feminist ghosts?

[jwcpgh]

No: HPFGUIDX 86874

I was chatting with a listee offlist and she observed that there are 
no female house ghosts in canon.  She felt that this was part of the 
larger pattern of the predominance of male characters (if I read her 
right).  But it got me wondering.  Harry's conversation in OoP with 
Nick gave me the impression that being a ghost isn't something to be 
proud of, necessarily.  It implies that the person feared accepting 
the reality of his death and whatever lay beyond that.  So maybe JKR 
is paying women a very subtle compliment by suggesting that they are 
more spiritually mature than men?  

Myrtle is the only female ghost I can think of-and she clearly has 
some, shall we say, unresolved issues.  I wonder if Bertha Jorkins' 
ghost is wandering around out there somewhere.

Is it a coincidence that none of the ghosts have portraits at 
Hogwarts?