Dumbledore is gay and I’m annoyed as hell.
I have to admit I haven’t read one page of one Harry Potter book. I’ve bought ‘em all and my kids love them. I’ve seen some of the movies and even bought the damn DVDs. One year we went to a Harry Potter party with my kids dressed as Hermoine and Harry–complete with capes wand and a pair of busted glasses. Even Mama went in costume though I’d be hard pressed to tell you exactly what I was.
I tell you this so you know I don’t mind Pottermania, even though I don’t indulge. I think the kids are terrific characters who stand up for each other, what they believe in and their school. But I do mind at this late stage of the game finding out that one of the major characters is not what I thought he was.
Not that there’s anything wrong with Dumbledore being gay. It’s the timing that stinks. It seems like now that the last book is (ahem) coming out there needs to be some sort of controversy to sell the title. Midnight parties have become passe so now we need something else to give the final tome some juice.
That’s the conclusion I come to since, to my limited knowledge, Dumbledore’s sexual preference has never been alluded to before. Maybe I was imagining things, but while I was watching the first movie, I’d have sworn a hook-up between Richard Harris’s and Maggie Smith’s was probably in the offing. Maybe that’s my own preference speaking. As I have said, I’m no Potter expert. But if the Pottermaniacs had any clue before now of Dubledores sexuality, folks wouldn’t be shocked now to find out.
What bothers most is it smacks (in my mind) of an author manipulating her characters to suit her plot or other needs rather than being true to the character himself. Not fair.
For all you people keeping abreast of the books–am I right or wrong in my assessment? Is this just a plot device or is Rowling being true to her creation?
P.S. Here’s another great take from PW.
I was a bit puzzled as well Dee, couldn’t quite figure out why it mattered…but since I live on planet oblivion, I thought I had missed something…who knew?
blessings,
angelia
According to Rowling a scriptwriter for one of the movies was going to allude to a romance with a girl in his youth, and she clued him in to Dumbledore’s sexuality. I have no idea. Haven’t read the books or done the movie thing. My little guy is still enamored with Ratatouille.
If that was the case, wouldn’t Rowling have mentioned Dumbledore’s sexuality a few months ago, before the book came out? As it stands, the last Potter book had one of the largest initial print runs in publishing history, so I don’t think Rowling really needed the tiny bump that she might have gotten from a scandal.