Today I am going to answer the sixth question in this series: “Who is your least favorite character?”
6. Who is your least favorite character? Why?
If one approaches this question as “which character do you love to hate?” my answer is easy: Professor Dolores Jane Umbridge. She is not my least favorite because she was written poorly, in fact it’s the reverse: she is written so well by J.K. Rowling that she exquisitely embodies pure evil.
She is so passive aggressive that I found myself looking up from the book in disbelief. “Did she really just say that and get away with it?!?”
I found a tumblr post on Pinterest (from all-four-cheekbones) on why they think some people hate Umbridge more fiercely than Voldemort. I think they have a good point. They talked about how people hate her not because she committed more evil crimes than Voldemort, he definitely was worse in that regard, but because there was a personal element to her cruelty that affects the readers more. Voldemort did terrible things, but they were things that most people have never experienced. “Voldemort’s crimes are numerous, but they’re distant and fantastical, like hearing about a serial killer on the news.” Umbridge, on the other hand, abuses her authority in a school setting – something most people can relate to, or at least easily imagine. She creates crazy specific rules in response to events and punishes students for doing things she personally doesn’t agree with. All this, and the students and faculty are powerless to fight against her. Hers is a mental game. This type of abuse can also be found in the adult and muggle world: evil organizations creating convoluted rules and people in power finding loopholes to push their agenda. Doing this all while having a smile on their face and trying to convince you they are doing you a favor. Voldemort committed unspeakable crimes, but Umbridge’s were easier to relate to real life.
While I believe the entire cast was perfectly selected to portray their respective characters in the films, the exception is unfortunately Ginny. Bonnie Wright’s depiction of Ginny was not to my taste. I’ve spoken with people that agree with me. I think Wright gave a very elegant, almost ethereal performance for the character, but it came across as awkward, aloof, and boring onscreen. Anyone who’s read the books knows that Ginny is supposed to be a witty spitfire, with her “blazing look” that won Harry over, but this does not show through in the films. I feel like in the films “Ron’s-little-sister Ginny” never grew up to become “Quidditch-Chaser, Bat-Bogey-Hex-casting Ginny”. Her energy was lacking, which made she and Harry seem like a mismatch, when in the books they are equally dynamic characters.
Do you have a least favorite Harry Potter character? Are you in the “love to hate Umbridge” club with me? What is your opinion about “movie Ginny”?
Thanks for reading!
-Rebecca
I adapted this questionnaire from Over the Moony.
1. What is your favorite book? Why?
2. What is your favorite film? Why?
3. What is your least favorite book? Why?
4. What is your least favorite film? Why?
5. Who is your favorite character? Why?
6. Who is your least favorite character? Why?
7. What would your patronus be?
8. Which of the Deathly Hallows would you choose?
9. Which house would you be in?
10. If you could meet any member of the cast, who would it be?
11. If you were on the Quidditch team, which position would you play?
12. Were you happy with the ending?
13. How much does Harry Potter mean to you?
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