Female and male characters

[pippin_999]

No: HPFGUIDX 33290

I think what makes the female characters (except Hermione) 
less compelling than their male counterparts is that they are 
socially secure. Since the story is about Harry's attempt to 
re-establish himself within the wizarding world as well as to 
defeat Voldie,  the females seem to have less to do with the 
story, though they do exercise power and responsibility on a level 
with the males.

The male characters echo various aspects of Harry's struggles.   
Arthur, Hagrid, Lupin and Sirius are all displaced and   deprived 
of something important to them.  Snape is also displaced, 
although we don't know for sure whether he is an unsung hero 
or an unpunished scoundrel. Even Dumbledore was deprived of 
his position for a while.

Few of the females are displaced, although they are threatened 
at times. Often Rowling equips the female characters with a 
superior standing to their male associates in order to underline 
qualities which are missing from the males and which contribute 
to their displacement.  For example, Krum, who is something of 
a loner, is defeated by the superior teamwork of the female Irish 
chasers. Hagrid needs Mme. Maxime's poise. McGonagall ranks 
superior to both Snape, who could use some of her fairness, 
and Lupin, who could use her self-discipline in dealing with a 
disliked colleague. It's clear that McGonagall would like to 
ridicule Trelawney the way Lupin does Snape, but she restrains 
herself. If Lupin had done the same, he'd still have a job. 

The highly stylized depiction of the females is a result of  their 
symbolic role in the story, but it also makes them come across 
as "flat". Girls, or their guardians, who see social struggle as the 
essence of feminism and want to see more HP females fighting 
for recognition can only hope Winky will get herself into rehab 
and re-emerge as a leader for Elf-rights. ;-) But if Rowling's 
society is supposed to be gender blind, then she can't show 
women striving for success against sexist prejudice, can she? 

Pippin