Post 3: The Epilogue

I will confess, I was the person who devoured the final book and then cried when it was all over, before I went back and reread more carefully. I suppose it also didn't help that my cousin, who lives in the UK, received the book before I did and lorded the spoilers over my head. Regardless, the first time I finished the book, I was too overwhelmed to really absorb the epilogue and how all of the issues were neatly wrapped up.

Now that I've reread the series a few times, and I've had the chance to allow the information to really sink in, I've come to the conclusion that I absolutely hate the epilogue. For me personally, the romantic pairings were way off, and I felt that the characters were forced together. Firstly, I was devastated that Ron and Hermione ended up together, because I feel that Hermione is way too brilliant for Ron. Ron, who has only gotten through Hogwarts due to Hermione constantly checking his homework, never really came into his own, in my opinion. He's been "one of the Weasley kids", and then Harry Potter's sidekick for the entire series, and he's never really had to be his own person, or he's never had to take responsibility for his own actions. I think Hermione settled with Ron, who truly doesn't have anything to offer her, aside from his whiny, awful jokes.

I also hate the fact that Ginny and Harry end up together. Personally I feel that Ginny spent far too long being the younger sister, and then she was in a younger year, so she and Harry never really were forced to be together. I think when Harry develops his crush on Ginny, what he knows about Ginny's character is what he knows through Ron and through Hermione. And then the two of them spent so much time apart that I find it difficult to believe that the two truly developed romantic feelings for each other.

Maybe the reason why I dislike the epilogue so much is the fact that Rowling focused on the romantic pairings, and their subsequent offspring. This series is my childhood; I, like so many others, grew up idolizing Harry Potter, and the thought of the characters having to grow up, and then forming these relationships, really means that the story is over. Maybe I just never wanted the books to end.