JKR says that Hermione shouldn't have married Ron. Is this correct?

Question

In an interview, JKR says that Hermione would not have married Ron:

She told the magazine: "I wrote the Hermione-Ron relationship as a form of wish fulfilment. That's how it was conceived, really.

"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, Hermione ended up with Ron.

"I know, I'm sorry, I can hear the rage and fury it might cause some fans, but if I'm absolutely honest, distance has given me perspective on that. It was a choice I made for very personal reasons, not for reasons of credibility.

"Am I breaking people's hearts by saying this? I hope not."

The author said the duo would have likely needed relationship counselling, while Watson herself also doubted the couple's potential longevity.

"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," Watson told the Sunday Times.

Of course, in the books, Hermione does marry Ron and not Harry. So JKR's proclamation that Hermione would not marry Ron seems odd to say the least.

Based on what we know about the two characters, is this correct? Should JKR's word overrule the text of the books in this case?

Answer 1

Based on the textual evidence, I disagree with JKR. In HP4, when Hermione first appears in her ball gown, Harry merely says that "she didn't look like Hermione at all." It's merely implied and not stated that she looks better than usual. Also starting in HP4, Ron gets jealous of Krum and Hermione is annoyed at Ron for not understanding her feelings, which is why she sends that flock of birds to attack him.

On a structural level, Harry has always been the key connecting element of his group of friends, even beyond the fact that he's the focalizer of the narrative. He befriends Ron, then befriends Hermione (or at least she isn't annoyed at his stupidity), and only after the Halloween troll do Ron and Hermione become friendly. So it's more likely that Harry is friendzoned from the start, whereas Hermione's negative feelings toward Ron are later transformed into positive ones.

Finally, following along with Harry's POV, we never see him surprised at Hermione's romance with Ron. And given all that Harry has to deal with, I think it's better for Hermione not to be with him.

Answer 2

On a structural and autobiographical level JKR saw the reunion of the three friends as the perfect ending to an overall painful and exhausting series and there couldn't have been a better platform than the Weasley family for that. Hermione married Ron and Harry was married to Ginny Weasley as a part of that plan. Besides, Harry got the much awaited love of his parents in the form of Arthur and Molly Weasley. Hermione was accused for her non magical background, but the Weasley family is, from the start, shown to have a particular sentiment of love for the Muggle-borns despite themselves being pure-bloods. So marrying Ron to Hermione was not just by accident but by a proper design.