Rowling has announced that Albus Dumbledore, the noble, wise and somewhat godly character in the Harry Potter series is in fact a homosexual. Many have responded to the announcement from Rowling with “I thought so's” or “Now that you mention it, I suppose he is's.” On the contrary, some have chosen to believe that Dumbledore is not gay. But does Albus Dumbledore finally provide the gay community with a fair representative in the world of fantasy novels?
Being a handsome and extremely talented wizard, it is a wonder that Dumbledore never had a romantic partner in the series. And it's not until the final book that Dumbledore's sexual orientation is at all addressed. After his death, Harry meets an old male friend of Dumbledore's who had a strong and long emotional relationship with Dumbledore and who, like Harry, strongly admired and respected Albus Dumbledore. Apparently, this relationship was something more than just a friendship and Dumbledore was in fact romantically involved with this friend.
The books never explicitly state that Dumbledore is not a homosexual, nor do they state that he is. The author does not spend much time dwelling on the sexual orientations of her characters. After all, this is a children's series - isn't it? And wasn't widely assumed that this series contained biblical principles?
No matter what fans choose to believe about the beloved Albus Dumbledore's sexual orientation, the question of the author's subtle themes in the books still remain. Did she want the books to show biblical principles in the fight of good over evil, love, sacrifice and kindness; or did she want the books to be a fantasy novel buried in stories of lies, deceit and homosexuality? Now that Rowling has announced that one of her main characters is gay many are confused as to exactly what themes she is promoting in this series. It was formerly considered that the series contained many biblical implementations.
Harry's mother sacrifices her life for Harry to live and he consequently becomes "the Chosen One" who has to engage in a life long battle with Voldemort - the epitome of evil in the wizarding world. The consequence of his one day overcoming Voldemort is the salvation of the wizarding world, a peaceful and equal world. The somewhat godly Dumbledore is Harry's idol, confident and mentor. Harry possesses qualities of loyalty, honesty and honor. Likewise, Harry and his friends learn various qualities throughout the series that reflect the values of the Bible.
With this in mind, it is somewhat surprising that Rowling has revealed her most godly character is a homosexual. There is barely any evidence in the series that this is so and perhaps this homosexual notion is occurring in the wizarding world that resides in J. K. Rowling's head, rather than the reality that her readers experience. There is more evidence that Rowling has drawn parallels to the Bible than to homosexuality. These themes are the very core of her books; good over evil, love and sacrifice, and faith and honor. Whereas the notion that Dumbledore is gay is mere speculation of what might have been if the world of Hogwarts and wands was in fact reality.
Ultimately, while we can continue to speculate about whether or not Dumbledore fancied other men or if the series is in fact based on biblical themes, the core of the matter comes down to what her readers feel. Each of us who has read the series has created our own version of Rowling's magnificent world of magic and what we choose to believe about that world is completely up to us. If one fancies a gay Dumbledore in his or her Hogwarts - then so be it. If one fancies a noble and godly Dumbledore - then so be that too.
-Janice