Nielsen’s Nook

I was overwhelmed last weekend at the quite sensational(ized) AP news story of J. K. Rowling’s statement that she “always thought of Dumbledore as gay.” As one who has loved reading the Harry Potter books, I wasn’t sure what to make of it. When I read the CNN version of the story the line that seemed to have such a vicious barb was:

Not everyone likes her work, Rowling said, likely referring to Christian groups that have alleged the books promote witchcraft. Her news about Dumbledore, she said, will give them one more reason.

As far as promoting witchcraft, I would think one would be hard pressed to make such a claim of the Potter series. To do so would seem to require one to dismiss Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings and C. S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia with all of its “deep magic” and “magic deeper still.” And, of course, the real question is not the magic of fantasy and fiction but the politics of adding the sexuality to magic. I was not sure what to make of the CNN article. There were myriad feelings and thoughts. I was glad to find out the discussion was not happening with a thousand twelve year-olds or something like that (something the CNN article seemed happy to let one assume).

A colleague of mine pointed me to a piece by John Granger over at HogwartsProfessor.com. Granger has written at least four books on the Potter series. His article is written thoughtfully, with access to primary source material (i.e., Dr. Amy Sturgis, who was at Carnegie Hall and heard J. K. Rowling speak for herself. The assessment, being from a Christian perspective, is worth the read. The following are some summary points taken from the conclusion of the piece:

(1) The meaning of Ms. Rowling’s words are best understood in the contexts of her “connection” that night with the 19 year old woman who asked the question and of the dynamics of the crowd at this Open Book Tour event;

(2) The media presentation of the event as Ms. Rowling’s endorsement of homosexuality and an anti-faith agenda was straight from Rita Skeeter’s notebook and part of their endless campaign to convince the public that Ms. Rowling is the enemy of their enemy, namely, the Church;

(3) The anguished and disappointed response of many Christian readers to these reports was also according to Culture War formula and in keeping with a hyperextended understanding of the word “gay;”

(4) “Dumbledore is gay” no more makes the books an invitation to homosexuality or contrary to orthodox Christian belief than “Sorcerer’s Stone” made them a “gateway to the occult;” and

(5) If you want to understand the ten qualities of postmodern story telling and how Ms. Rowling weaves her engaging stories using all ten, you need to read the Postmodernism chapters of Unlocking Harry Potter: Five Keys for the Serious Reader. (I’d blush about the shameless plug except it’s the only thing I know in print or online that covers this subject.)