Posted on 10/19/2007 6:34:32 PM PDT by hercuroc
J.K. Rowling, author of the world-wide best-selling Harry Potter series, met some of her American fans tonight and provided some surprising revelations about the fictional characters who a generation of children have come to regard as close friends.
In front of a full house of hardcore Potter fans at Carnegie Hall in New York, Rowling, sitting on the stage on a red velvet and carved wood throne, read from her seventh and final book, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," then took questions. One fan asked whether Albus Dumbledore, the head of the famed Hogwarts School of Wizardry and Witchcraft, had ever loved anyone. Rowling smiled. "Dumbledore is gay, actually," replied Rowling as the audience errupted in surprise. She added that, in her mind, Dumbledore had an unrequited love affair with Gellert Grindelwald, Voldemort's predecessor who appears in the seventh book. After several minutes of prolonged shouting and clapping from astonshed fans, Rowling added. "I would have told you earlier if I knew it would make you so happy."
In answer to the question "Did Hagrid marry?" Rowling replied that sadly, no. The half-giant had a flirtation with a giantess but she found him "a tad unsophisticated" and the relationship never went forward. In response to the audience's groans of dismay, Rowling said, jokingly, "O.K., I'll write another book." And when the audience continued to express disapproval added, "at least I didn't kill him."
Other minor characters, according to Rowling, came to happier ends. Neville Longbottom, Harry's meek and hapless classmate, married Hannah Abbott, another classmate.
You explained yourself quite well. Thanks.
Well thanks.
However, my point was that J.K. knows, better than any of us, that the magic described in her book was anything but real. Were it any other way, she would have used magic in her life rather than pen and paper, computer and word processor.
Most of us might wish that we could wish and make things happen, but then we get up and do the things we have to do to make them so.
Not me.
If that mountain need moving, I can get dynamite and move it.
I pray for the faith to move me...
But before one does, one must want to do.
Luke: I can't. It's too big. Yoda: Size matters not. Look at me. Judge me by my size, do you? Hmm? Hmm.
And well you should not. For my ally is the Force, and a powerful ally it is.
Life creates it, makes it grow. Its energy surrounds us and binds us.
Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter.
You must feel the Force around you;
here, between you, me, the tree, the rock, everywhere, yes.
Even between the land and the ship. Luke: All right, I'll give it a try. Yoda: No. Try not. Do... or do not. There is no try.
Frank Sinatra on decisions ...
"Do? -- Be. -- Do? -- Be. -- Do!"
Don’t make me sic the DooBie Brothers on you!
>>Not surprised. In reading the last book, it was apparent that there was something more between Dumbledore and Grindelwald than just wanting to conquer the world and put muggles in their places. The description of Grindelwald made him just a little too pretty.<<
Interesting - that didn’t seem odd to me - I thought that since she was portreying them as the two most talented wizards in the world and that their interaction was how Dumbledore learned he could not be trusted with power that was enough to explain his motivation.
Of course my wife says I have a terrible gaydar and that I was totally off base when I thought that Gandalf was portrayed in the movies as being gay.
>>This means Ian McKellen will get to play him in the last movie, right?<<
This does make it ironic that McKellen turned down the Dumbledore role when Richard Harris died.
>> The really evil and really virtuous people are all in the wizarding world.
The series is a simple morality tale, good vs evil, with good personified by Harry and his friends and allies, and evil personified by Volamort and his allies. It is set in the wizarding world, the muggles are only there to give the reader a bit of an anchor, a view point, to watch the drama play out.<<
The Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church described Harry Potter as a a fairy tale with a good moral as all countries have such fairy tales.
This was in response to a lawsuit trying to get Harry Potter banned in Russia (where Witch craft is banned by law).
Godless commies ban witchcraft? Who'da thunk it?
>>Godless commies ban witchcraft? Who’da thunk it?<<
I believe that Witchcraft was banned under the Czars. Under Lenin, religion in general outside control of the state was banned. I believe i have read that under Yeltsin, Christianity was legalized but that did not effect the banning of witchcraft.
I guess that Judaism and Islam must also have been re-permitted but I have not read anything to that effect.
Except for Rasputin, of course...
Rastaputin...
Ooh! That's ... that's Evil!
I like it.
Next thing you know she'll publish a how-to guide on inter-racial dating.
Yeah, whatever. In my opinion, the author is irrelevant once the book is published.
I’m on a Henry James binge right now, anyway.
THAT was disturbing.... LOL!
I bought a copy of Dan Brown’s “Angels and Demons” at an airport bookshop last week. Still working on it.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.