by Dr Eve Hepburn
Image credit: Ashling Larkin
We all know her as the ultimate straight-A student, unfazed by mountains of homework assigned by teachers less gifted than she. Hermione Granger – the most important female character in the Harry Potter books – was the girl that we all secretly wanted to be. She knew the answer to every question, where every book in the library was, and how to solve life-or-death problems with a flick of her wand. Indeed, there was little that she couldn’t do or learn, which was why Harry and Ron were in some ways helpless without her.
Hermione has been described as superhero, “a thinker and a doer, someone who derives most of her wizardly power not by genetic inheritance but rather by endless study and practice”.[1] This beloved fictional character – who author JK Rowling admitted was based on her 11-year old self – was a role model for a generation of young women who were coming of age in a society that required them to achieve the best grades, excel in everything they did, and pull it all off without losing a drop of sweat. Hermione proved that you could do just that: be female, brilliant, poised and uncomplaining. 
But was the actress playing Hermione so self-assured, so unflinching in her self-belief? Emma Watson rose to stardom at the tender age of nine and, throughout the fanfare of those Harry Potter films, she exuded much the same confidence as the fictional character.
Watson has become an outspoken advocate of feminism and gender equality, becoming a UN Women Goodwill Ambassador and the figurehead of the HeforShe campaign, which encourages everyone – including men and boys – to become part of the equalities movement. However, Watson received a barrage of threats and criticism for doing so – including accusations of her disregarding intersectional feminism, and for advocating a campaign that did not include non-binary people.[2] The UN later, rightly, changed the HeforShe website to be more gender inclusive of people who don’t identify as men or women, which Watson was happy to announce.[3] As for Watson’s own reflections on the criticism she received, she says “I learned just how little I know and also how much.”[4]
Watson’s ability to acknowledge her limitations speaks to a different side of her personality. While the actor-turned-activist has become famous – both on screen and in real life – for having a sharp mind and a voice of her own, Watson has also revealed that she is naturally an introvert who has suffered from social anxiety, panic attacks, body image issues, stress and self-doubt. For instance, she says her early twenties were an especially difficult time, when she suffered from significant body confidence issues: “I, as a 21-year-old, was riddled with insecurity and self-critiquing…Comparing myself to how I look, when I’ve gone through all of that makeup and styling, in my normal life is… just… I can’t live up to it. I was like, ‘Holy shit! If that’s how I feel — and I get to be the person who’s on the cover of those magazines — how’s anyone else meant to cope?”[5]
Furthermore, her decision to go to Brown University in 2011, in the middle of filming the final Harry Potter films, was due to her desire to ‘get some space’. While studying at university, Watson reveals that she dealt with chronic stress, where she felt “very unsettled and lost”.[6] From what we know of research on student mental health, this is hardly surprising. Watson had to face what all students must: the need to juggle assignments with a work-life balance, meet the high academic expectations placed on you, navigate a lifestyle very different to school, and deal with constant deadlines and examinations.
As a result of her time at university, Watson reveals that, “I really know how to take care of myself, how to be alone, how to deal with stress. If I hadn’t been through that time, I wouldn’t have got there. I never knew I had limits.”[7] To deal with stress, Watson says she practices Ashtanga yoga, meditation, writing poetry and keeping a journal.
In addition to speaking about her own emotional challenges, Watson has been an open advocate of mental health. During her UN Gender Equality speech, she stated: “I have seen young men suffering from mental illness, unable to ask for help for fear that it would make them less of a man … Both men and women should feel free to be sensitive. Both men and women should feel free to be strong.”[8] It is instructive to know that Watson’s mental health was suffering just before she delivered this speech. As revealed in a Vogue interview, the actor “suffered something close to a panic attack” the night before, with Watson admitting that “I was hysterically sobbing in my hotel room, thinking, I can’t do this. I was just terrified.”[9]
In other words, Emma Watson is human. She is brave and outspoken, but she has also battled with self-doubt, anxiety and low self-esteem. She values hard work, but she also realises when she needs to get away from it all and practice self-care.
And in that sense, any comparison with Hermione Granger must come to an end. For while Hermione’s superpowers were due to her capacity for ‘endless study and practice’, we – and it appears, Watson herself – know that such a trait, left unchecked, is not healthy. Hermione was clever and determined, but when did she ever have fun? When did she ever get some downtime from her battles with Voldemort? Did she ever have time to explore her identity or play around with sexuality? Did she even have any hobbies?
As an admitted workaholic and perfectionist, who has experienced the full effects of burnout, I would be more nuanced in my advice. Study, practice and work should not be endless. They are important, sure, but not so important that they risk your mental health or capacity to lead a full and loving life. University life, school and exams must be balanced with self-care, doing things you enjoy, and time-outs. So while being a Hermione may be great for your grades, more important, however, is being like Watson; take a break when you need to and don’t attempt to aspire to emulating fiction. Don’t believe that your mistakes define you; there’s always room for more growth. And remember, wands aside, the real magic in life is getting the balance between doing and being.
REFERENCES
[1] http://fortune.com/2017/06/26/harry-potter-jk-rowling-wonder-woman/
[3] https://uwaterloo.ca/stories/women-launches-new-gender-inclusive-heforshe-website
[5] https://www.esquire.com/uk/culture/news/a9624/esquire-meets-emma-watson/
[6] https://sg.news.yahoo.com/emma-watson-handling-stress-070000264.html
[7] https://www.wonderlandmagazine.com/2014/04/04/emma-watson-for-wonderland/
Dr Eve Hepburn
Eve Hepburn is a native Edinburger who left home aged 17 to travel the world (living in Canada, Italy, Germany, Poland, Trinidad, London and the USA) before realising where her heart lay. She is a passionate advocate of social justice and equality, and has held research and teaching positions at several universities, including the European University Institute (Italy), McGill University (Canada), Humboldt University (Germany), and was latterly Senior Lecturer in Politics at the University of Edinburgh. She has published several books, and has advised several governments on devolution, immigration and nationalism.
Eve is the Founder, Chief Executive and Editor-in-Chief of Fearless Femme CIC. After having suffered from her own array of mental health issues in the past, Eve is passionate about helping others build a stronger and more resilient mental place for themselves. Eve loves chilling out with her family; trail running through the Cairngorms; reading as many books as she can; dancing in her pyjamas; using her power-drill to do DIY jobs around the house; and walking her dog. You can contact her at eve@fearlessly.co.uk.
Ashling Larkin
Ashling is a Scotland-based comic artist, illustrator & animator. She graduated in 2016 from DJCAD with a 2:1 Bdes(Hons) in animation and has since been doing freelance work at the Dundee Comics Creative Space at Inkpot studio while also working on her current ongoing project, a fantasy-adventure webcomic called “The Enchanted Book”.
