JK Rowling reveals Hogwarts secret

[king_ghidorah]

Even in that context I don't understand why she answered that way though. The question wasn't 'is dumbledore gay', the question was whether dumbledore found 'true love'. The answer to that might have been yes, no or maybe without even bringing up the sexuality question.

It isn't an apparent issue in any of the books, it doesn't seem to have anything to do with any aspect of the stories, it seems to me to be an irrelevance which she has introduced for shock value at this point, for reasons unknown.

Strange.

If she answered "yes", then the next point would be to explain why he was alone. Since the pieces were in the published stories, her answer makes sense. Avoiding the explanation would be he nonsensical answer.

The only reason for her to have avoided giving a true answer was a sense that it is categorically wrong to discuss any relationships but heterosexual ones. If one actually believes that homosexual relationships are valid and positive human relationships, there is no reason to edit this from discussion.

I don't see the controversy here. Her comments actually illuminate the actions of characters and of the plot. How is this irrelevant or inflammatory except for certain social prejudices?

 

[Vocenoctum]

I don't see the controversy here. Her comments actually illuminate the actions of characters and of the plot. How is this irrelevant or inflammatory except for certain social prejudices?

For myself, the problem is the same as the "what happened to Harry and the others after the book". Whether you think it's all her or half ghost written, the ideas she provides that aren't actually "canon" in the material tend to be more random, less cohesive. Perhaps she wanted Dumbledore gay, then changed her mind, then back again, who knows. There's no way to judge whether it's "more depth" for the characters, or just a random thought.

 

[Elf Witch]

There's a reason why ghost writing is amore lucrative market than actual writing. You sign contracts to remain anonomous. But I know for a fact that a good portion of her later books were derived from notes and ghost writers. I met one at a writers convention in Jamaica.

Even better info is that this ghost writer used to be a teen fiction writer

I am sorry while this may be true that ghost writers helped her I find it highly suspicious that someone who was being paid to be a ghost writer would open their mouths like this and risked being sued. Did thus writer show you their contract? Because anyone can say I helped ghost write so and so's book.

 

[Plane Sailing]

If she answered "yes", then the next point would be to explain why he was alone. Since the pieces were in the published stories, her answer makes sense. Avoiding the explanation would be he nonsensical answer.

No, the issue is still irrelevant.

And his friendship with Grindlewald? I don't see how anyone reads sexuality into that. It didn't seem anything other than a close friendship. People can have close friendships without any sexual subtext.

 

[Vocenoctum]

No, the issue is still irrelevant.

And his friendship with Grindlewald? I don't see how anyone reads sexuality into that. It didn't seem anything other than a close friendship. People can have close friendships without any sexual subtext.

It changes what (to me) was a power trip/ thrill ride, into something that was apparently "love blinders".

 

[Steel_Wind]

JK Rowling's latest comments on the subject are here:

http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/Books/article/269817

Rowling, here for the International Festival of Authors, was asked why she chose to announce last week that Dumbledore was gay – and that he had a mad, ill-fated, boyhood passion for his fellow wizard Gellert Grindelwald – instead of making it explicit in her series of Harry Potter novels.

"Because I really think that's self-evident," the 42-year-old British author replied. According to Rowling, the subsequent conflict between the two wizards laid the foundation for the final showdown of the series. "The plot is what it is and (Dumbledore) did have, as I say, this rather tragic infatuation," said Rowling.

"That was a key part of the ending of the story. So there it is. Why put the key part of the ending of my story in book one? If you're an author you might understand that when you write the ending, it comes at the end."

Later, she repeated that, "It is in the book. It's very clear in the book."

 

[WayneLigon]

But I know for a fact that a good portion of her later books were derived from notes and ghost writers. I met one at a writers convention in Jamaica.

Sort of like people on the internet who claim that Gygax totally ripped them off or that Bioware stole their code to make Famous Game X but they can't get anyone to beleive them.

 

[Particle_Man]

So, who is dressing up as Flamer Gay Dumbledore for Halloween?

Anyhow, I think that Rowling is a good writer, and I think she knew in her head that the character was gay. Apparently she thought that enough clues were there that attentive writers could pick up on it. Kinda like how Gene Wolfe writes in a way that repays careful attention from the reader. And I think overall, it will be good for now for kids to have a role model that is basically: "Dumbledore is a Good Guy (from the books), and Dumbledore is Gay (from the internet), therefore Gay is Good".

 

[Mark Chance]

And I think overall, it will be good for now for kids to have a role model that is basically: "Dumbledore is a Good Guy (from the books), and Dumbledore is Gay (from the internet), therefore Gay is Good".

Hmm. With that failed attempt at a syllogism, I think kids would be better off spending less time reading Harry Potter books and surfing the Internet and more time studying formal and rhetorical logic.

 

[DonTadow]

Sort of like people on the internet who claim that Gygax totally ripped them off or that Bioware stole their code to make Famous Game X but they can't get anyone to beleive them.

Hey, its not like anyone's making news of this. This is pretty common knowledge among authors. There's no suckage too it, they get paid a good day's penny for staying in the background. With Rowling though even those not in the know raise an eyebrow or two. How else does an unsuccessful, previously untalented woman get soo good overnight. What sells more, a bunch of old writers who wrote a lot of fantasy and teen fiction a few decades ago, or some new innovative woman from England.