We Need To Right The Sexism In The Treatment Of Feminist Hermoine Granger Who Carried Harry Potter On Her Back

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The ‘Harry Potter’ books gave us feminist heroine Hermione Granger, played by feminist Emma Watson. However, the story did not do justice to her character, especially when compared to Ron Weasley. Where would Harry be without Hermione, and would he have survived the climax of ‘Philosopher’s Stone’ or found the ‘Deathly Hallows’ without her?
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The first thing you read about Hermione Granger is that she is a rabbit-toothed, bushy-haired girl. Halfway through the series, we hear about her transformation into a girl with smaller teeth and straighter hair. This is all the ‘character development’ Hermione’s character sees while carrying the whole Harry Potter universe on the back of her wit and wisdom.Without meaning to intelligence-shame Ron and Harry, we must acknowledge that Hermione is simply not given her due given how brilliant she is.Simply writing a smart and industrious girl isn't enough to earn the feminist tagMany believe that Hermione is a beacon of feminism because she is treated like an equal to Ron, the other main supporting lead in the Harry Potter books. Many also suggest that creating a super-intelligent female character was unforeseen until J.K. Rowling created Hermione and gave people a strong, smart female lead. We don't think this is enough because what did Rowling ultimately do with this character that she created under the pretext of girl power? Did Hermione get to become the heroine she deserved to be?Hermione’s character is treated like an unlikeable stepchild, proving how society sees smart womenThe narrative constantly mocks Hermione for being a “smart ass” but that’s the very quality what saves Harry and Ron most of the time. Despite her intelligence, her character is written as unlikeable and preachy, which is exactly how patriarchal societies see intelligent women. The narrative forces her to undermine her strength and shrink herself. Rowling even adds a line in the first book where Hermione self-deprecatingly bolsters Harry up by saying that his courage and friendship is more important than her books and knowledge. The fact that she tries to learn Quidditch by reading a book is laughed at.If that wasn't bad enough, the narrative completely fast forwards through her story, with little to no in-depth character development. In comparison, the emotional pains of Ron or Draco are constantly touched upon. Hermione just exists to give smart solutions to help further the plotline and swiftly guide Harry to success. Hermione worked to become a hero where Harry just got luckyHermione’s industriousness is mocked by the narrative voice in the Harry Potter books. The wide scope of her knowledge is falsely equalled to Harry’s lucky strokes of good fortune and Ron’s, well, ability to play Quidditch and chess. Rowling tries to weaken Hermione so that she doesn’t threaten the strength of Harry and Ron, especially Harry, by making her unable to do the things they can do--casting Patronuses and playing chess. But is her scholastic achievement a matter of comic relief or the reason Harry doesn’t die in the first novel itself?The entire series sees Harry come up with one harebrained and poorly thought out scheme after another, with Hermione always expected to be aware of the means with which to execute such plans. Or Harry magically chances upon solutions through twists of fate and strokes of luck. It is Hermione’s safety net of knowledge which prevents him from failing should things go south when his luck runs out. The Boy Who Lived? No, it’s more like the Boy Who Got Lucky Because Hermione Was There.From Polyjuice Potions and Time Turners to Protean Charms and investigating the Deathly Hallows, Hermione’s brilliant mind always served Harry.Hermione does not deserve to be clubbed in the same category as Ron, let alone marry himOne of the worst things about the Harry Potter series is how the narrative progresses to unite the text’s smartest and most selfless character with a mean-spirited, lazy man who always treats her badly. The abusive and toxic relationship between Ron and Hermione is exactly what not to glorify to the teenagers who largely make up Harry Potter's audience. But that’s only half our gripe.Ultimately, most fans and readers take Ron and Hermione’s names together, grouping them as people who fall into the same category. This is farcical because not only is Hermione a much better friend to Harry, steadfastly at his side when Ron is off sulking, she is also much more instrumental in overcoming the hurdles they face than the other two male characters who only seem to be living off her reflected glory. Ron does pretty much nothing except play chess in the first book, and it’s all downhill from there. His so-called “bravery” is constantly used as an excuse to hype him up while his unlikeable qualities are never addressed.Hermione is treated as a book-smart “know it all” by a narrator who forgives much bigger flaws of the male characters. Tell us if this isn’t sexism! After so many pages, her character remains uni-dimensional, a caricature, and an exaggerated version of the stereotypes associated with smart women. At the end of the day, Hermione might be a feminist, but the development of this character is anything but.