@ginevrabamf I think the main reason why there are many debates about Fleur VS Molly + Ginny + Hermione was because technically we (the readers) don't really know HOW this 'rivalry' actually started. You said that Fleur's condescending and patronizing attitude could be the reason why Molly/Ginny/Hermione disliked her (which I agree) and that's how the fighting probably started.
The thing is that Molly/Ginny/Hermione are also not the most pleasant people, same as Fleur. Let's face it, Molly IS overbearing, Hermione IS bossy and judgmental and honestly Ginny DOES have a cruel sense of humor and likes to tease (make fun of) people occasionally. And all those things are already established in the books just like Fleur's snobbery was established in GOF.
Harry arrives at the Burrow a few days or weeks after Fleur. So technically we don't know how the first meeting between the Weasleys and Fleur went. On one hand we have Fleur who apparently talks to Ginny like she's three, and on the other hand we have Ginny who calls her Phlegm and makes fun of her accent.
So how do we know firmly who 'started it' ?? Honestly, in my opinion, it could've been anyone. It could've been Fleur obviously with her condescending remarks, it could've been Molly with her conservative opinions and meddling attitude, it could've been Ginny with her sassy/mean remarks. (Hell, maybe even Hermione started it haha)
Basically, if Fleur really was the one who initiated the whole rivalry, then yeah she's a git and a brat and she needed to mature. But, if someone else started it then honestly I wouldn't blame her for all the sassy comments about the chickens and the Burrow. An eye for and eye and a tooth for a tooth, you know? I wish we did know how it went so that this whole drama can disappear xD.
@gryffinalways Sorry for the late (and long!) response. As I wanted to give a fuller response, I’m copying your post as well to ensure that people know what I’m responding to.
That’s just it. We don’t know. So you have to make extrapolations based on what we know about the characters. But even then, what I said still applies, because many people in the fandom simply refuse to factor in Fleur’s attitude. Because my point has to do more with double standards and blind spots in the fandom. It is a consensus opinion, not necessarily in the fandom as a whole, but definitely among the people who often talk about Fleur and her relationships with other characters, that Fleur was squarely in the right, and Ginny/Hermione/Molly were squarely in the wrong. So if I tend to focus on Fleur’s role in this, it isn’t only because I believe a lot of the blame lies with her, but because very importantly it’s to correct the imbalance.
Like I’ve said, people often only factor in the dislike from the female trio and the beautiful Hospital Wing scene. And when that happens, that opens in the notion of ‘if they didn’t have justified reasons to dislike her, it must only be because they’re jealous or she’s beautiful or she’s French etc etc’. And therefore, the ‘blind’ pro-Fleur sympathy becomes therefore one of the many fandom gateway drugs, so to speak, for Weasley bashing.
Because let’s also remember that Hermione often gets excluded from the ‘anti-Fleur Trio’, and so often people only remember Ginny and Molly’s dislike of Fleur. Despite Hermione being canonically the one who has disliked Fleur the longest. That is something that has been clearly established several times in GoF, and yet some people don’t remember Hermione’s role, ignore it or explain it away in a way that they wouldn’t do with Ginny or Molly. Put simply it could be like this ‘Ginny: Phlegm nickname, Molly: Hospital Wing scene, Hermione - oh it happened a long time ago, two books ago, so might as well forget it, also she’s Hermione the smart one, a default character unlike those Weasleys’.
And yes, I’ve even had someone say straight up to me that it was understandable for Hermione to dislike Fleur, but it wasn’t understandable for Ginny to dislike her as well. Because she’s Hermione or something. Anecdotally, it’s telling that there’s a video by a popular HP youtuber that’s titled “Why Molly and Ginny Weasley Hated Fleur”, with around 250,000 views; and while it wasn’t overly critical of Ginny/Molly, it just continues to entrench the Hermione blind spot.
And really, I’d say that judging by the patterns of behaviour exhibited by all four characters, if there’s any likely candidate of who “started it” aside from Fleur, Ginny is the character that is probably the least likely to actually have started it. Why? Because, simply put, Ginny has a philosophy of “righteous revenge”. Look at any of her other confrontations with someone (like Zacharias, like Ron, like Hermione) and it is always the other one who started shit first, even if Ginny might go overboard in her response (a potential example being when she tripped Ron up before leaving for Hogwarts). I really don’t see any reason why Ginny’s dislike of Fleur wouldn’t also follow in that tradition, especially if you consider the reason she gives for her dislike. This is wholly believable considering that without any provocation from him whatsoever, Fleur labels Harry in GoF as a “little boy”. Ginny at the start of HBP is not that much older than Harry was.
So a far better case would actually be made for Hermione or Molly starting the HBP conflict, if we go with the not-Fleur interpretation. Let’s remember that Hermione already had a deep-seated dislike of Fleur since the beginning of Goblet of Fire, and was already making negative comments about Fleur’s general attitude to Harry and Ron, and was always making frowny faces whenever Fleur kissed Ron on the cheek. As for Molly, it’s obvious: she’s an extremely protective mother, and we know how she treated Hermione in GoF when it concerned Harry, who wasn’t her actual son. And it was actually Molly who was the most openly ‘aggressive’ towards Fleur; Hermione and Ginny mostly made comments to Molly, Harry and Ron about Fleur.
I still maintain however that Fleur was the likeliest to have started it all. Because, yes, while you listed the flaws of all characters, most of that which Fleur does from the start of GoF to the Hospital Wing at the end of HBP is fundamentally negative, aside from two or three scenes. This is not something that you see with Ginny or Hermione or Molly. What we know of Fleur’s attitude starts pretty much the moment she walks into Hogwarts for the first time; why wouldn’t it also start the moment she walks into the Burrow for the first time as well? That’s simply the way she’s characterized, and that’s why the Hospital Wing scene is so damn revealing. It’s a moment of ‘redemption’ so to speak, and in that respect makes her more similar to, say, Snape (note, I’m NOT saying that she’s equally bad, it’s more about the similarities in their arc in the overarching narrative). Ginny, Hermione, and Molly... don’t have a ‘moment of redemption’, precisely because, in the books, they are fundamentally good characters with their flaws. That is what sets Fleur apart from the others.
So while I also wish we’d canonically know, there are still overall trends and character aspects that we can take a look at. I’m not so sure it’s merely about spinning a wheel and seeing which character it lands on (I’m simplifying what you said obviously, but you get my drift).
Hope I gave you a lot to chew on xD
ellievsbear
yousharknotpass
dailybridgerton
tangentwithtanner
