Gender of narrative voice? (Was: some replies which are direct but off topic)

[happyjoeysmiley]

No: HPFGUIDX 186200

> Catlady wrote:
> > > That could be an interesting topic to discuss: if we had only the books and no author bio at all, what in the text could lead one to think that the author was a woman or a man?
> > 
> Shelley responded:
> > Hum... I think there might be fair evidence for the supposition that Rowling was a man, given that beyond the Hermione hero, women aren't very celebrated or in prominent positions. As a society, men are in charge, and talented women like Molly are home raising babies or unmarried in the classroom like McGonagall are. If I didn't know better, I might very well guess that Rowling was a man.
> 

Joey now:
I admit that women of McGonagall's/Tonks' ability play sidekick-like roles to DD/Moody but characters like Madame Maxime have also been showcased. Also, we see McGonagall and Tonks making their voices and opinions heard - they don't seem to mutely nod their heads to whatever DD/Moody say. Well, JMO, of course. :-)

> Carol adds:
[snip]
> 
> Personally, I think that JKR does a good job of keeping the narrative voice distinct from her own (and of varying it on occasion when she's outside of Harry's PoV, as in "The Riddle House" in GoF or "Spinner's End" in HBP). Does anyone hear a male or female narrative voice when they read? I don't mean a masculine or feminine-sounding voice reading the story out loud in your head, but do any turns of expression make any readers think of the narrator as masculine or feminine? If you're not sure what I'm talking about, think about Jane Austen or Charles Dickens. Austen's narrators sound female and Dickens' narrators sound male (Esther in "Bleak House" excepted).

[snip]

>Could we guess from the opening words of SS/PS, or from any other clues, that the author, identified not as Joane Rowling but as J.K. Rowling, is a woman?
> 
> Comments, anyone? Does JKR's narrator sound male or female or neither?

Joey now:

I think JKR sounded neutral. For example, I would not recommend a Jane Austen's book for my male friends - while I always enjoy reading her books and her detailed description of human emotions (primarily women's), I think most of my male friends cannot sit through it. :-) However, I think Harry Potter might work for them - at least, in the form of movies if they do not have the patience for reading books. :-)

Also, apart from Harry's POV and the "third-eye" narrator's POV, JKR also dons the role of (and hence, voices the thoughts) of Voldemort. This is when Harry relives the Oct 31, 1981 incident via Voldemort's POV (after Harry and Hermione escape from Godric Hollow). 

I think JKR as a narrator sticks to the fundamental, gender-independent personality trait of the character whose view she is voicing rather than a gender-driven view - here are some examples of where I think JKR clearly adopts a gender-independent voice: Harry's "saving-people thing" instinct when she speaks from his POV; a neutral, third-eye account in chapters like Spinner's end (it contains both Snape's and Narcissa's view of the situation, doesn't it?); Voldy's cruel instincts when Harry looks into / lives via LV's memory.

>Sartoris22:

[snip]
Moroever, and I'm not being sexist here, the narrator seems particuarly aware and understanding of people's feelings, their emotional motivations. 
[snip]
The narrator's sensitivity to and understanding of relationships conjure, in my mind, a woman's voice and sensibilities. 

Joey now:

I understand what you mean - sensitivity to and understanding of relationships is generally viewed as a feminine trait / plus point and the book also mentions Harry and Ron thinking so but as far as the *narration* is concerned I feel JKR has been neutral. 

JKR certainly seems particularly aware of people's feelings, their emotional motivations. She has shown this in the way she has defined various personalities in the book. However, ther reason for this according to me is that she has used both (a) her experience with various types of people in her life and (b) her knowledge of others POV of those people. So, the reality aspect of her characters and their thoughts has come out very well and the gender-based, stereotyped component almost does not exist.  

I always believe that a good writer of fiction must be a great observer of people and would be interested in knowing about theories related to human personality traits (like say Myers-Briggs, Carl Jung's theory, Maslow's need hierarchy theory, etc.). I think JKR fits both these descriptions. This is only my speculation but it is an opinion of mine all the same. :-)

Cheers,
~Joey :-)