Posted on 10/20/2007 8:40:13 AM PDT by Zakeet
NEW YORK — Harry Potter fans, the rumors are true: Albus Dumbledore, master wizard and Headmaster of Hogwarts, is gay.
J.K. Rowling, author of the mega-selling fantasy series that ended last summer, outed the beloved character Friday night while appearing before a full house at Carnegie Hall. After reading briefly from the final book, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," she took questions from audience members.
She was asked by one young fan whether Dumbledore finds "true love."
"Dumbledore is gay," the author responded to gasps and applause.
She then explained that Dumbledore was smitten with rival Gellert Grindelwald, whom he defeated long ago in a battle between good and bad wizards. "Falling in love can blind us to an extent," Rowling said of Dumbledore's feelings, adding that Dumbledore was "horribly, terribly let down."
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
Yeesh... Some people on this thread...
The stories are over. This never appeared in the books. Children will never read it in the books, as it was never really referred to. It does fill in a question mark on Dumbledore’s old friendship, but even as an adult reader I hadn’t realized the question mark was there until I read this quote. Even Rowling acknowledges this was an un-requited (aka it never happened) relationship.
Therefore, I think we have better things to worry about than the non-escapades of a celibate fictional character. It isn’t really relevant. Rowling didn’t feel the need to include it in the books, and only mentioned it here in response to a direct question.
It’s her personal interpretation of the character. The nice thing about reading is we can all gather our own interpretations.
What on earth are you talking about? Hamlet is studied in every high school in America. So too are other plays in the Shakespeare canon. Yes, even in the Mid-West. Who told you otherwise?
My life is so dull this is all I can find to worry about
That's nothing! My life is so dull that I'm worried about you!
now Im worrying about your worrying
Hmmm. Hakuna matata? A problem free philosophy?
What is the equivalent of revealing the alleged sexual interests of a celibate dead fictional character?
Abraham Lincoln spoke of a soup that had been made by boiling the shadow of a pigeon that had starved to death.
Now we're getting somewhere! Something with substance!
Thank GOD she did this! There’s just isn’t enough outting of gays in this world.
Now lets all hope its revealed that the entire cast were actually transgendered muslims.
Wow! Who would know?
Next time you think you have a message the whole world needs to hear, try renting a billboard. Spam sucks. America-bashing spam sucks more. And America-bashing spam from a cocksure, Eurosnob noob who happens to be dead-wrong sucks mightily.
Yes, I know.
But there have been cases,albeit small, of Christians in the US Midwest,not allowing their children to read Hamlet, as it contains a ghost.
Apologies, I wasnt suggesting a mass boycott.Should have been clearer.
Apologies for not using the multiple senders thingy.First and last time.
I am not bashing America,I am simply pointing out that the British sense of humour dosent always translate.
And I do not believe I am ‘dead wrong’.I believe that Ms Rowling was being ironic and sarcastic, amd if you knew the background to ‘fan fiction’, as she referred to, you’d get the joke.
One which has backfired on her.
Go to RightNation and read the posts of ‘trekqueen’, who is a SF/fantasy fan and a Potter fan, her insight is the best I have read yet.
I think you should come visit us here. Many of us would be happy to give you tours of our individual parts of the US.
I have visited your lovely country once and would love to return, money and time allowing(I would want to take many weeks/a few months to traverse as much of the US as possible).
The problem is that most Scots and Brits coming to this country visit New York City and Miami, and maybe, just maybe, go cross-country to LA. That is not America. They don’t get an accurate picture of what America and Americans are really like.
I’ve traveled extensively in England (not in Scotland, I’m sorry to say, but that’s next on the list) and it seems that most Brits think all Americans are ignorant yokels. They’re stunned when they get here and find that there are really quite a lot of sophisticated, cultured, widely-traveled people working in our great universities, medical centers, symphonies, opera houses, museums, galleries, etc.
I had problems with the books because so-called Christian publishers put out books like "Finding the Gospel in Harry Potter" when it really wasn't anything of the sort! The gospel is in Scripture, period! Fine, read the books, realize witchcraft is wrong, no matter how it's done. There is no 'secret' knowledge that we are to obtain for direction in life. All we need is revealed in Scripture.
But I wonder what those people who wrote those books about the Gospel in Harry Potter think of this bit of information.
I am reading this thread backwards, so forgive the order of my responses.
There are even some so silly as to not let their children read fairy tales because of them not being realistic or having supernatual elements.
It’s strange that Rowling seems to think she has been so progressive and inclusive when actually she has written what is basically an indictment of the homosexual lifestyle—the downfall of Dumbledore’s life was his infaturation with another wizard. He opened his life and the lives of his family and friends to a great amount of evil because he allowed himself to be drawn into the misguided interests of another man.
On the other hand, one of the would be villains of the novels, Snape, is finally redeemed in the end because of his parallel infaturation with Harry’s mother. Even after her death he continued to protect Harry and work with Dumbledore (against his own personal interests which seemed to allign with Veldemort’s) because he loved Lily.
So I have no problem with Rowling saying that Dumbledore is gay. It was really his fatal flaw.
Must have been run by the teachers’ unions.
Breathe! Breathe! The poster was most likely being tongue in cheek. I don't know Rowling's context. If it was just dry humor or not about Dumbledore. But, there is a song out there that when asked about the meaning behind it the band would give a few different answers. I am sure sometimes people just get sick of being asked the same question over and over. Plus, she got free publicity out of it.
Yep...but also the author wants there to be a deeper message about good and evil...she is saying there was and is a fight between the two and she has 2 characters that personify those attributes.I suppose she could insist that good and evil always hate each other but to raise the level of complexity it certainly makes sense that at times good can be enamored of evil.
It helps explain how Osama bin Laden can believe that killing innocent people is “good” While the author doesnt intend it the effect of her cosmology is that Osama is now out of the closet.
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