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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