JK Rowling and Introversion

[sweettalkeress.livejournal.com]

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.

Comments

[sweettalkeress.livejournal.com]

You do have a good point there. I guess I just assumed that Hufflepuffs were introverted since they rarely make strong appearances, but I guess they are more group-oriented.

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.

[majorjune.livejournal.com]

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)?

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.

[sweettalkeress.livejournal.com]

Interesting observations there. If all that is true, it's really kind of sad, because being introverted and reflective isn't something you can just switch on or off--I know that from experience. You'd think Rowling would be quite troubled if she's denying something that's effectively in her nature.

[oneandthetruth.livejournal.com]

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.

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.

[charlottehywd.livejournal.com]

Wow... well, when you put it that way, it's quite creepy. JKR's characters are pretty dysfunctional, to say the least.