The Female Students (and other female characters)

[mjollner]

No: HPFGUIDX 33444

 Liana wrote:
> This, for me, was one of the more interesting components to 
> the "Quidditch through the Ages" book (and to a lesser 
> degree, "Fantastic Beasts"). There are women leaders (one of whom 
> outlaws the killing and use of Golden Snidgets), women researchers, 
> women Quidditch players (according to the book, the only position 
women 
> do not usually play is that of Beater, meaning they play all other 
> positions - and could play a Beater with the appropriate skills), 
> women adventurers (if I'm right that Jocunda is a woman's name - 
> she made the first Atlantic broom crossing) and women inventors. 

I just finished reading these two books, and I too noticed the many 
women's names included.  In fact, it annoyed me - it seemed too 
aggressively PC when compared to contemporary Muggle periods 
of history.  In modernity, we presume equality of the sexes and 
enshrine it in law; but this is a very recent development in human 
history.  It didn't seem right to me that witches would be playing 
Quidditch centuries ago when their Muggle counterparts had no 
opportunity for sport and would not until relatively recently.  

Either JKR is commenting on the enlightenment of wizard society with 
respect to gender issues compared to our own (which I doubt); or she 
realized she was slighting her female characters and was trying in 
some way to make up for it (perhaps...); or else since these "charity" 
books are slight and meant to be strictly humorous, and are in no way 
comparable in the literary sense to the long, detailed, intricately 
plotted HP series, she was not restrained by any internal sense of 
plot or character development or personal intentions for the series 
and felt free to make them as widely appealing/PC as possible.

Liana:
> For me, I'll wait until the series is finished before passing 
> judgement on the goofiness of most female characters. I do think 
> there'll be more developemnt, and opportunities of proving worth, 
> bravery, intelligence and character to come.

Amen, sister!  I'm in the "series is from Harry's viewpoint and must 
be limited thus" camp, and I'm sure we'll see more and *authentic* 
development in the remaining books!

mjollner