The thing is, you have to make some sort of distinction between what Harry thinks, and what Rowling as the narrator says. The narration is always going on about how bad women have “mannish hands”. Is Harry a raging misogynist in his private thoughts, or is this the voice of the author? And if this is the voice of the author, why is Rowling making fun of childhood obesity? Why is Rowling joining in Harry’s abuse of Dudley? I can understand Harry being mean to Dudley, he has a pretty decent motivation. Rowling is a grown adult and was not abused by the Dursleys, so why is she so mean-spirited to her own character? Why is she saying he’s the size of a baby whale?
Yes. I’d just guess that the answer I interpret from those questions and what you interpret are different in a few ways. Understanding insensitivities that were baked into older media is valuable, and why I try to understand people’s criticism better. But just like Bill Gates giving to charity doesn’t make him a good person, having biases show up in a fictional novel doesn’t negate the moral lessons and the escapism it can offer. You seem to have a very strong opinion on the topic, and I have learned more from hearing your perspective. Thank you.
The thing is, you have to make some sort of distinction between what Harry thinks, and what Rowling as the narrator says. The narration is always going on about how bad women have “mannish hands”. Is Harry a raging misogynist in his private thoughts, or is this the voice of the author? And if this is the voice of the author, why is Rowling making fun of childhood obesity? Why is Rowling joining in Harry’s abuse of Dudley? I can understand Harry being mean to Dudley, he has a pretty decent motivation. Rowling is a grown adult and was not abused by the Dursleys, so why is she so mean-spirited to her own character? Why is she saying he’s the size of a baby whale?
Yes. I’d just guess that the answer I interpret from those questions and what you interpret are different in a few ways. Understanding insensitivities that were baked into older media is valuable, and why I try to understand people’s criticism better. But just like Bill Gates giving to charity doesn’t make him a good person, having biases show up in a fictional novel doesn’t negate the moral lessons and the escapism it can offer. You seem to have a very strong opinion on the topic, and I have learned more from hearing your perspective. Thank you.