October 20, 2007

Fine -- But Is It Necessary?

I love the Harry Potter books. I was quite sad to see them end. And I wept at the death of Albus Dumbledore in the sixth book of the epic series.

And so I ask this question with all due respect to the incredibly talented author -- why do you find it necessary to make this announcement, and why now, given its seeming irrelevance to the story?

Harry Potter fans, the rumors are true: Albus Dumbledore, master wizard and Headmaster of Hogwarts, is gay. J.K. Rowling, author of the mega-selling fantasy series that ended last summer, outed the beloved character Friday night while appearing before a full house at Carnegie Hall.

After reading briefly from the final book, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," she took questions from audience members.

She was asked by one young fan whether Dumbledore finds "true love."

"Dumbledore is gay," the author responded to gasps and applause.

She then explained that Dumbledore was smitten with rival Gellert Grindelwald, whom he defeated long ago in a battle between good and bad wizards. "Falling in love can blind us to an extent," Rowling said of Dumbledore's feelings, adding that Dumbledore was "horribly, terribly let down."

Dumbledore's love, she observed, was his "great tragedy."

Frankly, it seems to me that this adds nothing to the story. And while it answers a question about his family (or lack thereof), I don't see where the detail really matters. Rowling really included nothing that can be seen as contributing to this conclusion in the books themselves (my reading of the final novel left me understanding that the "great tragedy" was his role in his sister's death).

Is there any particular reason that Dumbledore should not be gay? No, there is not, and given my high regard for the gay educators I work with I have no problem with a gay man in the position of headmaster. But because of the nature of the the role that Dumbledore fills in the story, I do not see any particular reason that his sexuality is even relevant. I fail to see the information as enriching the story in any manner. As such, I argue that Rowling ought to have remained silent in regard to this particular detail.

OPEN TRACKBACKING AT Stop the ACLU, Outside the Beltway, Perri Nelson's Website, Blog @ MoreWhat.com, AZAMATTEROFACT, 123beta, Adam's Blog, Stix Blog, Right Truth, The Populist, Leaning Straight Up, The Bullwinkle Blog, The Amboy Times, Conservative Thoughts, Nuke's, third world county, Woman Honor Thyself, The World According to Carl, Pirate's Cove, Blue Star Chronicles, The Pink Flamingo, Dumb Ox Daily News, and Right Voices, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.

Posted by: Greg at 08:12 AM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
Post contains 453 words, total size 5 kb.

1 Actually it was necessary as she retains script approval, and one of the rocket scientists that was writing 1/2 Blood Prince, decided to have Dumbledore smitten with a girl. When Rowling saw that, she was kind of forced to reveal what she had to to make sure her franchise was not compromised. Oh yeah even though some may claim otherwise it really is her franchise as she is the creator

Posted by: Nunya Biddness at Sun Oct 21 05:41:17 2007 (BR9zA)

2 And again, you seem to have missed my point (which seems typical or your comments here). Yes, she did need to fix up the script -- but that could be (and was) done confidentially. Was there a need to disclose the detail publicly about the character, especially in the way it was, when it really does not add anything to the storyline or the understanding of the character as presented in the book. Yes, I acknowledge that the franchise is hers. I just question the decision to expose a detail that she did not see fit to include in her boos.

Posted by: Rhymes With Right at Sun Oct 21 09:00:55 2007 (ybrNQ)

3 Well from the stories I've read, she was speaking in front of fans and the question was asked about Dumbledore, and she answered truthfully. I commend her for being truthful, and don't let the revealed info bother me. I figure this is just one more thing for the bat-shit insane fundamentalists to screech about, not that anyone with more than 1/2 a brain listens to them anyway.

Posted by: Nunya Biddness at Mon Oct 22 00:02:59 2007 (BR9zA)

Hide Comments | Add Comment

Comments are disabled. Post is locked.
10kb generated in CPU 0.0041, elapsed 0.0106 seconds.
21 queries taking 0.0076 seconds, 32 records returned.
Powered by Minx 1.1.6c-pink.
[/posts]