that marrying a woman who has similarities to your mother implies that you want your mother. Rather it seems to imply that for many people, their parents represent an ideal of what masculinity and femininity are supposed to be. In the song, he observes the happy relationship his parents have, and wishes that he may have a relationship that is as happy. We can infer that he thinks that a woman with the characteristics his mother has would make a relationship that is similarly as happy. "Opposites attract" is pretty much a myth.

[Emma]

Oooh, maybe...interesting how I didn't notice that before. I'm not sure if she purposely did it or not originally. Maybe in the beginning (like the very very beginning) she just made two characters that were similar without realizing it. Like Keshena (cool name BTW) said, that seems to be JKR'S ideal character. Then as she progressed in writing the first book she realized it and throughout the series made them more and more alike. Possibly.

[Jessica]

Maybe, maybe not.It's been brought to some attentions that Lily Evans was the only character in this book that wasn't brought down to a completely human level, because she's modeled after the Virgin Mary. Whereas Ginny, though she may be similar in characteristics is very human.

[Luna Belle Pris]

Yes I think JK wanted us to be reminded of Lily when she wrote Ginny, but at the same time, Ginny is her own character. It ' s natural for Harry to choose a partner who emulates what he loves and admires about the first woman in his life.

[Moonlight]

Harry doesn't remember his mother except for the attack by Voldemort. So making Ginny resemble his mother wouldn't affect him all that much. Maybe it was foreshadowing.

[Gretchen]

Maybe she did, maybe she didn't. If she did I always took it as a full circle literary approach. A conscience effort on the author's part too make amends. This generation and Harry and Jenny specifically will go own to live the lives Lily and James and their friends should have had and did not because of Voldemort.

[Ciara]

We can't be sure.
The two were quite similar, but I don't think that they are the same.
I think that it would be wrong to say that J.K. Rowling deliberately made them similar, as I feel that she would not want Harry's longing for his mother to take over his relationship with Ginny.

Even if she did, the reason behind it is probably that she wanted Harry to have somebody that would love him and give anything for him, like Lily.

[Cal]

They both are kind, love Harry, have red hair, are talented Gryffindors, and have similar Patronus's (deer and horse). Thats one big coincidence.

[Jess]

Well I think Harry and Ginny are very similar and a case of attraction growing from having a similar personality and interest (as opposed to Ron and Hermione who were an opposites attract pair). Harry was also written to have many of his mother's traits so maybe the similarities were via Harry being similar to both.

In terms of appearance, it's kind of weird that he ended up with a redhead but I don't think Harry was primarily attracted to Ginny for her appearance because he only seemed to develop and attraction once she came out of her shell and started displaying more of her personality.

[Vrp]

I think JK has intentionally made Lily and Ginny alike..with long red hair and a strong personality!
Ginny has been portrayed as a smart, brave and funny person and that is how exactly
Slughorn describes Lily, "very brave... Very funny"....

[Kristen]

Personally, I didn't think they were very similar, other than both being girls with red hair.
Sure, they're both smart, loyal, brave, etc. But that can be said of most of the Weasleys. Or most Gryffindors, for that matter.
Personality-wise, I didn't find them that similar. Maybe it'd be more clear (either way) if we were able to see Lily more naturally and not just in other people's memories.
But Lily was very sensitive. Sensitive enough to befriend and stand by the boy who everyone else, at best, wouldn't bother with, and defend him long after she probably should have.
Ginny's not sensitive. In fact one of the things Harry says he likes best about her was that she was tough - she didn't cry when he said he had to go on without her. And that was typical of her character.
And yes, she did befriend Luna when a lot of others wouldn't, but Luna was very different from Snape. And she still made fun of Luna.

Lily was sweet and never wanted to hurt people's feelings. Ginny wasn't the exact opposite or anything, but she appreciated a good joke. She was sarcastic and she was proficient at the bat bogey(sp?) hex, which she used on people who "annoyed her". She talked about people she didn't like in very unflattering ways and gave them nasty nicknames.
Lily thought it was mean for Snape to say anything negative about her sister even though she was a jealous little snot to Lily, and she was heartbroken when she left for school because of the distance between them.
They were both brave, but Ginny had to grow into it. She couldn't even speak around Harry for the first three or four years. Lily had no problem letting people know how she felt right away.

Sure, maybe there are some similarities here and there, but no more than any of the other characters who think favorably of Harry.

[Luna]

No. Ginny and Lily are nothing alike from what I could tell.

Ginny was obviously into Qudditch while Lily doesn't seem to have any interest and refers to the Snitch as stupid. Ginny's also the type to hex people if they annoy her while I can't imagine Lily hexing someone. Just because they both have red hair (not even the same shade I might add) doesn't mean they're that alike. The author lives in Scotland where red-hair is common so she might've just favored red hair. Ginny is short and freckly and brown-eyed while Lily doesn't and seems to be average height and green-eyed. Besides both being in Gryffindor and ending up with a Potter, they don't seem similar.

I feel like Hermione has more similarities with Lily honestly; both hard-working, smart, loyal, Muggle-borns who end up with a Pure-blood.

Jily is way more like Romione.