The Youngest, and Only Girl, of the Weasleys

A shy, timid girl, as far as the audience knows, that has a crush on Harry, which everyone knows: Ginny Weasley.  Ginny faces one of the biggest changes in the entire Harry Potter series, outside of the trio, of course.  We know she exists from the time Harry befriends the Weasleys, but that is about all we know until around books four and five. 

She slowly begins to make a character of herself in Chamber of Secrets but we can hardly begin to judge her because she is mostly being possessed by Lord Voldemort, and has a huge crush on Harry.  However, when Harry escapes from the Dursley’s and stays at the Burrow, Ron finds her shy behavior odd, saying, “‘You don’t know how weird it is for her to be this shy.  She never shuts up normally-’” (40).  Even here, when Harry is staying in the same house with this girl, Harry nor the audience finds anything out about her true personality; she is simply Ron’s little sister. 

In Prisoner of Azkaban, Rowling introduces Ginny’s relationship to her siblings a little bit more.  When the Weasleys and Harry are staying at The Leaky Cauldron, Ginny laughs at one of George’s jokes, showing that she is more of a Fred and George type than a Percy type, meaning she has a sense of humor.  Being the only girl, Ginny kind of has to adopt the senses of humor and toughness that come with brothers, especially being the younger sister of six brothers.  Catching her bearings after her first year at Hogwarts, in which she was possessed by Lord Voldemort, must have really helped her to become more comfortable in a family setting with Harry there too.

Order of the Phoenix really is where Ginny shows an outgoing personality.  In scenes with the Order, Ginny shows a genuine interest and comfort with all the members, and seems like more of a sister figure to both Hermione and Harry.  Hermione and Ginny begin to form a bond, being the only girls among boys.  Ginny is a very powerful witch, as was evident in the DA meetings.  The theme this all ties into begins in this book: powerful women.  Rowling, as a woman, seems to find it important for the women in this book, as non-title characters, need to be particularly skilled.  Tonks, Hermione, Bellatrix, and Ginny are all powerful women that seem to be particularly commanding and capable. 

Then in The Half Blood Prince, Ginny shows another side of empowered women: men.  Ginny seems to be quite fond of having boyfriends, which she has now had two, up to this point.  Ginny Weasley just plays a generally good role model: skilled, intelligent, and fun.  Since the first book, in which she was probably mentioned in only one line, to the sixth book, in which she plays a large role, Ginny has changed SO much.  She is a great feminine role model.