Killing a good thing

I have to admit something...I am not the most fervent Harry Potter fan. Otherwise, I would have known long before I finally did that sometime in the past couple of weeks that Dumbledore was gay.

And yes, I am going to rant about Harry Potter. If you aren't interested just skip this blog and come back next week when there will probably be a post Halloween recap.

My initial reaction to the news that J.K Rowling had reveled Albus Dumbeldore's sexual preference wasn't disgust at the news or the character or even the sexual preference, it was disgust at the author. Why she just won't shut up and let a good thing stand on its own. I really just sat there and said to myself...now what is the point in her saying that?

I assume that you could make some arguments that in the last book Rowling left open the possibilities of Dumbledore the not so great. But the key thing is...nowhere in the cannon of Harry Potter is sexual preference of the adults ever linked to the story. Whether someone was gay or not had no bearing on the good vs. evil story line taking place. It had no bearing on their character. All of the characters could be classified as flawed in someway or another: Snape - too bitter, Lupin - not confident, Sirius - quick to act, Death Eaters - loyal to a fault, but nowhere in the story does it matter one flit about sex.

And it makes me angry that Rowling is trying to make a political point after the fact that she didn't have the courage to put into the text to develop a very critical character.

For a moment after I read the quote from Rowling I almost thought about taking all my potter books out to the garage (where my other books live lives banished from the comforts of a bookcase), not because Dumbeldore is gay, but because the author has betrayed her own work. One that I had enjoyed. For now the books stay...as long as Rowling can keep her mouth shut.

If you want to read more, this NY Times literary critic can explain the issue a lot better than me.

Dumbeldore gay?