Character development[edit]
Hermione Jean Granger is a Muggle-born Gryffindor student whose parents are both dentists.[2] She becomes best friends with Harry Potter and Ron Weasley. J.K. Rowling states that she was born on 19 September 1979[1] and she was nearly twelve when she first attended Hogwarts.[3] She is an overachiever who excels academically, and is described by Rowling as a "very logical, upright and good" character.[4] Rowling adds that Hermione's parents, two Muggle dentists, are a bit bemused by their odd daughter but very proud of her all the same."[5] They are well aware of the wizarding world and have visited Diagon Alley with her. Hermione was originally intended to have a sister, but the planned sibling did not make an appearance in the first Harry Potter novel and, as Rowling noted, it "seemed too late" to introduce the character after that.[5] Rowling confirmed in a 2004 interview that Hermione is an only child.[6]
Rowling has described the character of Luna Lovegood as the "anti-Hermione" as they are so different.[7] Hermione's foil at Hogwarts is Pansy Parkinson, a bully based on real-life girls who teased the author during her school days.[8]
Rowling stated that the character of Hermione carries several autobiographical influences. "I did not set out to make Hermione like me but she is...she is an exaggeration of how I was when I was younger."[4] She recalled being called a "little know-it-all" in her youth.[1] Moreover, she states that not unlike herself, "there is a lot of insecurity and a great fear of failure" beneath Hermione's swottiness. Finally, according to Rowling, next to Albus Dumbledore, Hermione is the perfect expository character; because of her encyclopaedic knowledge, she can always be used as a plot dump to explain the Harry Potter universe.[9] Rowling also states that her feminist conscience is saved by Hermione, "who's the brightest character" and is a "very strong female character".[10]
Hermione's name is taken from William Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale;[11] Rowling said that she wanted it to be unusual since if fewer girls shared her name, fewer girls would get teased for it[11] and it seemed that "a pair of professional dentists, who liked to prove how clever they are...gave [her] an unusual name that no-one could pronounce."[12] Her original last name was "Puckle", but Rowling felt the name "did not suit her at all", and so the less frivolous Granger made it into the books.[1]
Appearances[edit]