teachers' personal lives
Steve
bboyminn at yahoo.com
Thu Apr 21 06:24:01 UTC 2011
No: HPFGUIDX 190266
--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "teebee86627" <teebee86627 at ...> wrote:
>
> ...any... thoughts on personal lives of professors at Hogwarts.
> JKR never mentioned if any of them were married or had kids. They
> lived in the castle 10 months out of 12. If they were married,
> were the spouses allowed to live with them at Hogwarts?
>
> teebee
>
Boarding schools are not every well known in the USA, but consider this, the kids are away from their parents for 10 months out of 12, though there is Christmas and Easter Holiday.
Most Americans simply can't fathom that idea for kids of this age. Certainly for kids of University age, this is common, but for the 11 year old to 17 year old range, I don't think many American would go for that.
But, in the UK, there is a long tradition of boarding schools for younger children.
What does that have to do with the staff at Hogwarts? Only to illustrate that what seems odd to us, is common place to others.
I'm sure there is a range of staff living situations. Certainly the Heads of House always have to be available. Though, that does not mean they couldn't take a weekend off.
There are also Hogsmeade visits that would give staff spouses a chance to reconnect. Most of the staff seems somewhat older, so I don't see romance as a big part of their lives; if you know what I mean.
So, some staff like Hagrid, Trelawney, Filch, and Madam Pomfrey live their full time. Other staff, that we don't really see much of, could live in Hogsmeade or commute. Certainly Heads of Houses need to be around continually during the school year. However, the mere fact that they live at school, does not mean they couldn't be married and have kids.
Also keep in mind the exceptionally long life of wizard and witches. Though pure speculation, McGonagall could be a sprightly 100 years old, given that Dumbledore is about 150.
That long life, in a sense, gives them far more opportunity in their lives to do things. They can have multiple careers. Plus when you have a life protential of approaching 200, you can be in less of a hurry in life.
So, I think there is a variety of staff accommodations. Some are there only as needed. Others live their full time, still other only during the school year.
If we can expect kids to be away from family for roughly 10 months, why is it so strange for certain members of the staff to do the same?
Steve/bboyminn
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