Harry Potter, Cursed Child and the Problematic Depiction of Women
By Lacy Baugher
Hermione Granger in “Cursed Child”. (Photo: Harry Potter Play Official site)
Hermonione Granger-Weasley
In the world of Cursed Child, Hermione Granger-Weasley is the Minister of Magic. This, in and of itself, is fantastic. It is everything we ever wanted for her.
Maybe not so much. Yes, Hermione is the Minister of Magic, but in actuality it’s like Reducto has been cast on her character. The bulk of her job is pushing paperwork. Or nagging others (read: men) to do their paperwork. Or being forced to remind folks that she is, in fact, Minister of Magic. Harry gets to go out and catch magical threats while Hermione is stuck filling out forms. Or worse, wondering about the state of her marriage!
Plus, thanks to the magic of time travel, we get to see Hermione get marginalized in multiple timelines! In one alternate future, Hermione is a cruel spinster, teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts. She’s a hundred times worse than Snape ever was, and delights in tormenting her students. Another future presents Hermione as a secret rebel, in hiding from the Dark Army. Which could be cool, except it means she’s basically trapped in the Hogwarts basement, fighting a lost war.
While these are interesting, if depressing, “what-if” scenarios for her character, the worst part is that Hermione’s future is inextricably tied to her relationship with Ron. Apparently, if Hermione isn’t married to Ron, her life basically has no meaning. The play seems weirdly insistent on this point. Whether Hermione ends up with a specific man romantically is enough to literally alter the very fabric of her character and future, while Ron appears to be, if not fine, at least himself in all realities.
Hermione Granger deserves better than this.
Next: Ginny gets constantly sidelined.