I really hate to bring up the spectre of different cultures, etc, but I would argue that all those things you said about Hermione, while true, may not necessarily indicate that she WOULDN'T change her name upon marriage. I don't know. I feel a little offended because when you're describing a character as "career-motivated, widely-read, self-sufficient, politically aware and ACTIVE" and then insist she wouldn't change her name, I feel like you are saying that women who do [choose to change their name] cannot be all those things.
Straight up, I am all those things and more, and I would change my name upon marriage if it were all that important to my fiance. Changing my name doesn't change me. Of course, I wouldn't do that for just anyone.
Furthermore, I feel like you're speaking from a community where a woman not changing her name is normal. I think that's great! However, in the community I come from (which, admittedly, is pretty much the middle of bumfuck nowhere farm country), it's almost strictly not acceptable for a woman to keep her own name. I don't know how it is in Britain. But here, there are many "career-motivated, widely-read, self-sufficient, politically aware and ACTIVE" women who change their name upon marriage. Canada is a progressive country; for example, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court here along with half the Supreme Court is female. The Chief Justice changed her name upon marriage. The only place I've seen where women generally keep their names is academia.
I think whether Hermione keeps her name has more to do with outside environmental influences than her personality. I also want to emphasize that whether a woman changes her name is a personal choice, and I don't think a woman should be condemned or congratulated on that choice.
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Date: 2010-01-27 02:42 am (UTC)Straight up, I am all those things and more, and I would change my name upon marriage if it were all that important to my fiance. Changing my name doesn't change me. Of course, I wouldn't do that for just anyone.
Furthermore, I feel like you're speaking from a community where a woman not changing her name is normal. I think that's great! However, in the community I come from (which, admittedly, is pretty much the middle of bumfuck nowhere farm country), it's almost strictly not acceptable for a woman to keep her own name. I don't know how it is in Britain. But here, there are many "career-motivated, widely-read, self-sufficient, politically aware and ACTIVE" women who change their name upon marriage. Canada is a progressive country; for example, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court here along with half the Supreme Court is female. The Chief Justice changed her name upon marriage. The only place I've seen where women generally keep their names is academia.
I think whether Hermione keeps her name has more to do with outside environmental influences than her personality. I also want to emphasize that whether a woman changes her name is a personal choice, and I don't think a woman should be condemned or congratulated on that choice.