Marriage in the WW (Was Quidditch, Ginny's good qualities and more . . . )

[wynnde1 at aol.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 37529



rohit (columbiatexan) writes:


> Isn't anyon interested at all in the fact that most of the 
> adult wizards and witches we've come into contact with so far 
> are single?  Think about it... all the Hogwarts professors... 
> Cornelius Fudge (as far as we know)... Bertha Jorkins... 
> Remus... Sirius (OK, so he's been in prison for the past 13 
> years, that might have SOMETHING to do with it :P)... maybe 
> marriage and romance isn't too common in this world, or at least 
> not as common as it is in our world,


We do know of several wizards/witches who are married - the Weasleys, the 
Potters, the Longbottoms, the Malfoys, the LeStranges, to name a few. 
Certainly all the children who attend Hogwarts seem to come from complete 
family units (we don't know of any one-parent families or illegitimate 
children, do we?). As for the few you mentioned, Bertha Jorkins was single, 
but I seem to remember someone commenting in GoF that perhaps an elopement 
was the reason for her disappearance. Can't find the reference, though. And 
there is a bit of canon to suggest that Cornelius Fudge is married: in 
Chapter 28 of GoF, when Crouch, Sr. in the course of his insane rambling to 
Harry he says, "My wife and son will be arriving shortly, we are attending a 
concert tonight with Mr. and Mrs. Fudge." Yes, this is part of an insane 
ramble <g>, but it appeared that he was going back and forth between the 
present and actual memories of the past. So I have taken this as an 
indication that there is (or was at the time he was remembering) a Mrs. 
Fudge. Remus and Sirius are definitely special cases. <g> And, although you 
didn't mention him, we all know that Snape would be married if only Lily 
hadn't left him for James! <VEG> Just kidding. Sort of. (see below) <G>

As for Hogwart's staff, JKR has stated in an interview that some of the 
teachers are or have been married, that information about that is hidden for 
a reason, and that we'll find out more about that in a future book (I know 
interviews aren't exactly canon, but it can still be taken into 
consideration, can't it?). Even if that weren't the case, I don't think we 
can reasonably look at staff at a boarding school as an indication of what is 
happening in the world-at-large. My sense about boarding schools is that they 
are a bit of a world unto themselves, and that staff members lived (still 
do?) a fairly "monastic" lifestyle.

It is true that some of the younger generation seem not to have settled down 
- Bill and Charlie Weasley, for example. Perhaps because wizards and witches 
have extended lifespans, there is not as much emphasis on marrying at as 
young an age as would seem appropriate in the muggle world? (maybe wizarding 
biological clocks tick longer?). After all, James and Lily married fairly 
young, even by muggle standards. We just don't have evidence to know whether 
this is the norm in the WW or not. 

In any case, I don't think there is a lack of marriage and romance in the WW. 
 What I do see as not being represented is any sort of non-traditional family 
arrangement. No divorce, no single parents, no gay couples. Okay. They're 
children's books (sort of). So I'm not really expecting a gay couple. But I 
do wonder if JKR has deliberately painted a picture of a less complex world - 
maybe a more ideal one in this respect. (Sure, we might get AKd by evil 
wizards, but at least we don't have to worry about our parents getting 
divorced).There's is lots that could be said about this, but I think I'll 
leave it for now. Maybe someone else will jump on board (or perhaps it's 
already been covered sufficiently on the list).

A final thing - this is my first post to the list. I've been reading the 
posts for a few weeks now, and have browsed back through the archives a bit, 
mostly looking for stuff about my most beloved character Professor Snape, 
particularly Vampire!Snape stuff (will probably send in my application to 
join LOVESLAVE very soon). I'm thrilled to have found this list, and now that 
I've dipped a toe in the water with this first post, I'll probably have more 
to add to the discussion soon!

:-)
Wynnde



Wynnde A. St. John
Gullane, East Lothian, Scotland
<A HREF="wynnde1 at aol.com">wynnde1 at aol.com</A>


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