Albus, We Hardly Knew Ye . . . Or Did We All Along?

by guest blogger Ramona Long

Once upon a time . . . Three siblings--two brothers and a sister--are born to a Good Family.  Sadly, when the Sister is six years old, she is attacked because she is "different." This leaves her mentally impaired. The Father seeks revenge on her attackers and is sentenced to life in prison. The Mother moves the family to a small village to escape the scandal.

The Elder Son goes off to boarding school. He is a brilliant student. The Younger Brother also goes to this school, but he is not so brilliant. There are rumors about some things he does with goats. Elder Son finishes school in a blaze of glory and plans a post-grad tour of the world. Tragically, the night before his send-off, Sister suffers a raging outburst and accidentally kills Mother.

Elder Son is eighteen years old. His Mother is dead, his Father imprisoned. He has a mentally ill sister and a Younger Brother still in school. Elder Son is the Man of the family. He puts aside his dreams and gets a job.

And one day, a Young Guy moves to the village. Elder Son meets Young Guy and falls in love.

Elder Son is gay. It isn't really all that important to the story, but he is.

Anywho, Younger Brother comes home from school. The three young men come up with a cockamamie plan that would make them rich, powerful and good. But since they are hot-blooded young men, they fight. In the brawl, Sister is killed.

Young Guys storms away, which breaks Elder Son's heart. Younger Brother punches him, which breaks Elder Son's nose.

Younger Brother leaves home and becomes a bartender. At the bar, there are occasional complaints about a strong smell of goats. Young Guy falls in with a bad crowd and becomes a criminal.

Elder Son never falls in love again.

Elder Son feels terrible guilt about how his family fell apart. He is not sure he should be trusted with power. He goes on to live a long, meaningful life, but he always carries the burden of his youth. It affects every decision he makes for the rest of his life.

The End.

If this story sounds familiar, it's not because you read it in the local paper. It's because you read it in Harry Potter.

On Friday and into Saturday, Potterworld exploded with reaction to J.K. Rowling's announcement that Albus Dumbledore was gay. I am not writing this blog to support JKR's commitment to push tolerance in her books (although I do.) I am not writing to show support for gay rights (although I do.) I am not writing to share jokes about Dumbledore playing with his wand or how he shared a room with Gandalf at boarding school (although I could.)

No, I'm writing to address the people who are saying that J.K.Rowling is WRONG.

Like this idio---guy. 

Narratively compatible? I wonder if any of the writers who hang here have heard this term before. Is it a legitimate phrase meant to question whether or not an author has sufficiently shared enough back-story so that the character's actions and choices make sense? Or do they think, cough(as I do)cough, that it is a term some blowhard dreamed up to get attention.

Just after the outing, JKR joked, "Oh my god, the fan fiction!"--proving that she's not only a talented and tolerant author, she's blessed with a sense of humor, too. She's right. The Shippers and Harmonians have gone apeshit. The wank on this one will be legion.

For those of you who think I've lapsed into another language, that's fan fiction talk. I bring it up because, in fan fiction, there is something called "canon." Canon refers to the original text the fiction is based upon. It's another word for "official." It's another word for "word."

Jo Rowling invented Albus Dumbledore. If she says he's gay, he is. And the correct answer to anyone asking her to defend that would be, "Because I said so."

She said it. It is Canon now.

But I will bite on the controversy, because I am open-minded and because there will be no more books in the series and I miss discussing them. So, do you think it is narratively compatible that Albus Dumbledore is gay? is there enough literary evidence in the series to make that valid?

Discuss.

PS. Disclaimer: If you are one of those folks who believe JKR made this decree in part to piss off the people who condemn her for her "evil" wirtings, I agree. I like that about her. But if you are one of those folks who believe she IS evil and her books should be banned or burned or so on, get lost. We have nothing to discuss.

I do, however, believe that Hermione's mother might be a NASCAR fan. It would explain why poor Hermione always had her nose in Hogwarts: A History.

Comments

[Abbe]

That guy is talking out of his a** -- if he hasn't even read Book 7, he has no right to complain about literary compatibility. The subtext in Dumbledore's story, especially in the final book where we see a youthful character, does support Jo's assertion... but it's too early in the morning for me to play English major and pull out The Deathly Hallows, let alone the entire series, to cite my evidence. :p

The fandom wank over this revelation almost rivals the debate over who wrote Shakespeare.

[Nancy Martin]

I hear from readers all the time who take exception to things I've allowed my characters to do---or not to do. After a while, the characters seem to belong in a bigger space than my own imagination, I guess, and the public is allowed to have them, too. I have heard from one person who's working on "fan fic" using my characters, wh ich I suppose means she feels she can dictate what happens to them. I have not read her stuff (the invitation was implied) and I don't think she plans to post it on the internet anywhere. It's tempting, though, for me to read what others think my characters are capable of doing. Does anyone here have fans writing fiction based on your characters?

But good lord, Dumbledore had a broken nose???

[Maryann Mercer]

I had a feeling...don't know why, but it does make sense. And why does it make a difference anyway? Although I suppose it might to the fan fic writers who had him in a hot and heavy affair with another professor...or tried to support the rumor that he was actually Ron's father :o) As someone who cut her adult writing teeth on GH fanfic (and had a mad passionate affair with Garcia), I remember the passion with which the other writers portrayed the characters. Proclaiming Luke is gay would have caused seismic waves across the ether!
I always thought Albus was rather cuddly :o)

[michele]

Fan fic, Nancy, that's awesome! You have arrived.

I agree with Ramona -- if JK says Dumbledore is gay, he's gay. It doesn't matter whether we knew it before; what matters is that *she* knew it. Anybody who writes fiction knows tons of stuff about their characters that never makes it onto the page. I've had readers write to me and ask what happened to characters before the book started or after it ended, and I can always tell them.

Did I see it coming about Dumbledore? No. But now that JK's told us, it makes perfect sense. What better explanation for his astonishing lapse of judgment over Grindelwald than sexual infatuation? But why didn't she give Dumbledore a love life after Grindelwald? Was his heart broken? Was he in the closet? Is there some other obvious love interest in later books that we're missing? And let's not forget -- she did have a stereotypically gay character in Professor Slughorn.

[Kathryn Reschini Sweeney]

What a terrific blog!

I think this just adds another layer of value to Rowling's work. I've been comparing her to Tolkien.

We can preach all we want about tolerance, but the best way for kids to really believe it is to find that a character they admire is different (or the same) as they are.

As far as people criticizing Rowling and questioning whether she knows her own characters -- are you kidding me?!

[Kerry, The Martial Tart]

What y'all said.

As I reflect back on Dumbledore through most of the series, the thing I keep coming back to is that he's essentially asexual -- we don't see any evidence of any sort of sexuality about him at all. And isn't that pretty common in YA fiction when it comes to the Wise Adult Authority Figure? Heck, the same applies to most of the other professors as well.

Having said that, I also agree that this makes the Grindewald story make much more sense. And I could see Dumbledore essentially closeting himself as a sort of penance for his youthful bad judgment (and its tragic consequences).

Anyway, I like it . . .

[Nancy Martin]

Is it just me, or does fan fic mostly seem to deal with sexuality and issues of the heart? Or are there fan fic sites that take stories in other, Hero's Journey kind of directions?

[Rebecca the Bookseller]

I love this discussion!

I think this is so fascinating - I too, miss talking about Potter.

One of the first things that occurred to me was - how ironic! So both Dumbledore and Snape, who for better and worse, had much of their adult lives shaped by unrequited love.

I would love to talk to Jo Rowling about how these characters developed - did she have a clear vision of the main ones from the beginning, or did they grow and develop with each book?

Amazing, amazing series.

[ramona]

After reading Abbe's comment, I realize that I miswrote. It's not just the fan fiction people going wild, it's all of Potter fandom. Sorry to leave anyone out in my reference.

Nancy, you are correct about fan fiction often dealing with sexuality. And, sometimes, bestiality.

Speaking of which, according to the Leaky Cauldron's transcript of the JKR event (which I will link below), here's further proof that JKR has a wicked and delicious sense of humor. When a kid (clearly put up to it) asked what kind of charms Aberforth was practicing on the goats, she asked, "How old are you?" The kid was 8, so she said Aberforth was trying to make a goat that was easy to keep clean.

Don't you just love her? I mean, don't you just LOVE HER???

Transcript: http://www.the-leaky-cauldron.org/2007/10/20/j-k-rowling-at-carnegie-hall-reveals-dumbledore-is-gay-neville-marries-hannah-abbott-and-scores-more

[Elaine Viets]

I like my goats clean, but find them difficult to charm.
It's good to discuss this issue seriously. Authors are like God -- we can create our own worlds and the people therein.
Rowling is one author who doesn't have to worry that taking a stand will hurt her sales.
Now, if we can discuss other questionable relationships in fiction -- Sherlock and Watson, and whether the great detective was bi-polar.

[Laura K]

"...it is narratively compatible that Albus Dumbledore is gay?"

Is it narratively compatible that he isn't?

[ramona]

Oh, Elaine, you scared me there. When you said Sherlock and Watson, I thought maybe you meant they...you know.

I've been reading too much fan fiction, I suppose. You'd think I'd have learned my lesson after discovering the gay hobbit sex stuff.

[rick]

Great post. It might even help her sales. She might make six or seven additional dollars, and Lord knows, poor starving writers need all the help they can get.

[michele]

While I can't say I don't envy JKR's sales, I certainly don't begrudge them. She's created something for the ages, something the human race can be proud of. Look how much money James Patterson makes. Can anybody say that about him?

I always thought her books were about racism, but this Dumbledore revelation does make me realize they're about tolerance more generally. It's a beautiful thing.

Does anybody but me think there might have been a hint of infatuation in Dumbledore's feelings toward Tom Riddle at times? (Not that I'm suggesting he was a pedophile-- never!!)

[Mary Storyteller]

I had to laugh at the academics' discussion -- "narratively compatible" .. reminds me of trying to talk to my ex when he was in philosophy grad school. "My wife doesn't understand me" was so true, and neither did anyone else outside of their particular ivory tower. Undergraduates brought him back to earth once he started teaching.
I truly hadn't thought that much of Dumbledore's sexual orientation; it just wasn't a relevant topic what with all the danger and death and all, but why not? . . and my gay friends need heros, too. Rowling is brilliant!
A friend is still trying to work out how he could have won an "unbeatable" wand in a fight -- so if you have any insights on that, I'll pass them on.

[Ben Fulton]

There's a review in LibraryThing complaining that minorities are underrepresented in the series...wonder what he thinks now?

http://www.librarything.com/review/18778985

[Kerry, The Martial Tart]

Michele -- I didn't think it was infatuation so much as the thing that happens (I can't think of a good name for it right now) when an aging scholar recognizes a kindred spirit/brilliant protege. I think there can definitely be a kind of yearning involved -- both to see the protege develop to his/her full potential, but also to relive one's own glory days without, perhaps, making all the same mistakes.

Just a thought . . .

[Rocco]

Ciao Bellas!

This is such exciting news! I always felt, as someone else mentioned, that Rowling was teaching tolerance, and am so excited that we can add Albus to our tribe!

But, really, I have to say it, and don't get all huffy about it, dolls, but that hair?! I mean, glorious but a little conditioner perhaps?

And for the record, I liked Richard Harris' Albus best. May he rest in peace.

[ramona]

Oh, Rocco, you do know how to hone in on what's really important!

[michele]

Kerry, that makes a lot of sense.

I'm finding it comforting to see how *human* Dumbledore was, for a great wizard and all.

[Rita]

I've been listening to all 7 books back-to-back on audio. I'm up to HBP (6) so this announcement came at a perfect time. I wasn't at all surprised, and this makes some of the end-of-year-you-survived-again speech to Harry more meaningful. DD discuses how he let his feelings for Harry (and I never got a sex vibe) interfere with the plan. He comments that old men should remember their youth. I think he regretted once again that his personal feelings prevented him from doing what he knew he should. He certainly let his feelings for Grindelwald interfere by waiting for so long to confront him after he rose to power.
What an amazing series of books.

[rita]

Make that end of year speech in OoTP. Some of the HP fanfic is really scary.

[Katherine C.]

I agree with the general consensus that nobody knows the character like the author — if J.K. says he's gay, he's gay. The thing is — who cares? Does his sexual orientation change anything or alter the books in any way? No. So I really don't get what all the hooplah is about aside from giving the intolerant fanatics who've maintained the series is evil because of witchcraft, etc., what they see as further evidence for their case. And really, who cares what they think anyway?

[Tez Miller]

Were there any clues in the series that he was gay? Or did she just make that up on the spot?

Have a lovely day! :-)

[Mary Storyteller]

Rocco, what was your take on the little ribbon on the beard? That really bothered me. Richard Harris was the better Dumbledore, but what can you do when that pesky real world intervenes?