Gender balance (Children v Adult Lit)

[Penny & Bryce Linsenmayer]

No: HPFGUIDX 15132

Hi --

Magda Grantwich wrote:

> I'm not unsympathetic to your questions or your concerns but it's
> really a lot to ask of one particular writer that she create a
> perfectly balanced world in her fiction.  She's writing a story for
> children and children under the age of about ten can identify with a
> child protagonist who is negotiating a series of challenges and
> obstacles in the adult world.

<The members who've been part of the group for more than a few months
cringe & cover up their ears as they await the screams pouring forth
from Houston>:

No!  No!  JKR has said repeatedly that she did *not* write PS or any of
the other books with any target audience in mind.  They were not written
*for* children.  She has said on several occasions that the only thing
she had in mind was that she was writing a book that she herself would
enjoy reading (she was an adult when she wrote them, so one can infer
that she at least thought some adults would enjoy them).  She's been
asked if she's surprised at her large adult following.  She responded
that she was surprised only at the numbers of her fans, not the ages.

She has also been asked if she plans to "tone down" her books, bearing
in mind the sensibilities or what have you of her younger fans.  She has
vehemently stated that she will not do this.  She has a plan for these
books, and she's not planning to vary from it to accomodate younger
readers.  She's been critical of parents who let their children read
them at too young an age.

I'm not saying that children can't or shouldn't enjoy the books.
Certainly they do & they should.  But, the books were not ever created
solely for this audience, and I think the legions of adult fans (1100+
members of this group alone) are testament to the fact that you can't
pigeonhole these books into the category of being children's
literature.  You also can't write off their flaws by saying, "Well, you
know, they're just childrens's books after all."

I am utterly convinced that the only reason that these books are viewed
as children's literature is because Bloomsbury's marketing department
decided to put the 9-12 age tag on them since the protagonist of PS was
11 yrs old.

BTW, there's a FAQ that covers this topic in more detail.  I say it's a
FAQ, but really it's probably more of an essay written by me that
compiles all the messages I've posted on this subject over the last 1.5
yrs.  <g>

> I would suggest it is neither: it is children's
> literature of a sort the British seem to have a genius for and it
> describes the challenges every child faces in growing up.  What are
> Boggarts but the fears that every child has and needs to confront?
> What is the mudblood/pureblood controvery but the prejudice every
> child experiences on the playground directed at him/herself or at
> others?

Children are the only ones with fears that need to be confronted?  As an
adult, one has no more "boggarts" to confront?  The mudblood/pureblood
controversy extends a great deal further than just as commentary on
"playground disputes" IMHO.  It's certainly commentary on racism and
other issues that extend way beyond the "playground."

> We have to make an effort to think like children again when we read
> these books - back to the time when adults did all kinds of
> irrational things that we didn't understand and magic might just have
> been one of them.  Had JKR been writing books for adults, she might
> have created something different.
>
> But she didn't.  At least not yet.

She did.  She created books that can be enjoyed by children and adults
alike.  They were not intended for children, and there is absolutely no
need to revert back to childhood thinking to enjoy these books or
understand their messages.

They do on some level transport one back to childhood, and they are
great fun!  But, I object most strenuously to the notion that they are
"just" children's books and that adults are trying to read too much into
them.  There would be no point for this discussion group at all if the
themes and characters were all simplistic (not that I'm saying that all
childrens' lit is simplistic -- it's definitely not.  But, that is how
I'm interpreting Magda's statements).

Penny



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