"Oh no, it wasn't like that. See, what I didn't mention was that any time he did those things he was under the influence of a love potion--only in this case it was just love. But it had the same effect."
Yeah, re-writing the series as she (finally!) stops to listen to her audience. If she'd known it would make fans happy, she would have mentioned it sooner? Sounds like she's playing to the crowd in the room.
It's actually funny to say that it doesn't matter because, well, obviously it didn't matter to you or you'd put it into the books, right?
I can actually see not putting it in the books. It was supposed to be a book for kids, who aren't always privy to adults' sexuality, and more often than not, especially in Harry's case where he isn't curious about much of anything, the child protagonist himself or herself won't press the matter. At eleven particularly, the kid would rather snicker over the adult passing gas. No one's asking if Arthur and Molly do it once a week, or twice, or never now that they're older, so what's the deal about Dumbledore?.. except, she found out it makes her fangurlz squee.
I think Sigune brought up a good topic: the era in which Dumbledore grew up. I always thought the WW was a bit more conservative than our world, with the Weasleys' mentions of "scarlet women" and all, so it would be possible that the WW is still not quite as accepting as Muggles of alternative lifestyles. Heck, I thought they still insisted that their teachers be single, like the U.S. used to do in the 1800s. There seems to be no provision for partners of either sex, or for families, for the faculty and staff of Hogwarts. Notice that Prof. Longbottom's marriage and living arrangements weren't mentioned until post-series interviews as well.
The era would also make Dumbledore and his contemporaries less inclined to talk about their sex lives. All of this openness is fairly new. Sex, love, medical, and other personal matters, were private. A Victorian would not talk about such things, especially not with those "little pitchers" who "have big ears."
Oy, I wish she'd given this some thought before blurting! Even, "Yes, he was gay, but due to his upbringing, he would never mention it to Harry" would have gone a long way to making me believe she did think of Dumbledore as gay from early on. As it is, I think she's playing to the crowd now. Either way you slice it, if people read the series a hundred years from now, the author's comments won't necessarily be included in the books. It would have been better to show Dumbledore's orientation on the page.
no subject
Yeah, re-writing the series as she (finally!) stops to listen to her audience. If she'd known it would make fans happy, she would have mentioned it sooner? Sounds like she's playing to the crowd in the room.
It's actually funny to say that it doesn't matter because, well, obviously it didn't matter to you or you'd put it into the books, right?
I can actually see not putting it in the books. It was supposed to be a book for kids, who aren't always privy to adults' sexuality, and more often than not, especially in Harry's case where he isn't curious about much of anything, the child protagonist himself or herself won't press the matter. At eleven particularly, the kid would rather snicker over the adult passing gas. No one's asking if Arthur and Molly do it once a week, or twice, or never now that they're older, so what's the deal about Dumbledore?.. except, she found out it makes her fangurlz squee.
I think Sigune brought up a good topic: the era in which Dumbledore grew up. I always thought the WW was a bit more conservative than our world, with the Weasleys' mentions of "scarlet women" and all, so it would be possible that the WW is still not quite as accepting as Muggles of alternative lifestyles. Heck, I thought they still insisted that their teachers be single, like the U.S. used to do in the 1800s. There seems to be no provision for partners of either sex, or for families, for the faculty and staff of Hogwarts. Notice that Prof. Longbottom's marriage and living arrangements weren't mentioned until post-series interviews as well.
The era would also make Dumbledore and his contemporaries less inclined to talk about their sex lives. All of this openness is fairly new. Sex, love, medical, and other personal matters, were private. A Victorian would not talk about such things, especially not with those "little pitchers" who "have big ears."
Oy, I wish she'd given this some thought before blurting! Even, "Yes, he was gay, but due to his upbringing, he would never mention it to Harry" would have gone a long way to making me believe she did think of Dumbledore as gay from early on. As it is, I think she's playing to the crowd now. Either way you slice it, if people read the series a hundred years from now, the author's comments won't necessarily be included in the books. It would have been better to show Dumbledore's orientation on the page.