Guided Autonomy: The women of Harry Potter.

What made me want to write about the female characters of Harry Potter are two videos I watched. The first is an interview of J.K. Rowling (« The Women of Harry Potter», Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part.2, 2011) and the second video is the speech that Emma Watson (Hermione Granger) said at the United Nation campaign for the solidarity movement for gender equality HeForShe in 2014.

Speaking about gender equality in the universe of Harry Potter is quite easier in some ways, because at first it is a fictional universe, and also because magic is not single-gender : witches and wizards are equal about the magic that runs through their veins.

Rowling, who is a woman author, created lots of exceptional female characters. All of them are brave, strong, loyal, clever, sometimes very independant, but most important, they are all true to themselves.

Hermione Granger, Ginny Weasley and Luna Lovegood are the most clear representations of those traits of personality.

Hermione is the brightest witch of her age and will never compromise herself and act dumber than she is. She didn’t sacrifice anything about her when she grew up. And without her, Harry and Ron would have never done anything, because she is the brain of the trio.

Ginny is the independant woman that society doesn’t like. She’s strong and sporty, but very clever too.

Luna is also a very strong character, because she really doesn’t care what others think : she’s totally in peace whith who she is and her past and she totally accepts that she is different.

Molly Weasley and Minerva McGonagall are also two strong women. They are powerful mother figures : Molly the « mother of this world » and McGonagall the mother of Hogwarts. They can fight too, they are the « greatest force for good », and they are not just women, or just a mother for Molly. Molly made a choice (to stay at home and taking care of her family) but that doesn’t mean that she’s « just that ». McGonagall is not just a teacher too.

All those women are really strong, and brave, because they lived difficult times : loss of close relations, torture, bully and criticism. And I think that the most important thing that Rowling is trying to give us, is that women have to accept them the way they are, and that they have to always be true to themselves.