The Weasleys do seem to be more cosmetically poor than anything else. I mean, we’re told they’re poor, and that they wear shabby clothing and have hand-me-down wands, but they own a big house and land and broomsticks and a car(!) and everyone of age in the family is gainfully employed, often in reasonably respectable and lucrative jobs. Makes you wonder where the money’s going.
I’m not sure, but it could be that while they’re hardly desperate, they can’t quite run with people who are upper middle class or better. They’re getting by, but they don’t have much to spare.
Beyond what has already been said by other posters, they take vacations all the time. I get that it was probably a narrative technique, to get them out of the way and either keep Ron around or move him away, but it was unbelievably frustrating that they would choose to all go out and have fun before getting Ron a wand that was actually attuned to him, considering how central to their lives wands are.
I’m probably biased both in my love of (the idea of) magic and in my enjoyment in being a homebody, though I’m not sure what that might be called at the moment.
For most of the series, they have several school-age children, and many of the employed ones are at least somewhat estranged from the parents. It’s not hard to believe that they could be fairly shabby.
The Weasleys do seem to be more cosmetically poor than anything else. I mean, we’re told they’re poor, and that they wear shabby clothing and have hand-me-down wands, but they own a big house and land and broomsticks and a car(!) and everyone of age in the family is gainfully employed, often in reasonably respectable and lucrative jobs. Makes you wonder where the money’s going.
I’m not sure, but it could be that while they’re hardly desperate, they can’t quite run with people who are upper middle class or better. They’re getting by, but they don’t have much to spare.
Speaking as the middle of 5 kids—having a bunch of kids close to the same age like that can get expensive, and Molly didn’t work.
Beyond what has already been said by other posters, they take vacations all the time. I get that it was probably a narrative technique, to get them out of the way and either keep Ron around or move him away, but it was unbelievably frustrating that they would choose to all go out and have fun before getting Ron a wand that was actually attuned to him, considering how central to their lives wands are.
I’m probably biased both in my love of (the idea of) magic and in my enjoyment in being a homebody, though I’m not sure what that might be called at the moment.
For most of the series, they have several school-age children, and many of the employed ones are at least somewhat estranged from the parents. It’s not hard to believe that they could be fairly shabby.