Jayson’s Reviews > Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire > Status Update

This was so sad. I hated this about Molly. I was so disappointed in her character.

Manisha wrote: "This was so sad. I hated this about Molly. I was so disappointed in her character."

Yeah, it's really sad. For me, there's no more piteous, defeated line in the whole series than "Hermione looked sadly at her tiny egg."

I think Rowling's really just making a commentary on tabloid culture in Britain, where Rita Skeeter is the quintessential shameless rumor-monger and Molly Weasley is the quintessential bored housewife who'll believe everything she reads. So, to make that point, it would have to be Molly who fills that role, since she's the only housewife we know from the books.

I mean, it's understandable when you see things from Molly's point of view. You open the paper one day to learn that Hermione jilted Ron for Harry, then later you open the paper to learn that Hermione jilted Harry for Viktor Krum! I would have loved to have read her POV reactions to that :)

sonal kumari wrote: "This is also one of the great series of harry potter. Awesome adventure you would face."

I agree :)

Jayson wrote: "Yeah, it's really sad. For me, there's no more piteous, defeated line in the whole series than "..."

I know, but I was still disappointed that Molly chose to believe the newspaper over Hermione who she knows so well.

Manisha wrote: "I know, but I was still disappointed that Molly chose to believe the newspaper over Hermione who she knows so well."

I see what you're saying. Though, to be fair, she's used to people she knows and loves doing reckless things at Hogwarts. Fred and George get into trouble all the time, Ron and Harry crashing the car into the Whomping Willow, Ginny being possessed by Voldemort, etc. A lot of stuff happens at Hogwarts that's hard to believe on the face of it. I just think perhaps she's just become used to believing and accepting otherwise improbable things about her children and their friends.

Jayson wrote: "I see what you're saying. Though, to be fair, she's used to peo..."

Haha. She does know quite a bit of troublemakers. Molly is by no means a perfect character. Believing the news is one thing, I guess. The way she handled it, being passive aggressive towards Hermione that way was not something I thought she was capable of. It was somewhat malicious because she knew they would open up their packages at the same time, in the same place.

I always saw her as a mothering character because of how she basically adopted Harry, so it was disappointing to see her act maliciously towards a kid. It just showed me that Molly can hold a grudge. She is not as mothering as I thought she was.

I have to say that that was a pivotal moment for me. I read this book first when I was around eleven or twelve years old, and I never saw her as the typical mothering character again. She was her own person with her own faults. She didn't seem as perfect to me as before.

I was so sad/mad when I read about this part

Manisha wrote: "Haha. She does know quite a bit of troublemakers. Molly is by no means a perfect character. Believing the news is one thing, I guess. The way she handled it, being passive aggressive towards Hermio..."

You're right about that. She definitely isn't perfect. I think the point of the small egg was less malicious as much as it was part shame and part warning. The shaming part being that she "knows" what happened, and that Hermione should not think that's a good thing. The warning part being that she shouldn't do it again "or else."

Molly is a den mother, and it's very much within her character to be a lioness protecting her cubs, as she did in the final book against Bellatrix. So, she's very capable of being malicious when her children are involved. In this case, not just the emotional well-being of her son Ron, but also her sort of foster son Harry. I think that's pretty standard mothering behavior, at least in the lioness and cubs sense.

✝✝ Christina✝✝✝ wrote: "I was so sad/mad when I read about this part"

I think that's the desired and appropriate reaction. Personally, I found it both eminently sad and highly amusing at the same time. But then, adults being irrational and petty is something I really enjoy reading.

Haha this scene was pretty amusing!

Poor Hermione, she really didn’t deserve that.😓

Janhavi wrote: "Haha this scene was pretty amusing!"

Yeah, it's one of my favorite scenes in the series. Not that I enjoy how Hermione was treated, it's just a great scene 😁👍

Kenzie wrote: "Poor Hermione, she really didn’t deserve that.😓"

You're right, she didn't do anything wrong at all. I think the scene was extra poignant because Hermione had made it a point that hate mail from Harry fangirls didn't affect her. Of course, she didn't account for Molly, who's probably the only "fangirl" who could have broke down her resolve... in much the same way that Ron's capable of making her cry when no one else can.

Jayson wrote: "Janhavi wrote: "Haha this scene was pretty amusing!"

Yeah, it's one of my favorite scenes in the series. Not that I enjoy how Hermione was treated, it's just a great scene 😁👍"

It shows how even Molly, a side character and who is for the most part a pretty great mom, can also have flaws. It’s similar to her behavior towards Fleur. Molly is the typical over-protective mother-in-law character and it provides great comic relief 😂

Janhavi wrote: "It shows how even Molly, a side character and who is for the most part a pretty great mom, can also have flaws. It’s similar to her behavior towards Fleur. Molly is the typical over-protective moth..."

Yes, you've got that right. Molly's emotions seemingly turn on a dime. She loves you, until she hates you, until she loves you. There's nothing lukewarm with her :)