Dumbledore's Secret (Spoiler) (Full Version)

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dcnovice -> Dumbledore's Secret (Spoiler) (10/22/2007 6:56:20 PM)

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HP Fans ---

Speaking recently at Carnegie Hall, J.K. Rowling outed Hogwarts's beloved headmaster, Albus Dumbledore. The crowd gasped, then applauded enthusiastically. The Leaky Cauldron has the story, as does apparently every media outlet on Earth.

The question was: Did Dumbledore, who believed in the prevailing power of love, ever fall in love himself?

JKR: My truthful answer to you... I always thought of Dumbledore as gay. [ovation.] ... Dumbledore fell in love with Grindelwald, and that that added to his horror when Grindelwald showed himself to be what he was. To an extent, do we say it excused Dumbledore a little more because falling in love can blind us to an extent? But, he met someone as brilliant as he was, and rather like Bellatrix he was very drawn to this brilliant person, and horribly, terribly let down by him. Yeah, that's how i always saw Dumbledore. In fact, recently I was in a script read through for the sixth film, and they had Dumbledore saying a line to Harry early in the script saying I knew a girl once, whose hair... [laughter]. I had to write a little note in the margin and slide it along to the scriptwriter, "Dumbledore's gay!" [laughter] "If I'd known it would make you so happy, I would have announced it years ago!"

So what do you think? Had you suspected it all along? Were you stunned? Happy? Sad? Do you think it's cool that JKR shared that thought, or is it "cheating" to add to the story after the fact?

Cheers,

DC



Arpig -> RE: Dumbledore's Secret (Spoiler) (10/22/2007 7:05:45 PM)

since it never came up in the stories its pretty much irrelevant.



darkcatnip -> RE: Dumbledore's Secret (Spoiler) (10/22/2007 7:10:17 PM)

I dont think it really matters. I never really noticed it in the book before. Im all for gay rights and seeing gays as equal as everyone else.. so, even if I had noticed.. it wouldnt have affected the greatness of the book. Besides the book is mainly about potter and his friends to me. :)



missjan -> RE: Dumbledore's Secret (Spoiler) (10/22/2007 7:14:48 PM)

I wonder why she waited til now, to mention it, and why now?? 



MissMagnolia -> RE: Dumbledore's Secret (Spoiler) (10/22/2007 7:16:24 PM)

Book sales falling?



hermione83 -> RE: Dumbledore's Secret (Spoiler) (10/22/2007 7:16:45 PM)

Another member showed me this earlier. Interesting. I'm not sure I could really see that he fell in love with him. The way they spent all their hours together, Dumbledore at his house .. really isn't unlike any pair of best friends, who are platonic. I think to say Dumbledore only had any glimpse of love at ~17 is sort of .. I don't know. He's not JUST intelligent, he's wise. He truly isn't really aloof about anything, as many geniuses are.  I can't believe, that with all of his focus on love, that he never pursued any romantic love in his life, ever, beyond that point. He has shown he is capable of getting over pain, in some ways, and not so well in others. The way he treated Professor McGonagall in the first book, when we saw a glimpse back.. well... I don't know. I'm not entirely sure that I believe that she didn't *just* come up with that one for a little publicity. I'm not sure the last books were as honest as the first few. Sometimes I felt like things didn't ring true to the original story. She even added in a few things to later books that the movie writers had thought of. For someone so attached to it, it can be disappointing. On the other hand, I guess it's interesting to not think of Dumbledore as the always asexual, wise, perfect creature we think of him as. Of course, the last book crumbled that image of perfection and that tower of strength anyway. 



understeer -> RE: Dumbledore's Secret (Spoiler) (10/22/2007 7:18:24 PM)

marketing marketing marketing.



dcnovice -> RE: Dumbledore's Secret (Spoiler) (10/22/2007 7:27:13 PM)

quote:

marketing marketing marketing.


I know I'm naive, but I honestly don't think that's it. It's clear that Rowling has an immense amount of backstory in her head that didn't make it into even massive books, and I think she was excited when the question gave her the opportunity to share some of it.



feastie -> RE: Dumbledore's Secret (Spoiler) (10/22/2007 8:16:10 PM)

I don't believe her for a moment.  I think it's a grab at a little more publicity and a little more controversy now that the series is "done".  She may not continue Harry Potter's story, but I daresay we'll have Dumbledore's story in the not so distant future and this is just her way of setting up for it.

Blah



dcnovice -> RE: Dumbledore's Secret (Spoiler) (10/22/2007 8:22:35 PM)

But does she need "a little more publicity"? It's not like she lacked for it before.



LuckyAlbatross -> RE: Dumbledore's Secret (Spoiler) (10/22/2007 8:52:21 PM)

She's also the richest woman in her country- really, no need to create false buzz there.

I didn't really think about it, but it definitely makes sense to me.  Considering how chaste she pretty much kept things with her teens growing up in the books, it's a surprising statement to really consider, but fits in just fine all around.

Of course it just gives overbearing religious types more reasons to be against the books, but I'm very interested in finding out how a few of my religious friends who enjoyed the books but are definitely homophobic react to this news.



feastie -> RE: Dumbledore's Secret (Spoiler) (10/22/2007 8:59:22 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: dcnovice

But does she need "a little more publicity"? It's not like she lacked for it before.


It's what she does.  Throughout the writing of the HP series, she'd drop something at some event or other.  It's foreshadowing on her part.  Hell, I don't care if Dumbledore is gay, other than it providing fodder for the legions already eschewing the books as inappropriate for children.  Let's just feed that fire, shall we?

Does she need the publicity?  Not for Harry Potter.  But to sell something new, just maybe. 



LightHeartedMaam -> RE: Dumbledore's Secret (Spoiler) (10/22/2007 9:03:59 PM)

When I heard this, my initial reaction was "who gives a rat's ass and why should we even care"?  B F D



Lashra -> RE: Dumbledore's Secret (Spoiler) (10/22/2007 9:11:48 PM)

I don't really care if he is gay, I still like the character. But I imagine this will give some of the christian groups just one more stone to throw at the series.

~Lashra



HotFaerieMama -> RE: Dumbledore's Secret (Spoiler) (10/22/2007 9:39:21 PM)

don't really care.. i found out before my mom did who's a hp fan ( it drives me nuts) and she'll freak out when she does find out..



eyeh8f8 -> RE: Dumbledore's Secret (Spoiler) (10/23/2007 3:45:04 AM)

I don't read these books much. Mthe only books near this type that I read have been LOTR and the wheel of time. RIP Robert jordan

Anyways. Harry Potter has been a mark for kids because it started out with a kid. If he was five years older at the start, the book would be less famous to them. I think Harry Potter is an ok series of books but I think it's popularity has been due to the marketing of the author. There are probably less famous books that didn't have a business smart author that were better.



slaverosebeauty -> RE: Dumbledore's Secret (Spoiler) (10/23/2007 9:55:42 AM)

{giggles}  More HP talk....
 
I read an article in the Fresno Bee this morning about that, and after thinking about it, I'm not suprised that Dumbledor was gay.  The books were great on their own without that 'revelation,' if does explain a few things though; its just in that interview J.K. did with NBC where she said she will have to do a Harry Potter Encyclopdia in the future.
 
Besides if it keeps my family [right wing super fanitical religious people] freaking out during the holidays this year while I read HP and make little quips about him being gay and how someone can be homosexual AND be successfull and important, its sooooooo worth it.



AquaticSub -> RE: Dumbledore's Secret (Spoiler) (10/23/2007 10:38:37 AM)

The whole thing reminds me a bit of a story in the book "Am I blue?". Basically in the story from which the book takes it's title, a teenage boy (who isn't sure of his sexuality but gets beaten up by another boy who thinks he is gay) makes a wish that everyone who was gay would turn blue so that everyone in the world had to deal with the fact that some of the people they love, work with, and are friends with are gay. Pretty good book.

Maybe I'm nuts but I actually kinda like that she waited until now, when the character and the series is so beloved. I don't think it belonged in the books because - from my understanding - the character never did anything sexual. There wouldn't have been a need to point out that he was heterosexual, so why point out that he was homosexual? She was asked a question and she answered it.



Pernicious -> RE: Dumbledore's Secret (Spoiler) (10/23/2007 10:42:27 AM)

You have to cater for every audience.



dcnovice -> RE: Dumbledore's Secret (Spoiler) (10/23/2007 8:12:27 PM)

quote:

I'm very interested in finding out how a few of my religious friends who enjoyed the books but are definitely homophobic react to this news.


That would be interesting to hear about. Please let us know, LA!



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