Speaking to a crowd of students, professors and Dartmouth community members yesterday afternoon, visiting lecturer Michael Bronski contended that the experiences of popular fictional character Harry Potter may be understood as an allegory for the coming out of a homosexual individual.
In the speech, entitled "Queering Harry Potter: The Trouble With Normal" Bronski discussed general trends that point to a gay allegory subtext in the novels.
He did not assert that Harry Potter is himself homosexual.
The journalist and cultural critic described author J.K. Rowling's fictional setting as "sharply-divided" between two worlds: the human world where the young Potter lives with his cruel step parents, and that of the secret world of magic where Harry goes to school at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
According to Bronski, Rowling portrays reality as mundane and full of suffering. The interplay between the two worlds are similar to that of the closeted gay world and that of the heterosexual world.
Bronski said secrets and fear are the major elements both in Harry's life at home as well as in the life of an individual of alternative sexual orientation, remarking that Harry is mentally mistreated because of his stepfamily's intolerance.
"The first scene in the first book is very moving for a gay person," Bronski said, referring to when Harry discovers he is not like his human stepparents after all, but a wizard instead. "It's the classic coming out story."
Although Bronski keyed in on general parallels between the two situations, he also pointed to several specifics in the book that might lead readers to believe that gay allegory subtext does exist.
Notable mentions include the fact that the young Potter is forced to live in a closet underneath the stairwell in his step parents' house " a situation akin to being a closeted homosexual.
Bronski also said that magic and witchcraft have historically been associated with sexual deviancy.
He added that this is not the only interpretation of the books.
"There are so many things in [the Harry Potter books.] It's not just a gay allegory," he said.
One of the reasons for the popularity of the series is Rowling's ability to create an alternate reality that helps us to critique our own, Bronski said.
