The Female Students (and other female charcters)

[pippin_999]

No: HPFGUIDX 33232

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., "judyserenity" <judyshapiro at e...> 
wrote:
> I said: The treatment of women in the Potterverse smacks of 
tokenism.   Sure, they can be on the faculty, but they prune 
flowers (Sprout)  or fix sniffles (Pomfrey, who is called a nurse 
and not a doctor)  or fuss about smudges on library books 
(Madam Pince) while the  males save the universe.  <<

JKR, as I've said over on Snapefans, likes to play games with 
our heads. She does things like underplay the performance of 
the Irish Chasers, so if you aren't reading carefully, you'll never 
realize that at least two of them are female, and they *win the 
game*.

In the British editions, Madame Pomfrey's title is Matron, which is 
a female in charge of the domestic arrangements in an 
institution. It doesn't  involve doctoring. So, has JKR elevated the 
female profession of matron, or downgraded the largely male 
profession of doctoring? 

We don't know how powerful Professor Sprout is as a witch, but 
she is the only professor at Hogwarts who can get a decent 
performance out of Neville...that probably makes her the best 
teacher in the school, bar none.
  
Madame Rosmerta is introduced as the pretty woman serving 
drinks at the Three Broomsticks. Eye candy, right? Wrong...but 
it's not till three pages later that we learn she owns the Inn and 
isn't afraid to confront Fudge about the Dementors.

Fleur...we haven't really seen what she can do. She's been 
terribly unlucky so far. What do you want to bet Dark Arts teacher 
and baddy Crouch/Moody misled her about the grindylows? JKR 
makes a point of telling us they aren't found anywhere but Britain.

The concerned parent who, as far as we know, stays home 
except for charity  work, and gets involved in  educational issues  
is...Lucius Malfoy.

Pippin