JKR's dismay at favourite fansite Slytherins

textualsphinx2003 textualsphinx2003 at yahoo.co.uk
Wed Jun 2 15:49:00 UTC 2004


No: HPFGUIDX 99918

JKR's website has a 'fansite of the month' slot where she praises 
various HP fansites she likes.  The funny thing is, both the ones 
she'd admired so far are moderated and/or created by people how 
identify as Slytherins.  She confesses herself disturbed - 
indeed 'shocked' by this.  She likes these site-moderators - even 
calls  them 'my kind of people' for their thoroughness - but claims 
not to understand why they are interested in Slytherin House.

This contradiction is presumably the result of there being two 
Slytherin Houses - the canon one as seen by Harry (and JKR?)and the 
fanon one as seen by fanfiction writers.  What we see of the first is 
a nasty hotbed of bigotry whose original sin stems from its ruthless, 
purebloodist founder.  What we get from the second varies a great 
deal from a feminist deconstruction of the novels' 'muscular 
Christianity' to the troubled Wizarding answer to Eton and Harrow.  
At any rate, the fanon Slytherin House tends to be a less black-and-
white entity than the books' - so far.

I wonder of JKR will come to the conclusion I do - that if the people 
she admires and likes are Slytherin, maybe there's something good 
about Slytherin.  Or will she dismiss it as mere 'misreading'of her 
intentions on the fans' part?



  






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