JKR drew Hermione and Dean side by side, and only his skin is shaded. I think that's evidence enough of what race she envisioned for Hermione as she wrote.
She wanted to be inclusive, but she couldn't (for whatever reason) bring her characters of color into the lime light. There is a depth to Neville, Luna, and even Seamus that we don't get in Dean. She says she wrote a detailed backstory for him, and yet it doesn't make it to the page the way Luna's and Neville's backstories do. Her POC repeatedly feel like scenery instead of characters (except Angleina, who gets some personality despite her small page time). Jo gives her POC titles (Cho is he love interest and Kingsley becomes Minister) but doesn't give them the quirks and failings that make them interesting and loveable characters.
It's sad, because there are missed opportunities for the kind of inclusion and diversity I think she really wants for her work and her world.
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Date: 2016-07-26 03:43 am (UTC)JKR drew Hermione and Dean side by side, and only his skin is shaded. I think that's evidence enough of what race she envisioned for Hermione as she wrote.
She wanted to be inclusive, but she couldn't (for whatever reason) bring her characters of color into the lime light. There is a depth to Neville, Luna, and even Seamus that we don't get in Dean. She says she wrote a detailed backstory for him, and yet it doesn't make it to the page the way Luna's and Neville's backstories do. Her POC repeatedly feel like scenery instead of characters (except Angleina, who gets some personality despite her small page time). Jo gives her POC titles (Cho is he love interest and Kingsley becomes Minister) but doesn't give them the quirks and failings that make them interesting and loveable characters.
It's sad, because there are missed opportunities for the kind of inclusion and diversity I think she really wants for her work and her world.