CNN.com revealed that on October 19th, in front of a full audience in Carnegie Hall, J.K. Rowling, author of the wildly successful Harry Potter series, revealed that Dumbledore was gay and in love with rival Gellert Grindelwald. She revealed the character’s sexuality after a young fan inquired about the master wizard’s finding of true love. Her admission was met with gasps and applause, and already the news is spreading like wildfire.
Ireland Online reported that while Rowling joked about the gay-themed fanfiction with use of the Harry Potter characters online, as well as the response (“I would have told you earlier if I knew it would make you so happy”) (1), she also noted that Dumbledore’s romance was a tragic one, as his love blinded him to the person Grindelwald was.
“Falling in love can blind us to an extent,” she stated. (1)
Although Rowling kept Dumbledore’s sexuality a secret, she was sure to protect it. According to an article on Time.com, when she noticed a possible heterosexual love interest in the sixth film adaptation of the Harry Potter series, “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,” she passed a note to director David Yates, and a change in the script was made. (2)
According to Harry Potter fansite Muggles.net, Gellert Grindlewald first made a brief appearance in the first book, “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” in Chapter Six, but his story was described in the final Potter book, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. The Harry Potter Lexicon also details the character’s background.
After being expelled from the Durmstrang Institute, a school for wizards, Grindelwald met up with the young Albus Dumbledore in Godric’s Hollow, where the young men lived. They plotted a plan for dominating the wizard world with the Deathly Hallows, with the philosophical argument that they were planning “for the greater good” of the wizarding world. After a family argument involving dueling spells between Dumbledore and Grindlewald that resulted in the accidental death of Dumbledore’s sister Ariana, and after that the friendship between the young men ended. (8)(9)
Though incredibly successful, the Harry Potter series has also been controversial, and Rowling has encouraged her young fans to tolerate others and “question authority”. (3) FOXNews.com noted that Christian groups have objected to a lack of religion in the series as well as supposedly promoting witchcraft, and this new angle will be sure to bother them as well. The site noted that other noted children’s books “And Tango Makes Three” and “Postcards From Buster” were also threatened to be banned by schools and libraries.(4)
Gay rights activists are happy about the revelation. E Online’s article about the new character revelation had a quote from GLAAD (Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) President Neil G. Giuliano: “It’s wonderful that J.K. Rowling would help open readers eyes to the life and truth of such a beloved character.” (5) EFluxMedia reported that gay human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell stated that “It’s good that children’s literature includes the reality of gay people, since we exist in every society.” though he was disappointed that Dumbledore wasn’t openly gay in the series. “Maybe she feared a hostile reaction,” he mused. (6)
The fan response has also been largely been favorable. There’s already a fansite devoted to Dumbledore and Grindelwald called “For the Greater Good” (http://iadore.net/grindeldore/about.php). MSNBC had a quote in their online article from Melissa Anelli, who runs the popular Harry Potter website The Leaky Cauldron about the subject. “Rowling calling any Harry Potter character gay would make wonderful strides in tolerance toward homosexuality…By dubbing someone so respected, so talented and so kind, as someone who just happens to be also homosexual, she’s reinforcing the idea that a person’s gayness is not something of which they should be ashamed.” (7)
SOURCES
1 – “Activist welcomes ‘Dumbledore is gay’ revelation” Ireland Online, October 20, 2007 (http://breakingnews.iol.ie/entertainment/story.asp?j=235055640&p;=z35x56346)
2 – “Rowling: Potter’s Dumbledore Gay” Time.com, AP/Hillel Italie, October 20, 2007 (http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1674069,00.html?imw=Y)
3 – “Dumbledore is gay, ‘Harry Potter’ author reveals” CNN.com/entertainment, October 20, 2007 (http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/books/10/20/harry.potter.ap/index.html)
4 – “Dumbledore Outing Gives Potter Passages New Meaning” FOXNews.com, October 22, 2007 (http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,304016,00.html)
5 – “J.K. Rowling Outs Dumbledore” Natalie Finn, October 19, 2007 (http://www.eonline.com/news/article/index.jsp?uuid=c2b40da2-2406-4e8f-bc89-6fc11d1b0e41)
6 – “Harry Potter Fans Show Support for Gay Dumbledore” EFluxMedia.com, Jane Ivory, October 22, 2007 (http://www.efluxmedia.com/news_Harry_Potter_Fans_Show_Support_for_Gay_Dumbledore_09849.html)
7 – “Dumbledore’s outing gives text new meaning” October 21, 2007 (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21407911/8 – “Gellert Grindelwald, Character Biography” Muggle.net (http://www.mugglenet.com/infosection/characters/bios/grindelwald.shtml)
9 – “HPL: Gellert Grindelwald” The Harry Potter Lexicon (http://www.hp-lexicon.org/wizards/grindelwald.html))
