Bohemia Bunny

Now we know why Dumbledore likes purple.

October 21st, 2007 by lynnylchan under Comments and Humour

Caution: Harry Potter spoilers ahead.

J. K. Rowling went to New York’s Carnegie Hall as part of a book tour, and had a little question-and-answer session that will go down in Potter history.

The biggest bombshell that she dropped during the session was the explicit statement that Dumbledore was gay (he’s dead, therefore past tense). I suppose I missed the implied closeness of the youthful Dumbledore and Grindelwald, but you don’t really expect any depictions or allusions to homosexuality in a Harry Potter book.

The full chat transcript can be found here, courtesy of The Leaky Cauldron, with some additional reporting from the BBC available here. Some comments on the BBC reporting: A gay rights campaigner is quoted as being disappointed that Dumbledore’s sexuality wasn’t made more explicit. Well I think he’s being a tad foolish - adult sexuality in general wasn’t explored in huge detail in the books, because the focus was on teenage sexuality and early exploration. Sure, Snape is shown to have a heart capable of love, and Hagrid tries to date (check the transcript to see how that turned out) but by and large, the series has a childish/adolescent slant because that’s the reality for the protagonist. It’s not so much that she sidelined Dumbledore’s homosexuality, it’s that she’s sidelined adult sexuality. Minority campaigners really need to look at the bigger picture every once in a while.

Personally I don’t think Dumbledore’s being gay is a big deal. It’s great that he now stands as a positive role model, and I salute Ms Rowling for having the courage to say that about a main character, because I’m sure the condemnations will start coming in. Again. As they have for the last 10 years, because these books are of the Devil and will tempt our children away from a righteous path, bla bla bla. It’s quite possible she’s inured to all that rubbish by now, so the implications of such a revelation don’t really bother her.

As for how it’s going to affect the children who read the books, I’ll just say this: it didn’t occur to me that there was something funny going on, and it probably won’t occur to the children either. She’s not writing a wizarding Brokeback Mountain, see. Was the revelation unnecessary? Well, a question was asked and she answered it. It doesn’t change my understanding or enjoyment of the books, because it really doesn’t matter one way or the other which team Dumbly-dorr is batting for. I’d still recommend the books to my cousins and assorted younger relatives, without worrying that their parents will come after me for exposing them to nefarious elements.

Anyway, the rest of the chat contains interesting little nuggets as well, both concerning the past and future of the timeline of the books. We find out what happened prior to Harry’s being orphaned, and who ends up marrying who that wasn’t mentioned in the epilogue. And she takes more questions concerning Aberforth and his goats, and Snape. The man remains an enigma even in death. And finally she mentions the biggest catfight in the series, that I can’t think of without saying the relevant line of dialogue: Molly vs Bellatrix, w00t!