Seven Ways I Relate to Ron Weasley
Sorry, Ron fans, but I never really liked Ron all that much and therefore never thought I could relate to the King. I’d always thought that Hermione was the one I could identify most strongly with. That is, until one day, while trying to study for uni (emphasis on “trying”), I made a Facebook status, which read, “I’ve been trying to tell myself to study like Hermione, when I’m a Ron through and through.” It struck me then that there are actually many ways I can relate to Ron Weasley, so here they are, in no particular order.
1. He has an indecent enthusiasm for food.
This is such a notable feature of Ron’s identity that it’s caricatured in the StarKid productions and occurs as a motif in Cursed Child. The word “indecent” is even used in the books to describe Ron’s pleasure in eating, and the ability to relate to this is, I’m sure, not restricted to me alone.
2. He holds grudges very easily.
Book fans know that Ron wasn’t exactly quick to forgive Ernie Macmillan for suspecting Harry of opening the Chamber of Secrets in Book 2, nor was he quick to forgive Hermione for… well, any wrongdoing he felt she’d committed throughout the series. If he feels you’ve wronged him or his friends, he’ll be the first to let you know about it. It’s a trait that could be good or bad, depending on the context. Obviously, giving Hermione the cold shoulder because she snogged Krum two years ago wasn’t his greatest moment, but let’s not forget the time he tried to curse Malfoy for calling her a “Mudblood.” Ahh, good times.
3. He is reasonably intelligent but struggles academically.
This is one that resonates with me the strongest. Despite the way that many fans seem to interpret Ron’s character, he’s not an oaf. He can play a wicked game of wizard chess, and he knows a lot about wizarding politics because of his father’s area of work. If something interests him, he excels at it. If it doesn’t interest him, however… well, he tends to shut off. He seems to lack the ability, that other people seem to have, to force himself to focus on something boring or unpleasant. This doesn’t mean that he’s unintelligent; it just means that academia is not his calling.
4. He swears like a sailor.
I’ve never bothered to note exactly how many times JKR describes Ron swearing throughout the series, but it happens a lot. Of course, Molly is the only one in the series who gets to belt out an explicit expletive – and don’t get me wrong, that was an epic moment – but Ron’s casual use of oaths in his day-to-day life is incredibly satisfying, not to mention relatable, to someone like me.
5. He is socially invisible.
First, he grows up surrounded by successful and/or popular siblings, and then he happens to become best friends with the Boy Who Lived and the Cleverest Witch of Their Age. In his own words, “That’s rotten luck.” Not that he doesn’t value his relationships, but we’re talking about the boy who looked in the Mirror of Erised and saw himself alone, basking in the glory of his own accomplishments. Sometimes, it’s nice to exist outside of someone else’s shadow.
6. He enjoys sports but doesn’t thrive under pressure.
Ron absolutely loves Quidditch and manages to have some decent games with his siblings and friends during the holidays, but once he joins the Gryffindor Quidditch team at Hogwarts, he loses his edge. It’s one thing to enjoy a sport casually and yet quite another to perform it competitively under public scrutiny. The latter is not for everyone.
7. He was a late romantic bloomer.
He didn’t have his first romance (if you can call it that) until he was 16, and he was all too conscious of it. Seeing all of his friends and siblings, including his younger sister, hitting it off with their peers was sure to rub salt in the wound – but hey, he wound up falling in love with his best friend, and what could be more perfect than that?
