Question about Harry Potter.....

18 years ago

Just finished listening to the last book...loved every minute of it, I think that was the best book of all of them.

My question is I don't understand the significance of stating that Dumbledore was gay after the book had came out. I kept thinking there was going to be a light-bulb moment where I'd think "Ok, now I see why she announced he was gay", but I never saw it. I just wondered if there was something I missed somehow that made that announcement make more sense.

Thanks for any input you may have.

Tammy

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Comments (7)

flowerpotmama
18 years ago
Maybe she did it so that young people who suspect that they are gay won't feel so alone. It doesn't make any difference to me. :) The books are still fabulous and I still plan on reading all of them with my kids...when it is age appropriate of course.

Danielle
Mickey15
Original Author
18 years ago
Doesn't make a difference to me either, I just wondered if it was supposed to make sense of something that I was missing. I think the books are fabulous too. I've been avoiding all Harry Potter conversations the past few months until I finally got this one read. It was so good I didn't want it to end!
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stephanie_in_ga
18 years ago
I don't think it has anything to do with the plot or character development. Maybe it was just to hush any speculation about D having romantic feelings for any female characters. I don't think D's sexuality was something JKR made a big conscious choice about. I think that after that much time developing the characters, they just come to life for the author and traits and mannerisms just start to happen almost on their own. It was not important to the plot, so it was never mentioned in the story. But if it was something JKR "saw" in her character maybe she thought, after the fact, "Why not say so? Why hide it?" Like saying afterwards, "Ron was dyslexic, that's why schoolwork was so frustrating for him." It's not important to the character or plot development, but it's not worth hiding either.

I don't know. It's something that, as huge HP fan, I just decided not to think about. I don't know if JKR expected people to read so much into that announcement. Maybe she just didn't give any thought to the response it would get from readers. I love the books, I admire the author, so I just keep loving them.
donna_loomis
18 years ago
I don't think Dumbledore's sexual orientation manifested itself in any way in the book. I too was waiting for some line or situation in the movie that would make me say, "Oh, that's why she told us he's gay". And then it never came. I really don't have a clue why she thought it important to inform us.
Toni S
18 years ago
Me neither.
petaloid
18 years ago
Rowling brought Albus Dumbledore out of the closet at a question and answer session with fans of the books. A fan asked the question and she decided to answer it. It seems this is how the author imagined that character, but she never spelled it out in the stories.

I have read all the books, some more than once, and this never occurred to me. I am listening to Book 7 on audio CD now and notice pointed references to a photo of him in his youth with arm around the shoulder of his best buddy, looking very happy. His brother complains, later in the book, about how when that friendship started Albus turned his back on family responsibilities, focusing only on working with his buddy to transform the wizarding world.

Many of us who love the stories think of the characters as real people. In a real society there are differing orientations, so for it to be realistic I guess the Harry Potter stories would include that.

The first book starts with Harry's eleventh birthday, a children's story in which including romance of any kind would not be appropriate.

By the last book Harry is 18, and by this time there are some crushes and even kissing. Nothing more, which I think is best.
skarlet7
18 years ago
Hi Im new here, My daughter and I are big fans of Harry Potter as well! The characters orientation doesnt, make any differance at all! we love them all anyways ! I wish she would change her mind and do more!