Women in HBP

[iris_ft]

No: HPFGUIDX 133649

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "rachaelmcadams" 
<rachaelmcadams at y...> wrote:
< snip most part of a very convincing post, with which I agree 
totally> 
> anthyroserain wrote:
>  This is actually my biggest complaint about the series. I love 
the 
> > Harry Potter books, and I love JKR's writing, and I am 
constantly 
> > amazed with the books. It's just a niggling thing that has 
always 
> > bothered me. And as far as representations of women go, up until 
> > HBP, I thought JKR's depictions were quite progressive and 
> > feminist.  
> 
> Rachael:
> I continue to see them as progressive and feminist (and believe 
me, 
> I'm a staunch feminist).  The only problem is that once you throw 
in 
> love and relationships, many women feel like that shows a 
dependency 
> on men, which is not the case.  The women in the book choose to be 
> with the men they are with, so there's nothing anti-feminist about 
> that.
> 
Iris now:
I agree on that too. 
The matter is that in this new book, JK Rowling explores the 
different meanings of love,and that she goes from its more trivial 
or common representations to its higher aspects. In other words, it 
starts with teenagers or members of a same family bickering because 
biological inclinations or becase of prejudices, and it ends with 
the spiritual dimension of love. Between the two extremities, you 
can find nearly all the notes of teh stave, and they go crescendo as 
Dumbledore and Harry sing their duo. It's at the same time simple 
and rather complex, as it ties up with the idea of choice. 
May as it be, I agree with you, there's no anti-feminist connotation 
in that book, in spite of what it looks like at first glance. After 
all, doesn't the hero himself see the world through his so feminine 
mother's eyes?

Amicalement,

Iris