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deathtocapslock2012-05-09 10:50 pm
JK Rowling and Introversion
So here’s something that just occurred to me as I was pondering stuff. I’ve recently gotten interested in a book called Quiet, which is designed to be empowering for introverted people, especially in the US where they’re often marginalized. And one of the things it mentioned is that Rowling is an introvert. So how do you guys think that’s influenced her writing (if it even did at all)?
It sometimes seems like she doesn’t think very highly of introverted people in general, since Snape (for example) is an introvert generally regarded with disdain, while Harry always hangs out with his friends and Ron has a large family, which we’re supposed to think of as charming (to say nothing of how the Marauders’ friendship is portrayed). Not to mention, Gryffindors are portrayed as being virtuous because they’re bold, charismatic, and hang together in packs, rather than because of any virtues that a more introverted person might have (Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff, the most introverted houses, are treated as little more than window dressing).
On the other hand, it seems like many supposedly sympathetic characters also have traits in common with negative introvert stereotypes. For example, Hermione is a neurotic bookish know-it-all whom nobody likes, Harry treats his friends as people he can use and summarily ignores or pushes away anyone he fails to accept as equally special, and Ron argues and fights with his family constantly and wishes to be better than all of them. And then, of course, there’s Dumbledore, who thinks himself too good to fraternize with anyone other than Harry and the like, it seems. Meanwhile, Voldemort had many acquaintances over the years, but never cared for them, and we're supposed to think of this as ultimate moral degeneracy.
So what are your thoughts on this? Anyone care to comment?
Incidentally, I'm not trying to offend anyone here. I'm an introverted person myself, which is why I got interested in the book in the first place.
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I don't have a full response yet, however I disagree that Hufflepuff is an introverted house. Hufflepuff is ALL ABOUT the group over the individual. Ravenclaw and Slytherin are, IMHO, the more introverted houses. Sure Slytherins network, but they clearly do not prize the group over the individual the way 'Puffs do and do not share everything on their minds. Gryffs are the most showy extroverts, but 'Puffs still charge their emotional batteries through social contact. 'Claws and Slyths charge their batteries through individual pursuits. -- In fact, if I had to make a spectrum, Hufflepuff would be one polarity and Ravenclaw the other, with Gryffindor and Slytherin in-between:
social interests/ties strongest influence (H) -- social interests strong but smaller 'packs' operate (G) -- social interests flexible in favor of individual interests (S) -- individual interest strongest (R)
I do agree that the more introverted houses are generally met with either ignorance or disdain, and that extroversion is praised, overall. Hufflepuffs aren't as important as Gryffs because Bravery and Wit, but it's interesting to see that the only student considered worthy enough to share the TWT victory was a Hufflepuff, not a Ravenclaw, and that our most prominent example of a Ravenclaw is the politely-tolerated but laughed-at (and very individual) "Loony" Lovegood.
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The big question about all this is just what it says about Rowling. Does she hate herself and wish she was more extroverted (which admittedly I can kind-of sympathize with because I've been there)? But if that's so, then how does that explain the way she writes characters like Hermione or Dumbledore, whom we're supposed to like and admire?
I've read segments of the book and it looks like it'll be very illuminating about why I think and do certain things. My mother's actually checked it out for me so I'll be able to read it once I get home from school.
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At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I have to raise Rowling's TV interview with Oprah Winfrey again, where Rowling basically denigrated people who, for lack of a better term she deemed criers, asserting that she (Rowling) doesn't "allow" herself to cry, and she doesn't want "criers" around her.
When pressed on the point by Winfrey, Rowling admitted to having "allowed" herself "two good cries" in her whole life, defined as crying for no more than 20 minutes. One occasion was when her mother died, Rowling didn't state what the second occasion was.
I'm sure that I'm not the only person who finds the "only two good cries" in her whole life statement hard to believe, and that Rowling must have had at least a handful of "good cries" in childhood at least, definitely during the hormonally-high-charged emotional years of adolescence and teen years.
But the fact that Rowling feels she has to downplay self-reflection, introspection, and introversion suggests that such traits were actively discouraged in her formative years by at least the dominant parent, if not both parents. So yes, I think she DOES tend to introversion, but that introversion was something that she was taught was a negative trait.
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That's not quite true. JKR said she'd only had two "good cries" in her adult life, not her whole life. The first was when her mother died, and the second was when she finished writing the HP series, which caused me to think, "Yeah, if I'd written a book as bad as DH, I'd cry, too."
Her disdain for normal grieving goes back to something mary_j_59 wrote on Snapedom regarding grief and mourning in the Potterverse. This is part of what she wrote (3/10/10):
Tonks, too, becomes depressed when Remus rejects her - or so we are told. And what happens to her? She and Remus are both killed. Sirius, too, is killed, and so is Severus. In all four cases, we never see anyone mourn for the dead - not really - and there is no funeral described.
Isn't that odd?
But that is how mourning is treated in the Potterverse. Albus Dumbledore praises Harry when - just about a month after his beloved godfather's death - Harry puts all thought of Sirius aside. It is wrong to mourn, it seems, and if you do, you will be punished. The hero is a person who is able to put aside his grief at will.
So there you have it. Much as they dislike each other, Remus Lupin and Severus Snape do have something in common. They are depressed. And, in the Potterverse, depression is a weakness for which you will be punished. The punishment is death.
Mary is correct that in the Potterverse, there is no such thing as healthy mourning. There are only variants of pathological mourning. To use John Bowlby's terminology, there is Chronic Mourning (i.e., grieving openly and forever, as exemplified by Snape re Lily) and Prolonged Absence of Conscious Grieving (i.e., never grieving openly and burying your pain so deep it appears not to exist at all, as exemplified by Harry re Sirius and allegedly by Dumbledore re Ariana.)
Poor JKR appears to be under the impression that the latter is healthy and "strong," but it's not. CM and PACG are not opposites, but two sides of the same coin. Healthy grieving does not come naturally; it's a skill that has to be learned and practiced. Its purpose is to allow you to detach your emotions from a loved one or situation (such as a job) that is no longer a part of your life so your emotional energy can be redirected into present and future attachments. Suppressing your grief isn't "strong" and "brave;" it's weak and unhealthy, and does nothing but guarantee your pain will last forever, whether you acknowledge it or not.
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I agree with
I'd be interested to know why you think Severus was an introvert. I'm aware that it is a popular opinion.
I think Rowling had contempt for some characters and love for others, and this had little to do with their introversion or extroversion. We see giggly gangs of girls, for example, whose names I can't remember if they were given, who are probably extroverts, as well as Fudge and Lockhart, again probably extroverts, and she seemed to have a lot of contempt for all of them. If many of her characters come off as introverts, it's probably because that is the head space she is most comfortable occupying and she just doesn't "get" what it is to be extroverted.
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Inability to see the perspective of others is not a sign of introversion, as some can be highly empathetic.
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Granted, it's possible that we've just never seen him be extroverted, and that actually he spends all his evenings playing Parcheesi with the Slytherin kids, but I sort-of don't think that was Rowling's intention.
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Because of that Hermione is usually labeled an introvert. But I don't think she is.
Look at when we first meet her:
She takes it upon herself to go from car to car talking to people, most of whom she knows will be older and more experienced than her, in a search for Neville's toad.
It probably took all of Nevile's courage to ask Hermione if she had seen his toad. Notice Nevil didn't go with her.
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Also I'd argue that Hermione isn't an introvert as she's all about the validation from other people.
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I'm an introvert, and I'd never do the stuff she does. I started writing purely for my own entertainment, and have no idea why I started posting a story (I must have been out of my mind!), but when I realized that people were actually reading it, I was so frightened that I almost hid under the bed. You'd have to hold a gun to my head to get me up on a stage, or on camera.
If JKR's an introvert, I'm Queen of the Nile!
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Well, there are degrees of introversion. You're obviously at the extreme end; somebody closer to the extroversion end of the spectrum could handle some publicity, although you're probably correct that they wouldn't court it.
As for posting your story, even the most extreme human introverts are still herd animals and thus in need of attention and adulation from their own kind. Speaking as one of the actual readers of Birds of a Feather, my only problem with it is that you don't update it often enough. You either need to have longer chapters or update more frequently. It's an adorable, sweet story, I think the only HP fanfic I've read that's actually appropriate for children. It would make a great children's book, in fact. I love Fawkes's POV. I think my favorite scene was the one where Severus was being attacked by the hands, and Fawkes sat there laughing, thinking his pet wizard was putting on a funny show just for him.
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Actually, what I need is to have more free time and/or be independently wealthy. :P
I just got back from traveling with my family (I survived!), and I received inspiration by reading Terry Pratchett, Carl Hiaasen, and Christopher Moore while stuck in various airports. So I will get back to writing now.
(Thank you for the encouragement! *blushes*)
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Me too!!
I'm looking forward to more Birds of a Feather, also.
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I've got to remember to update the posts on LJ, too. I'm a few chapters behind there, but I post at fanfiction.net promptly.