Girl's Roles in HP

[Kathleen Odean <KOdean@COMPUSERVE.COM>]

I just finished the second Harry Potter, and I find myself bothered as I
was with the first book about Hermione's role.  I am disappointed that sh=
e
is so stereotyped as the bossy, overly-smart girl who is only eventually
accepted by Harry in the first book, and still only grudgingly accepted b=
y
Ron in the second book.

As someone who is alert to roles of females in children's books, I couldn=
't
help but notice that in the second Hermione is rescued by the boys and th=
en
Ginger is rescued by Harry.  The head of the school is a wise man, of
course (although a woman is temporary head for a while).  The team captai=
ns
in quidditch are male, as are most the players, even though there doesn't=

appear to be any special reason a boy would be better at flying a broom
than a girl (I just watched the World Cup).

J.K. Rowling is free to create the characters she wants, and I give her
credit for reaching kids who might otherwise not read such a long book.
It's fun to see so much excitement about a book, but I'm not convinced th=
at
means we can't air our concerns about it.   I have already been sharply
taken to task on another list for suggesting, as someone just did on
LM_Net, that Diana Wynne Jones writes more complex and clever fantasies
than the Harry Potter books.  So, like Mary Ann, I feel like I'm going ou=
t
on a limb--which is really too bad, if lists like this are supposed to be=
 a
place for free and open exchange of ideas.

Kathleen Odean
Librarian, Lincoln School, Providence, RI

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