YMMV / Hetty Feather

• Alternative Character Interpretation:
  • Although Katherine was the arguable Alpha Bitch in the first half of Emerald Star, it's understandable she'd be annoyed at her husband for never telling her about a love-child which has suddenly turned up on her doorstop 15 years or so later, which she is no doubt expected to instantly welcome into her home.
    • Hetty doesn't make it easy for her either considering she defies Katherine to the point of pure spite in some cases, and even worse considering Hetty's father now appears to favour Hetty's needs, which only adds salt to the wound.
  • On reflection, Jem was certainly no saint, who was for a long time the Designated Love Interest to Hetty and a place of emotional support and stability. In retrospect Jem could be extremely insensitive, possessive and manipulative toward Hetty as we see in a whole multitude of examples: disrespecting Madame Adeline (which Hetty did not like), being unsupportive to Hetty after her mother's death, being too controlling over her at times, criticising Hetty's longing for adventure and attempting to corner Hetty (who was 14/15 at the time) about marriage. Not only does he still languish after a teenage girl (who's not fully interested in him) for years, emotionally manipulates her about being able to 'in a few years you'll be ready to be a real wife/see in her eyes that she loves him/Those vows meant something to me!/I'll ''make'' you change' AND failing to see that they are incompatible, he can't even face telling the woman he's supposed to be engaged to that he doesn't truly love her, yet still marries her, after attempting to runaway with Hetty minutes before his wedding, to save face. And lest we forget, Jem does all of this to an emotionally vulnerable teenage girl as a grown man. Urgh.
    • Is Jem a Dogged Nice Guy trying to win Hetty's heart who he tries hard to protect? Or an emotional manipulator who's in in love with what he wants to see and will, uh, wait for her?
• Ship-to-Ship Combat: Many fans are divided on which boy they prefer Hetty with. Most fans prefer Jem, who often gets the Draco in Leather Pants treatment (probably because he's seen as the more 'attractive' choice, ergo Beauty Equals Goodness), whereas Bertie is torn apart quite badly as Ron the Death Eater. There's also the fact that some fans find the context of Jem being much older than Hetty and her adopted brother from childhood a bit of a turn-off, thus preferring Bertie as a healthier alternative.
• The Woobie:
  • Janet for the majority of Emerald Star. She had to endure the love-of-her-life falling in-love with her good friend, and feel entirely second best to her, but being such a genuinely nice person she can't even resent or be annoyed at Hetty because she's, as Janet says in her journal: 'So lively and witty and charming.' Imagine not even being able to hate the person who's stealing your soulmate away. Then have said love-of-your-life be cut up over his sort-of ex whilst ENGAGED to you and kiss her behind your back AND propose to runaway with her on your wedding day. Ouch.
  • Diamond in Diamond is sold by her own father at 6 to a psycho clown, forced to have her body manipulated by said clown and perform for hours on end with no rest, then be beaten because she can't follow orders.

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