I get your point; I think I got lured into the comparison due to the nostalgic tone of the Potterverse with its veddy English boarding-school setting, class boundaries, formal titles for teachers etc. In this respect it hearkens back to the era of Lewis and Blyton, and I suppose one has to ask oneself why, if Rowling's about being relevant to the modern reader, she didn't make her magic academy reflect the modern comprehensive-school age. If a modern comprehensive-school setting for Hogwarts would suddenly make it seem a lot less "magic" - and it certainly would for to me - then one must admit that this historical setting is more appealing than the modern day, and that most of the appeal comes from the element of escapism. That is, I suppose, why the Lewis/Blyton comparison sprang to mind; Rowling seems to be the natural heir of that kind of towering children's fantasy, good versus evil, than of the Judy Blume school of YA! realism.
But, I hear you say, why can't Rowling incorporate elements of both? Why can't she deal with the big mythic questions of what it takes to be good, how to walk the best path in a turbulent time etc. AND tackle the kids' developing awareness of other people's sexuality and the controversial issues that raises as well? Well, she could, but that would probably switch the focus of her series from the big issues to smaller, more personal ones. Perhaps Harry did wonder about Professor Flitwick's choice of a flambuoyant Carmen-Miranda-esque cocktail in The Three Broomsticks, but for Harry's curiosity to dwell on the issue of Flitwick's sex life would imply an amount of leisure-time and freedom that he simply hasn't got. When one is fundamentally afraid for one's life, as Harry is, one has better things to think about than whether one's teacher sleeps with his own gender or not.
If you're wondering whether this implies a head-in-the-sand approach to sexuality on my part, I assure you this isn't the case; it's just that I can't see how Rowling could deal in the intensely personal question of her characters' active sexuality without switching her focus from the big issues she's been dealing in since now. Sexuality in a big epic tends to be treated in one of two ways: 1) hardly-mentioned-at-all or 2) so-important-it-becomes-the-focus-of-everything. It's distracting, and unless handled carefully it can also seem prurient. This is why I think Rowling's going to leave things "coded", just as Blyton would, rather than having a couple of men or women explicitly kiss in front of Harry.
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Date: 2004-06-23 03:44 am (UTC)But, I hear you say, why can't Rowling incorporate elements of both? Why can't she deal with the big mythic questions of what it takes to be good, how to walk the best path in a turbulent time etc. AND tackle the kids' developing awareness of other people's sexuality and the controversial issues that raises as well? Well, she could, but that would probably switch the focus of her series from the big issues to smaller, more personal ones. Perhaps Harry did wonder about Professor Flitwick's choice of a flambuoyant Carmen-Miranda-esque cocktail in The Three Broomsticks, but for Harry's curiosity to dwell on the issue of Flitwick's sex life would imply an amount of leisure-time and freedom that he simply hasn't got. When one is fundamentally afraid for one's life, as Harry is, one has better things to think about than whether one's teacher sleeps with his own gender or not.
If you're wondering whether this implies a head-in-the-sand approach to sexuality on my part, I assure you this isn't the case; it's just that I can't see how Rowling could deal in the intensely personal question of her characters' active sexuality without switching her focus from the big issues she's been dealing in since now. Sexuality in a big epic tends to be treated in one of two ways: 1) hardly-mentioned-at-all or 2) so-important-it-becomes-the-focus-of-everything. It's distracting, and unless handled carefully it can also seem prurient. This is why I think Rowling's going to leave things "coded", just as Blyton would, rather than having a couple of men or women explicitly kiss in front of Harry.