Our Shared Shelf discussion

Harry Potter is by far my favourite book series in the world! Not just beacuse of the gripping storyline, but because of the amazing characters too. There are many powerful women in the series; including Hermione, Ginny, and Tones. They all know how to stand up for themselves and do not rely on men to help them through life. They all value their education, which is another thing I love about the women in Harry Potter. As I started to read the books when I was 7, I grew up aspiring to be like Hermione Granger, and would always question, from a young age, why the two genders couldn't be equal. I thought it was stupid, and I was angered that men were considered better than women, in some places more than others. Harry Potter has plenty of strong females that are all great role models. The books are also fantastic so I would recommend you read them, if you haven't already!

Olivia x

I adore the Harry Potter books. Firstly, because all characters are registered fantastically. I mean they are full, interesting and self-sufficient. They can easily exist without each other. Moreover, all characters have two sides: good one and bad one. So you can't say "this guy is evil". Everyone has a history (which we can read), opinion, fears, creeds. Furthermore, I love that books show problems such racism, feminism, human rights through magic. It's wonderful that children from different countries can learn from favorite characters how the real world works and how complicated humans relationships are. (Sorry for my mistakes. English is not my mother language. I tried to express my opinion as clear as possible. Hope you understood what I tried to say :D)

The English was perfect :D That's a great point!

I think it would be perfect! The fight for inequality is a huge theme throughout the books.

Thats a really great point!!!!

My life would never be the same without these AMAZING novels!

Loving the above comments!

We should also consider the women in HP who would not have embraced feminist ideals and who all actively promoted inequality through their despicable actions (Petunia Dursely, Bellatrix Lestrange, Dolores Umbridge, etc) .... all on the dark side. Highlights that it's so important for women to support women. Although having said that I think if Bellatrix had taken a gender equality class she'd still have turned out a baddie!

PS: I think we should have a discussion thread solely dedicated to the might of Professor McGonnagall.

Saved my life. Thank you, Jo <3

I completely agree with you!!
I grew up reading the Harry Potter books and, similar to how most others feel, when reading the books, they take you on the adventurous journey with the three main protagonists; seeing each event as they unfold, each obstacle they must face and overcome, whilst changing the way you think about magic forever.

Speaking about the female characters from within the books, each woman is as complex and as different in personality as the next. Whether you are dreaming to be as wise and strict as Minerva McGonagal; as passionate and maternal as Molly Weasley; as brave and courageous as Lily Potter; as endearing and generous as Luna Lovegood; as kind and devoted as Ginny Weasley; or even as driven, loyal and amazing as Hermione Granger. There is a plethora of incredible female characters within the books that inspire children and adults alike, to perform to the best of their abilities.

Needless to say, of course, there are a few female characters one can't help but pity or despise as a result of their incredibly detailed persona, JK Rowling pays much attention to these details, allowing readers to judge and aspire to become the person that tries to stop them. I'm speaking, of course, about Bellatrix Lestrange and Dolores Umbridge. Whilst Bellatrix Lestrange is a chilling character, determined and evil to the brink of madness, one cannot help but simply marvel the sheer genius of her description. Whilst being unable to forgive her for Sirius' death, Hermione's torture, or even the attempted murder of Ginny Weasley, it is incredible to see how little one can change when on the dark side of the war.
As for Dolores, she is simply the type of character that one just does not like. Her manipulative attitude, her condescending tone, her treatment of Harry, as well as Professor Trelawney, adds to the reader's desire of wanting something bad to happen to her, coming with a sense of relief at her "just desserts".

I could go on about the incredible female characters from within Rowling's wondrous world of wizardry, I can only hope I have given these characters enough justice in the way I have described them, because they really are marvellous. Thanks for reading xoxo

Yes. Harry Potter has basically every type of female role model.

I know it may be super obvious and cheesy to suggest Harry Potter as a book to read in Emma Watson's book club...but there are a lot of AMAZING badass women in HP and those ladies helped form the person that I am today.

Absolutely agreed. I wrote above a few of the great examples. I could've continued rambling on, but I wanted to get my point across. The female characters are detailed with so much depth it's really quite remarkable.

(I agree haha. Although, she might get a sense of pleasure to see how much readers clearly enjoy the book where the amazingly successful film franchise originates and how much it means to us)

What I love about he female characters in Harry Potter is how integral they are to the story. Harry and Ron would most certainly have been squashed in their first year without Hermione and we all know it. But aside from that, it is Lilly's love, the love of a mother for her child, that sets the whole story going and protects Harry throughout is entire life.

Additional discussion point: a large number of female characters have floral names (Lilly, Lavender, Pansy, Petunia, Narcissa). Is this done so that we may be forced to make an association between these women? Perhaps they are all "good" at their core (even Petunia and Narcissa)?

Many people start to read Harry Potter at a young age, and I think it is so wonderful that this kind of message like gender equality can seek into children's head in their early age. There are not only male athletes play quidditch, but there are also female athletes in the team like Angelina and Katie. In the Ministry of Magic, there are also many women hold executive offices. I think this send the right message to the new generation.

Lucius Malfoy is my favorite character from both the books and movies. <3

Harry Potter is the best series in the history of books. Not because it has an awesome story line or mind blowing dialogs. But because J.K Rowling had went through the same things when she was trying to publish this book. The publishers suggested her to use a pen name that makes her appear as a male not a female. The reason was that the publishers were worried about the reception of the book by the males in the society. Now this is why Harry Potter holds a special place, J. K Rowling went through the same amount of troubles to publish the book as Harry Potter went through in the book. Why should J. K Rowling do that? Why should any female mask her identity? J. K Rowling is the Shakespeare of modern times. give females a chance to take the world by storm. Peace out!

And extremely sorry for the rubbish English. I'm trying to improve it.

Yes great idea I think that we should read the harry potter series as it has great characters and a great story line

Kandarp wrote: "Harry Potter is the best series in the history of books. Not because it has an awesome story line or mind blowing dialogs. But because J.K Rowling had went through the same things when she was tryi..."

Understood everything you wrote perfectly Kandarp, and great points about JKR! :)

I have so much beautiful memories with Harry Potter. Every time when new book was released I did not sleep, eat, speak and move until the whole book had been read. How many bad grades the next day at school :D

So much yes to this! It's an incredible series filled with some powerful female characters. I read the series at least once a year and I'm always overwhelmed with the amount of power that these characters have (Hermione, Mrs. Weasley, Tonks, McGonagall, etc.). It makes me want to me like them- a strong woman!

I am really happy there is a thread about Harry Potter. I could say I'm in love with those books. Every character has his own story behind, and they have a powerful personality. They are "people" who can teach us a lot of important values. Harry Potter has shown us and still do that there can be friendship between a girl and a boy and make us realize that a friendship can last forever (and others, of course).

There are strong women here who teach us that women and men can be equal, they teach us that women are important, kind, but brave and strong. Women are not the weak gender.

The characters are role models. Every character has his own matter, we can learn a lot from every single character. There are feminists, like Hermione, Ginny, Luna, Mrs.McGonagall, Mrs.Weasley, even Lily Potter or Madame Maxime. And men have strong personality.

I first read Harry Potter 2 years ago, in 7th grade. Until then I thought that this series is a stupidity, But I borrowed the first book from my school library and I fell in love by the first page. It was magic. I read all 7 books really fast (I hated to read, too), and in Christmas break I watched 8 movies and I descovered Emma. After two years (like 5 month ago) I re-read the whole series and the magic still was here, even if I knew what would happen. Harry Potter made me to want to read more and now I can not imagine my life without books. Harry Potter really change lives.

After I read the first time the series, I became a bit obsessed by all which has to do with Harry Potter. I read all the fan theories, every idea of new books, all the articles. And I still do that because I love Harry Potter series more and more everyday. And it really helps that Mrs.Rowling post a lot about the characters and the new plays and movies. It really helps that the actors do something important, productive for our world, that they are kind and still teach us something important: humanity. This is the way for Harry Potter to be alive for decades, maybe centuries from now!

And dear Kandarp, I agree with you! Joanne Rowling, and I use that name because she's a woman, she deserve to be seen like a woman, she went through many. Publishing houses refused her, but she didn't give up. She still tried and she succeded! She is a woman, and she has shown that nothing can stop her. And she worked so hard! Every name has a meaning, even some lines that at the first look don't mean anything has a meaning (for example, the hidden meaning from the first Snape's words to Harry). And don't forget how she came with the idea. Just a trip with the train makes that possible. The series isn't just for 9-11 kids (in that category the publishers put the book). This is for all of us!

I knew that if I start to write about my favourite books I'd not finish. But I want to add something. They mean everything to me. They saved me from myself and they have made for me a beautiful way of seeing the world!

Thank you jq

Mihaela... Right! Books are my escape from problems.... And I remember Joanne saw an owl I think, that gave her the idea of the book while on a train.... Correct me if I am wrong?

it is the best book and best movie series I've ever seen. the things shown in the movies are very fabulous as I think I am always in that movie and always try to enter the harry potter world.

I did not read Harry Potter since young. My mother would ban me from reading Harry Potter because she thought that it too dark for me to read. Now that I am 18, I am trying to catch up on the Harry Potter books.(Please don't judge me) So far I have finished reading book 3 from the Harry Potter series and currently in the middle of reading the fourth book.

So far from what I've read, I really like the way JKR wrote the book. It is simple to read and easy to understand. At the same time, it is very intriguing and I always want to set aside more and more time to read finish the entire series.
One thing that I would never tell my friends who are not into Harry Potter or into books is that I love to imagine myself as a character in the Harry Potter world.

I am not very sure if I want to watch the movie after reading the book because from what I've heard, the book is better than the movie. But do let me know if the Harry Potter movie is worth watching.

Deborah...how I wish I was you and able to get that feeling of reading each book for the first time. ..Nothing. Beats. That.

I also love to absolutely hate Dolores...she is a boss.

Some of the points in here are really great - especially the one about JK having to change her name to not put boys off reading the book. I think she has done a lot for feminism, not just through her writing, but through her politics too. You can often see her on Twitter fighting off trolls and trying to stand up for those who needs a voice. She's a true inspiration.

I'd also agree about the points made with the characters and themes presented in the books being really good for provoking feminist ideas in the reader.

From a personal perspective, I started reading Harry Potter in 1998, when I was 7. I had very bad dyslexia (found if difficult to read, write and spell) and so my Dad read it to me, along with the 2nd and 3rd book.

I found Harry Potter to be the main 'thing' that helped give me courage to tackle my dyslexia, and find ways to overcome it. I just thought, "I want to be like Hermione", and I did that with absolutely everything in school, which eventually led me to going to a good University and graduating with a 2:1. She never gives up, and shows the importance of girls having a good eduction.

To me, Hermione is the perfect feminist character. She is perfectly flawed. She is clever and unafraid to speak her mind, whilst also being kind, caring and loyal. You can imagine that neither Ron nor Harry would ever dream of turning around to her and saying "you can't come because you're a girl" or something... She's way to bossy and sure of who she is to take any of that. She does have her flaws though, I think she lacks imagination sometimes, for example in the HBP where she dislikes Harry using the HBP potions book because it isn't following the "official instructions". This is a good thing! If she was perfect, it would be so much harder to see yourself in her as the reader.

I think it is interesting that of the main trio in Harry Potter, she is the one who is the most political. She is unafraid of putting her points of view across, and I think her fight for elf-rights in GOF is really awesome from a feminist point of view. She doesn't see why anyone, human or other wise, should be seen as less important than anyone else.

I think the best thing about Hermione though, is that she in unashamedly a "mudblood". She never lets her blood status get in the way of her ambition. She never questions her abilities or her right to be as successful as she is. It is such a great lesson for anyone in life - male, female, young, old etc. because there will always be times where we are the outcasts, where we're the ones who are seen as not as "good" as someone else based on our DNA, on something we can't help or change, and if she can teach us that, whatever that is, it doesn't matter, I think she's onto a winner.

I'm go glad I grew up with the Harry Potter books. I genuinely think they can teach children (and adults) so much about acceptance and equality within the world, and with such reletable characters. If I ever have kids, I'll definitely be encouraging them to read it too!

I could literally write for hours about all the different characters in the books and how great they are for equality, but this is already an essay...!

Harry Potter books are my favorite! When I first read them I just fell in love with Hogwarts, the story and mostly with the wizarding world. They are the reason why I love reading so much. I feel like I can read these books over over and never get bored.

I like very much how the females from this book were never afraid to be themselves e. g. Luna who didn't give a damn on what everybody else thought about her, or Hermione who even if others were telling her that she's a nerd and make fun o her, kept being herself.

Harry Potter made my childhood wonderful and full of magic.
Sorry for my english but this is not my mother language :)

Hermione was my hero! Why? I always thought that if I put my mind to it, and studied hard enough, I could make something of my life. I wanted to be a career student when I was younger - before Harry Potter series came out.

What I did not know was that with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome the way I have it, with my brain randomly showing up, and not being good enough at writing (yet) to get published, that it would be nearly impossible for me to make anything of my life. I am still trying to find my talent that can make me money. I never married either. Why? Men where I live think that they NEED to eat ChickCow or they will turn into a female. Seriously? Is their medical knowledge that lacking? ;) lol

BTW, I will never give up! Why? I'm not dead yet! Hermione series might be done, but Hermione and her love of learning will always be with me. So, I will learn what I can learn because it amuses me.

Just read that Alan Rickman die :( so sad he will be missed.

http://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/...

Agnes wrote: "Just read that Alan Rickman die :( so sad he will be missed.

http://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/..."

Just heard this too....we raise our wands to him

R.I.P, Alan Rickman! You will ALWAYS be in our hearts! :(

JQ wrote: "PS: I think we should have a discussion thread solely dedicated to the might of Professor McGonnagall."

We totally should ! Definitely one of my favorite character in the series !

rest in peace alan rickman

we will miss you

http://www.arvenig.it/blog/good-bye-a... this image I hate and love it right in the feels...

Arvenig wrote: "http://www.arvenig.it/blog/good-bye-a... this image I hate and love it right in the feels..."

Except Alan never said it. Here's the story from Snopes:

http://www.snopes.com/alan-rickman-po...

Petition for Emma to make a HP book club!?

Petition for Emma to make a HP book club!?

I love it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I read for about nine or ten times already. I just know I can't find another book I love as much as Harry Potter!!!!!!!!!

I must check but few years ago I'm open a book club on goodreads about Harry Potter ;)

I had just found a feminist Harry Potter podcast called 'Witch, Please' when I saw this thread! I really recommend it! They genuinely love the Harry Potter books/movies but pull no punches when analyizing it from a feminist perspective( is the way that Delores Umbrige is treated by the centaurs problematic, for instance? Because it can be interpreted as implying she's deserving of rape). They really love Hermione especially, she's the best.

Dada wrote: "Your mention of the centaurs made me wonder why we never saw female ones."

That question comes up in the Podcast too, in episode 1. " We see no female centaurs, does this mean that Centaurs are entirely homosexual?" The evidence that they are not homosexual being the implied rape of Ms. Umbridge. Or they could be pansexual. Or maybe there are female centaurs out there we don't see because centaur society is entirely homosocial, the males and females living in separate spheres and coming together only occasionally for mating season. This is my theory, based on only knowing about centaur mating behavior from Harry Potter and Disney's Fantasia. I like that we're asking the hard questions here. Also: do the students at Hogwarts wear anything under their robes?

I grew up with those books they were actually the first books I ever read. And books I will always keep on reading. Always ..

I completely agree! Harry Potter has such a positive message

You folks might want to check out another Harry Potter thread in this club: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

I see the other HP thread has been frozen. Would it be allowed to start a thread for the aspects where the series is lacking? I do love the books but nobody is perfect and I don't think that "write your own book" is a good response to criticism, but I also don't want to be a partypooper.

I'm in! Let's do it!

If you're just reading the story, Hermione is clearly the hero. She always pulls through. She's probably the one person in the series who casts the most unique spells. She always has her shit together.

And she's the one who voluntarily sacrifices the most. She had a family, and she decided to let them go. Harry would probably not have made that decision for himself - he was forced into it. And through it all, Hermione is completely uncomplaining. It's not irritating in the story because Harry appreciates it, and acknowledges her sacrifices.

But stepping outside the story, it's completely unfair. Couldn't we have had a Ron that sacrificed everything, that stayed with the Chosen One through everything, and a spoiled youngest sister that abandoned them? Of course we couldn't. But why?

The woman has to go so above and beyond the reasonable. She can't be Chosen, because women aren't Chosen. And she can't make a single selfish decision. In this way she can be a "hero." And yet the analogue man (Ron) can get by without any of those efforts, and still is considered a hero.

I think it's a great idea to discuss both the positive and the negative in one place. Otherwise, it's not so much a discussion as a list, y'know?

Rose, I think your points are very astute. Generally speaking, I think Ron's character got a bit of the short end of the stick in the films, but in the books, despite the few times he was jealous/disloyal, he's a much more well-rounded character. Hermione does sacrifice a lot, and I think you're right in identifying her gender as a large part of that, but I think it also relates to having left her entire life behind (in some sense) when she left for Hogwarts. With Ron, I had never considered his gender as a part of his sometimes fickle nature, but I think it definitely plays a part. I always attributed it (as I think the books themselves tend to suggest) to his many siblings and a certain starvation for attention.

One thing I really appreciate about the books is that it fosters an acute awareness of systemic biases. I've never read another book for such a young target audience that paints such a realistic picture of those kinds of forces in the real world. That's what really makes me feel strongly about it as a moral and progressive story.