Hermione the housewife?

[naama]

No: HPFGUIDX 10714


<snip>

Ebony wrote:

> When I first joined the list, I made the observation that witches 
may 
> have to make a choice that modern women do not.  I'm wondering if 
in 
> this fictional society, women are either homemakers *or* career 
> professionals.  That seems to be the pattern.  
> 
> Of course, we know comparatively little about the girls and women 
in 
> the canon... but to a feminist, this silence speaks volumes.  The 
> very fact that these unknown quantities exist is indicative of an 
> unequal balance in the wizarding world.  This is not a question of 
> PoV--even selectively seeing Harry could not fail to notice details 
> that we could easily interpret as indications of female 
empowerment.  
> Coed sports are the only thing I can think of.  Can anyone think of 
> others?

Mmmm... Its true that most of the politically powerful persons are 
male (Fudge, Crouch, Bagman, Dumbledore; Voldemort, Malfoy, and, 
IIRC, all the death eaters that come to Voldemort at the end of GoF). 
Besides Bertha Jorkins, is any other woman mentioned as working for 
the MoM? 
In Hogwarts, though, the M/F teachers ratio is pretty even, I think. 
Although, come to think of it, only McGonagall is the only female 
teacher that has a strong and positive presence. And, even among the 
ghosts the male ghosts have more ballast - Moaning Myrtle is the only 
well-developed female ghost and she definitely doesn't command 
respect. 
Oh dear, I started writing this as a rebuttal but I see I have to 
agree with you, Ebony. It seems that the wizard world is very similar 
to muggle world in this respect. 
> 

<snip> 
> If this fork exists, with paths alternately leading to "home" 
> and "career", which road might Hermione choose?
> 

It seems to me that for witches this dilema should be much simpler 
than for us poor muggle women. Thats bc they live so much longer than 
we do (unless untimely and evily murdered, of course). To devote 
"mere" 10-15 years of their life to child rearing (if so they choose 
and assuming that wizards procreation patterns are similar to current 
middle class muggle ones - few children at relatively short 
intervals) should hardly harm at all their career - they would still 
have something like 150 (!) years for that. 

Naama