Harry Potter: the curious case of Ariana Dumbledore
Warning: I have been sick for a while, and today I am also fasting Tish'baAv. (One day I might write in more detail about why I choose to fast; briefly, it is a spiritual rather than religious practice; I feel the spiritual need to fast, and so I observe my people's fasts even though I do not usually care about the religious reasons behind the fasts). I also will soon be breaking this fast, because I cannot physically do the full 25hrs. This is to say, my health is fragile and I am not 100% lucid right now, so please take this into account while reading and commenting.
Cat Valente (yuki_onna ) has an interesting and worthwhile discussion of Dumbledore's decision to let Harry be raised by the Dursleys in Dumbledore's Theory of Early Childhood Education:
...this whole plan of Dumbledore's really could have gone very wrong. Because while, yes, it is true that being raised by normal people [...] instead of in a nonstop fame factory MIGHT create a gentle, humble, sweet-natured boy, it could also, quite easily, create a sociopath.
Commenters chimed in on this issue and other things that bothered them about the Harry Potter books. I raised a few points, one of which I would like to make also on my own journal.
I also have a large problem with the way Rowling portrayed the whole Dumbledore/Ariana scenario - not because of what Albus D. says or does (we all [are/were] young and make mistakes), but because I am sick and tired of narratives in which the disabled kid conveniently dies. I say this as a mother of a disabled kid. Why was Ariana denied medical intervention? Why would she have to be taken away to St. Mungos? Why, if her parents chose to homeschool her, wouldn't they receive better support? Why couldn't she (and other magical kids with disabilities, of whom we see... nobody) mainstreamed in the wizarding school?
For those who do not remember what exactly happened: Ariana was a sister of Albus and Aberforth Dumbledore. At the age of six she was accosted and beaten by three Muggle children. Her magic becomes unstable (and 'uncontrollable'). Dumbledore the father, instead of getting his little girl to the hospital pronto, attacks the Muggle kids and goes to Azkaban for it (and dies there). The mother then decides to hide Ariana so that she won't be committed to St. Mungo's. Ariana is raised in secret -even the neighbors are not allowed to know about Ariana's issues - that's why Ariana is only allowed to go out at night. It is unclear if Ariana receives any education. Ariana accidentally kills her mother during one of her tantrums, and is herself eventually (and accidentally) killed in a skirmish between Grindelwald and Albus Dumbledore.
My problems with this scenario are manifold. Here are some of them:
* Why is exposure to the healers at St. Mungo such a horrible prospect for the Dumbledore family? Why cannot Ariana be seen by a magical healer? I myself am not a big believer in "cures", but as I understand it, the family doesn't even try to consult specialists to try to help Ariana. Her injury simply renders her magic 'uncontrollable' (how do they know?)
* The Dumbledore family's decision to isolate and hide Ariana seems frivolous and irresponsible to me without a MUCH longer discussion of what exactly life at St. Mungo's would be like for her. Granted, since Ariana and Albus weren't growing up in the modern world-equivalent, if we are to compare St. Mungo's of that time to "mental" institutions of yesteryear, then committing a child to such an institution could indeed be a horrible prospect. But where is that discussion?
* Ariana's magic is unpredictable and she is prone to difficult, violent tantrums, but she can, as I understand it, speak, walk, and form emotional attachments (at least with Aberforth). Ariana's condition does not seem severe enough for me to warrant such extreme isolation.
* There are quite a few real-life disabilities that render children 'prone to violent tantrums'. The answer to this is not to closet the kid and deny him/her educational opportunities. Many a neurotypical child would throw violent tantrums if closeted in a house for years without companions and denied an opportunity to go out in daytime. (I am not even talking about educational opportunities, because as I said, I do not remember any mention of Ariana being educated at home, rather than simply hidden).
* Why cannot Ariana go to Hogwarts? Does she even receive a letter? How does the wizarding community deal with its children with autism, ADHD, mental health issues, and other disabilities? (Yes, I know it is fiction; but it is fiction that is supposed to reflect reality, as far as I understand).
Ok. What do you think?
Cat Valente (yuki_onna ) has an interesting and worthwhile discussion of Dumbledore's decision to let Harry be raised by the Dursleys in Dumbledore's Theory of Early Childhood Education:
...this whole plan of Dumbledore's really could have gone very wrong. Because while, yes, it is true that being raised by normal people [...] instead of in a nonstop fame factory MIGHT create a gentle, humble, sweet-natured boy, it could also, quite easily, create a sociopath.
Commenters chimed in on this issue and other things that bothered them about the Harry Potter books. I raised a few points, one of which I would like to make also on my own journal.
I also have a large problem with the way Rowling portrayed the whole Dumbledore/Ariana scenario - not because of what Albus D. says or does (we all [are/were] young and make mistakes), but because I am sick and tired of narratives in which the disabled kid conveniently dies. I say this as a mother of a disabled kid. Why was Ariana denied medical intervention? Why would she have to be taken away to St. Mungos? Why, if her parents chose to homeschool her, wouldn't they receive better support? Why couldn't she (and other magical kids with disabilities, of whom we see... nobody) mainstreamed in the wizarding school?
For those who do not remember what exactly happened: Ariana was a sister of Albus and Aberforth Dumbledore. At the age of six she was accosted and beaten by three Muggle children. Her magic becomes unstable (and 'uncontrollable'). Dumbledore the father, instead of getting his little girl to the hospital pronto, attacks the Muggle kids and goes to Azkaban for it (and dies there). The mother then decides to hide Ariana so that she won't be committed to St. Mungo's. Ariana is raised in secret -even the neighbors are not allowed to know about Ariana's issues - that's why Ariana is only allowed to go out at night. It is unclear if Ariana receives any education. Ariana accidentally kills her mother during one of her tantrums, and is herself eventually (and accidentally) killed in a skirmish between Grindelwald and Albus Dumbledore.
My problems with this scenario are manifold. Here are some of them:
* Why is exposure to the healers at St. Mungo such a horrible prospect for the Dumbledore family? Why cannot Ariana be seen by a magical healer? I myself am not a big believer in "cures", but as I understand it, the family doesn't even try to consult specialists to try to help Ariana. Her injury simply renders her magic 'uncontrollable' (how do they know?)
* The Dumbledore family's decision to isolate and hide Ariana seems frivolous and irresponsible to me without a MUCH longer discussion of what exactly life at St. Mungo's would be like for her. Granted, since Ariana and Albus weren't growing up in the modern world-equivalent, if we are to compare St. Mungo's of that time to "mental" institutions of yesteryear, then committing a child to such an institution could indeed be a horrible prospect. But where is that discussion?
* Ariana's magic is unpredictable and she is prone to difficult, violent tantrums, but she can, as I understand it, speak, walk, and form emotional attachments (at least with Aberforth). Ariana's condition does not seem severe enough for me to warrant such extreme isolation.
* There are quite a few real-life disabilities that render children 'prone to violent tantrums'. The answer to this is not to closet the kid and deny him/her educational opportunities. Many a neurotypical child would throw violent tantrums if closeted in a house for years without companions and denied an opportunity to go out in daytime. (I am not even talking about educational opportunities, because as I said, I do not remember any mention of Ariana being educated at home, rather than simply hidden).
* Why cannot Ariana go to Hogwarts? Does she even receive a letter? How does the wizarding community deal with its children with autism, ADHD, mental health issues, and other disabilities? (Yes, I know it is fiction; but it is fiction that is supposed to reflect reality, as far as I understand).
Ok. What do you think?