[HPforGrownups] Re: Bigotry in the Potterverse

[Rick H. Kennerly]

No: HPFGUIDX 188072

Sartoris22:
> As I say in my earlier post, the books exhibit Hermione power, particularly in DH. But I don't think the books, overall, exhibit girl power. Men, to me, if you'll pardon the metaphor, wield the big wands in the novels. The protagonist and anagonist are men, and only Hermione, I think, shows traditional power. 
Seems to me I recall McG was headmistress and organized the defense of 
Hogwarts on the fly.  Mrs. Weasley ran that family.  Bellatrix was quite 
powerful.  As you point out, there was Umbridge.  Madam Maxim ran her 
own academy.  I said in an earlier post that a writer has to decide 
between what is and what should be.  JKR chose.  The one thing I am sure 
kills a good story is to start off with a message, no matter how 
honorable. 

And frequently the writer is as surprised as anybody about what messages 
people take away from the work.  Melville never believed MD had a 
message at all.  He thought he was telling a whale of a tale, an 
adventure story.

Besides, there aren't very many time markers in the Muggleville timeline 
to place the stories even within a decade--The Ford Anglia is all I can 
think of off hand (produced 1959-1967). The other items: flush toilets, 
double-decker buses, TV, Radio all predate the Anglia.  What decade do 
you think the books are set in?

Would you feel differently if the stories were set in the 1960s?
> Don't you find it interesting that Fleur is chosen to compete in the Twiwizard Tournament? Is Fleur the most capable woman from two schools? Is Fleur the best women have to offer? Of the four contestants, Fleur is clearly the weakest. W
>   
Well, the Goblet chose a student from each school.  It's revealed that 
Moody/Crouch Jr. entered HP under a different school name.  As I 
commented, I was a bit shocked that JKR was so rough on the only woman 
in the tournament but, as I also pointed out, she took some pretty good 
swings at the French whenever she could. 

I think the only gender-related cringe I had in the entire JKR series 
was how Fleur was treated in GOF (we'll shrug off the teenage angst of 
all types). 
-- 

Rick Kennerly
Virginia Beach, VA
www.mouseherder.com 
<http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/profile.php?id=1213141578&ref=name>



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