When Hermione met Ron
No, no, no. This is not the way Harry Potter was supposed to end. Even J.K. Rowling now agrees. Lots of books have bad endings. But rare is the author who admits this.
Of course, Hermione shouldn't have ended up with Ron.
Hermione is a goddess, brilliant and strong.
Ron is, well, Ron. A guy in a sweater aptly named Weasley.
Hermione would have been bored with him by honeymoon's end.
Now J.K. Rowling has admitted the error as well.
Rowling said in an interview published Thursday in Britain's Wonderful magazine, "I wrote the Hermione/Ron relationship as a form of wish fulfillment. That's how it was conceived, really."
Wish fulfillment for whom? Ron?
"For reasons that have very little to do with literature and far more to do with me clinging to the plot as I first imagined it," Rowling said, "Hermione ended up with Ron."
Emma Watson, who portrayed valiant Herminone and guest-edited the issue said, "I think there are fans out there who know that too and who wonder whether Ron would have really been able to make her happy."Rowling suggested that Hermione and Ron would have needed counseling.
Many fans have suggested Hermione should have ended up with Harry.
But, no.
Hermione is too good, too strong for either of them.
Plenty of books feature failed endings. Indeed, it is a speciality of contemporary fiction.
But rarely has an author admitted the error, especially one of a series that has sold 450 million copies and grossed $7.7 billion in ticket sales.
As for bad endings, we never bought any moment of Wuthering Heights.
The last third of Gone Girl — which rips along until then — defies credulity.
Write those literary wrongs.
Share your suggestions for failed novel endings and possible remedies, and we'll list the best in a subsequent blog post.
--Karen Heller