1999 Interview, WBUR Radio
Neville Longbottom, who is a - who is a comic, but I - he's not a - wholly comic figure to me, Neville is actually quite a tragic figure to me as well because there's a lot of Neville in me - this feeling of just never being quite good enough . . .
2007, Carnegie Hall
Q: Did Neville ever find love?
Of course. ... To make him extra cool he marries the woman who becomes, eventually, the new landlady at The Leaky Cauldron, which I think would make him very cool among the students, that he lives above the pub. He marries Hannah Abbott.
Cut for my own thoughts:
I've been thinking about this in terms of JKR's own bad-boy syndrome. Someone is not "cool" unless they are somehow walking on the wild side - in this case, living over a pub, associated with drinking, socializing, and partying. Of course, the Leaky is also a hotel for those staying in Diagon Alley. It is hard to see why Neville would enjoy living there, introvert that he is. It seems to me it would be too noisy, and too people-intensive for someone who might want a quiet life.
However, it is something JKR would find "cool," since someone like Sirius Black would think a Pub would be the ideal place to live.
Killing the giant Snake-Crux Nagini and standing up bravely to Voldemort are not enough for Neville's students to find him "cool." Everything he did in the actual canon is not enough - JKR has to embellish Neville's accomplishments with the extra achievement of marrying a woman who owns a Pub - a little version of Madame Rosmerta, the hottie who runs the Three Broomsticks in Hogsmeade.
Rosmerta is the "older woman" who enjoys flirting with teenage boys, such as James and Sirius, who used to make her laugh (PoA) and Ron Weasley, who pouts when Madame R. doesn't laugh at his jokes. To me, JKR is implying that Neville also needs to flirt with women, though why Hufflepuff Hannah Abbott is the best choice, I have no idea. She seemed just as hapless as Neville through most of the books, and the only thing in her favor is that she would be impressed with Neville's bravery.
Hannah might be sensitive enough to see Neville as cool just for himself alone. And yet, she has to become "cooler" too by owning a pub. *eyeroll*
In conclusion, I just think JKR feels disastisfied with herself, as she said in that first statement - she was never good enough, or cool enough. To her, being "cool" and fitting in are the "height" of human existence, which is obviously why she can't understand Snape fandom - he was never cool, never married, and never lived above a pub.
What a loser!
However, it is something JKR would find "cool," since someone like Sirius Black would think a Pub would be the ideal place to live.
Killing the giant Snake-Crux Nagini and standing up bravely to Voldemort are not enough for Neville's students to find him "cool." Everything he did in the actual canon is not enough - JKR has to embellish Neville's accomplishments with the extra achievement of marrying a woman who owns a Pub - a little version of Madame Rosmerta, the hottie who runs the Three Broomsticks in Hogsmeade.
Rosmerta is the "older woman" who enjoys flirting with teenage boys, such as James and Sirius, who used to make her laugh (PoA) and Ron Weasley, who pouts when Madame R. doesn't laugh at his jokes. To me, JKR is implying that Neville also needs to flirt with women, though why Hufflepuff Hannah Abbott is the best choice, I have no idea. She seemed just as hapless as Neville through most of the books, and the only thing in her favor is that she would be impressed with Neville's bravery.
Hannah might be sensitive enough to see Neville as cool just for himself alone. And yet, she has to become "cooler" too by owning a pub. *eyeroll*
In conclusion, I just think JKR feels disastisfied with herself, as she said in that first statement - she was never good enough, or cool enough. To her, being "cool" and fitting in are the "height" of human existence, which is obviously why she can't understand Snape fandom - he was never cool, never married, and never lived above a pub.
What a loser!
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rattlesnakeroot- Jeanne Kimsey or SIP
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Comments
Well it definitely is for me. I love Neville. One my favortie characters.
I certainly hope JKR is not feeling inadequate. I suppose everyone feels this way at some point in their life. I never gave a Sh*t about being popular or "cool" once I saw how that sort of crowd acted and treated others. Treating life like a popularity contest is not for me.
Now, though, Rowling seems to think that Neville is cool. And, perhaps she also lost her own uncertainty as she gained fame. But, making him live over a pub makes him "extra" cool. So, I agree with your basic premise - what she finds cool is not the same thing I find cool. But, after years of hearing how sexy Sirius is, we don't need her comment about Neville to know that! *lol*
JKR wants everyone to be extra, extra, extra cool, and sexy too.
Maybe next time she speaks, she will tell us how Neville got his groove back (or got it for the first time!) :)
But then, among my high school friends, "cool" was "smart-arse, geeky, wear black all the time" (theater techs ftw), so I guess one can see how I might think Snape fits the bill. ;)
Plus - wouldn't Neville live at the school most of the year, as he's a professor there?
Maybe his uncle would inherit his Grandmother's house, though?
Again, she tried to make Neville fit society's idea of coolness, making him live in an environment which he himself would probably not be comfortable with. I wonder if JKR herself would find it cool to live in a pub, being a writer who needs time, solitude and quiet to do her work? She'd probably find it extremely irritating.
I don't think people really have to be social to be cool. How many great thinkers and poets were recluses? Is Emily Dickinson uncool because she never went outside?
I agree with SIP that Neville wouldn't be too into the pub scene. Way too much human interaction and noise. Like the plants he cultivates, I see Neville as someone who thrives in quiet, nurturing environments-- probably why Potions class was hell for him, lol.
I don't know why JKR somehow thinks Neville has to live in a pub to be cooler, or even needs to be cooler at all. He was pretty damn cool by the end of DH.
But I suppose that Neville lives there because he loves his wife enough to deal with it, and would spend the busy hours upstairs where he can compile his herbology research. :P
And I totally agree with you about the "cool factor" - why doesn't she leave Neville alone?
Another important thing you've brought up is why Neville would enjoy living in the city, since he is a gardener and could live out in the country! Duh! There's a question for Tilden Toots!
As I said earlier about Severus Snape, can this woman not know what she has done with this character?
And, yes, a cottage in the country would be Neville's dream. The guy's a gardener!
Well, Neville is cool by his own, and to make him EXTRA-cool, he married the coolest girl in the books, Luna Lovegood.
Hey, even the Epilogue never contradicted it! ;)
Re: a lower comment:
When I try to picture Neville in the pub, I also picture him upstairs with the door locked.
Huh, me too! And wearing earmuffs, of course. :)
If I were a student, him running the DA for a year would do the trick. (Not to mention "Awesome swordmanship skills". :D) Above a pub? I'd just pity the poor bloke.
Frankly, I see Nevile as the true hero of the HP books, much like you guys see Snape as the true hero of the HP universe. Harry's a lucky kid who got all the Dei Ex Machina, but Neville GREW as a character (instead of shrinking), endured horrors at the hands of the villains, and displayed true courage, leadership, and resilience. Harry? Blah. He just displayed true skill at Unforgivables. :P
Heh. Signs you have been corrupted into a true Snapefen fanwanker: You use the HMS_STFU and the like as a recommended reading list. ;) XD
I think Snape grew as a character, certainly from childhood to adulthood, and even from Book One to Book Seven. I don't give a damn what JKR said about that.
And I wish you would tell me why people think there can only be "one" hero of the Harry Potter series? I see Neville as very heroic, and a great character. I love the scene with Voldemort when Neville tells him to go to hell, and besides that, Neville kills the snake that killed Snape. So there it is - JKR wrote Neville so he gets revenge for Snape! What's not to like?
Harry is a hero, no doubt, but he was never going to lose because of the Elder Wand concept and the magical blood protection. The deck was stacked in his favor, and JKR wanted Harry to grow up, get the Sporty-Spice Gryffindor Girl of his dreams, and live happily ever after. That's sort of like "growth," but not much.
Edited at 2009-01-06 06:46 am (UTC)
Yes, so do I. I was just comparing Harry and Neville, sorry. I misphrase things a lot.
I meant that I see Neville as more of a hero than Harry, since Harry just sort of wanders around, angsts, and gets heroic plot points shoved his way, whereas Neville actively leads the resistance under extremely bad conditions. I agree that Harry is a hero, but Neville really shines in DH and has had character development throughout the series, whereas Harry [not entirely through any fault of his own] just sort of wanders around in DH, occasionally gets to perform an act of heroism due to passing by imprisoned innocents, and develops in disturbing directions (the successful Cruciatus, the blind faith in Dumbledore, etc.).
but he was never going to lose
That's the thing - I find it hard to see a character as a 'hero' after a while if it becomes too clear they can never lose, and JKR shoved Dei Ex Machina Harry's way a good deal in DH (the Elder Wand being the most blatant). Harry managed to come back from semi-death and win against Voldemort through a bizarre technicality. In the end, he basically just had to stand in front of Voldemort and wave his arms to destroy two pieces of soul, which seems... kind of a cop-out, heroism-wise. Heroes are made of more active stuff.
Neville actively leads the resistance, and Snape actively does his best to make up for his youthful misdeeds and "save" people rather than "watch[ing] them die" (which is unfortunately more than we can say for the Trio). So I consider them the most heroic of their generations, which I shorten (stupidly) to "THE" heroes, and then, because I still tend to not think about the older generation when making sweeping statements about the series (which is really stupid of me), I end up saying Neville is THE hero, when I mean Neville is the most heroic of his generation that we see, and additionally that Snape is the most heroic of his generation that we see.
In short, totally agreed, I just badly need to work on my phrasing. Dearest apologies.
No apologies necessary at all. :) I'm the one who probably came across too strongly, and that's because I like Neville, too!
I totally agree that Neville and Snape are both in the middle of things at the school, and having to put on a "show" for the Purebloods. Neville has to stand up to Crabbe and Goyle, and Snape has to stand up to the Carrows, but still do covert things to undermine Voldemort.
I find it odd that Harry is away from the school the whole time, wandering the countryside, while Neville is left there to rally the troops. It's amazing. Harry has to be rescued from the snake by Hermione, while Neville gets the sword of Gryffindor and kills the snake.
So, yes, you can make a good argument that Neville is "the" hero. I feel that way when I read Lord of the Rings, because Sam is my all-time favorite character and I think of him as the real hero instead of Frodo or Aragorn. That's because he has to really grow and find strength in himself, and he doesn't have the "elvish blood" like Frodo.