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pennswoodsThe following was my response to an Ask I received on my Tumblr regarding Rowling's revelation regarding pairing Hermione and Ron...
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I saw reference to it on Twitter yesterday and links like this one here which led to a discussion with fellow HP fans, some of whom were upset or stunned or ecstatic about this announcement. This is my own personal response to the announcement based upon my past experience in the HP fandom and my friendships with other HP fans who were very invested in or affected by this specific shipping discussion. It’s also very much related to where I find myself right now shipping Johnlock in the Sherlock fandom:
1. Why today? I wasn’t personally invested in Hermione and Ron or Hermione and Harry as I joined the fandom rather late (2005) and was never really a canon shipper (Neville/Luna was my first ship but it was Snape/Harry and Snape/Hermione that eventually became my competing OTPs). When I asked ‘why today’, this elicited a few responses:
It makes sense, as drinkingcocoa-tpp suggests, that Rowling revealed this to someone she knows and trusts. But this wasn’t a private conversation with Emma Watson. The audience was much bigger, and Rowling is not naive when it comes to media attention when she gives interviews about Harry Potter. She may have trusted Emma to handle this question with care when writing this article, but why reveal this information now?
@biblioaesthetica’s comment suggests this could be related to new Harry Potter works Rowling may be involved in and specific choices she is grappling with. We do know she’s co-producing a play taking place in the pre-Harry Potter years, so this could be possible. It’s also possible that involvement in this project is making her revisit authorial decisions on past books. In other words, she really wanted to talk about the writing process and how she has grown or how time has given her different perspectives on her writing. This is very interesting.
I personally was wondering if there was something she had been confronted with in her own life or in the lives of those around her that made her reconsider her decision to marry Hermione and Ron. Have conversations with young women (like Emma Watson) about Hermione and what she means to women that age led her to revisit this choice? I can’t really know, but I am still wondering, why this conversation needed to happen now and in this format.
2. What does this mean for Harry Potter fans? This is related to thegoldendoe's response and the response of several friends who were deeply involved in the Harry Potter fandom, particularly the shipping of Hermione with either Ron or Harry and were affected by the fallout of the shipping wars that occurred as a result.
From my perspective, shipping is another way of engaging with and interpreting a text. The analysis that goes into shipping a particular pairing is no different than the analysis that goes into speculating on the outcome of a mystery (Is Snape good or evil? How did Sherlock survive the fall?) or into identifying major themes and morals that can be extrapolated from the text (Is Harry Potter an example of a hero’s journey or a coming of age story? Is Sherlock a story of friendship or of alienation?) Just as fans bring all sorts of expectations and readings to a particular theme in a particular text, they bring just as much to the reading of shipping of particular characters in that text. For some fans this is light-hearted and fun, but for others this is deeply personal and deeply meaningful work that helps them address (or cope with or avoid or understand) themes and issues in their own relationships, lives, and selves. And I think this explains why people can be so invested in shipping and what friends and fans and the creator of a particular work have to say about the feasibility or healthiness or goodness/badness of certain ships. Unfortunately, shipping is also the type of textual interpretation that is easily mocked. For some reason, it seems to be accepted as more intellectually worthwhile to analyze a text for moral themes, the meaning of the color green, the use of Latin, and the significance of numbers than it is to do the same for themes pertaining to human relationships and commitment and sexuality.
So again, what does this mean for Harry Potter fans? For one, it’s opening up old wounds which may have soured the fandom experience for many or which may have been taken as commonly accepted criticism of the personal beliefs and issues these fans brought to the text.
In 2005, two prominent Harry Potter fans who headed major fansites (Emerson Spartz of Mugglenet and Melissa Anelli of The Leaky Cauldron) were given the opportunity to interview JK Rowling shortly after the release of book 6 (full transcript of part II of the interview here). In the discussion of the Harry/Ginny kiss that occurred and which confirmed one particular reading of the series (that Harry was not going to wind up with Hermione) Emerson used the word delusional to describe Harry/Hermione shippers. Although Rowling disagreed with Emerson’s use of this word and Emerson later apologized, ‘delusional’ stuck and became a common derisive term used to talk about those who shipped Harmony (Harry/Hermione) as this 2007 piece illustrates (the exchange where delusional is used is excerpted here).
For others, it’s reminding them of a period of deception and manipulation and deeply entrenched infighting that resulted in lost friendships and trust.
In 2006, an extremely long and detailed account revealed a history of manipulation and deceit on the part of one fan who entered the Harry Potter fandom in 2002 and used sock-puppets and flattery and deep fandom divisions around shipping (including Harry/Hermione and Ron/Hermione) to increase her own influence and further damage already bad relationships among these ship-divided groups. Her manipulations appear to have been responsible in part for the dissolution of one fandom archive as well as the increased bad blood between different fandom groups and different ships. The 2006 account also revealed the depth to which this fan had deceived her friends and duped them into further fostering mistrust among these different fan groups. While the investigation and reveal may have been cathartic for some fans, it was extremely painful for others, and Rowling’s interview is a reminder of this loss of faith and friendship.
3. What does this mean for the Sherlock fandom? And now I bring this back to the Sherlock fandom and to Johnlock shippers in particular because this is my current fandom reality. Rowling’s acknowledgement of her changed perspective on the Hermione/Ron relationship may be taken by some HP fans as either confirmation or criticism of a particular reading of her text or reinforcement or criticism of a particular understanding of successful or unsuccessful relationships. For those fans who take the intent or word of the creator as the sole correct reading of a text, this can be either demoralizing or inspiring, depending on where they stand.
However, Rowling’s change of mind illustrates the fact that authorial intent and interpretation can be flexible and changing, and possibly driven by factors so beyond the text we are reading. Over time and for whatever reason (changed perspective due to growth as a writer, growth as a human being, room to reconsider due to lack of pressure to publish in a very limited time frame), Rowling has come to openly acknowledge a new interpretation of her own text. This is actually a very powerful statement.
When John and Mary’s wedding was revealed by followers of #setlock last spring, there was an outcry over what this meant for the potential of a John/Sherlock ship or the representation of an visible and prominent queer relationship between such iconic characters in a highly watched television show. That Mary is still with us and that John and Mary are expecting a daughter at the end of series 3 has added to the conundrum facing Johnlock shippers whose reading of the series so far suggests John and Sherlock as endgame, but who are struggling with the integration of Mary. For some, Mary’s denouement in HLV killed their enthusiasm and their shipping. For others, Mary is an obstacle to be ignored or gotten rid of. For still others, Mary is there in canon (cool, thank you very much) but irrelevant to their shipping.
Right now it feels as if parts of the Johnlock ship are in an uneasy space, awaiting the right piece of meta or fanfic to bring things together so our reading of the text (and our hopes and beliefs about relationships) can be realized in the source material and by the creators. There is also tension regarding what TPTB think of Johnlock shippers, tension fueled by interviews and stunts in the media regarding fanworks (especially the explicit kind) featuring Sherlock and John.
But I am hoping that Rowling’s revelation can help change the conversation a little. That more of us will not be so dependent upon the approval or confirmation of the writers and actors of Sherlock when we analyze or find inspiration to create or otherwise engage with the show. That we will not become so entrenched in our shipping hopes and preferences that we stop listening to each other.That our understanding of relationships, of love, of ourselves not be overly influenced by the authorial choices and personal opinions of writers and actors who are just as flawed and as likely to make mistakes or change their minds as we are.
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no subject
Date: 2014-02-02 08:44 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-02-02 08:54 pm (UTC)I have to agree that it IS huge for fandom and fanishness that so many of us feel there is a glimmer of a slash pairing being canonized. I know this had led to a lot of discussions of queerbaiting, which I know has also been said about SPN (though I don't follow that show and cannot make a comparison). I don't quite take this view, but I know I am not approaching the show from the same perspective or for the same reason as others so this has not been on my radar. I am satisfied with the unstated potential being evident and a HEA with John and Sherlock together even if it is as platonic soul mates.
no subject
Date: 2014-02-02 09:03 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-02-02 08:47 pm (UTC)I've never been a part of the HP fandom but I do know the person you mention who created those sock puppet accounts and know of the damage she did because she briefly was in a fandom before that that I was in, too. And in that fandom there were one or two other people who pulled similar stunts and while this didn't affect the corner that I was in too much, I still know about it and we all felt the repercussions.
Anyway, regarding Rowling's comments. Something that I always find important to remember is that authorial intent is not gospel. There's a Hemmingway short story in which a woman fatally shoots her husband while on a safari (cannot remember the title). The story leaves it open whether it is an accident or intentional. There are good arguments for it having been an accident and equally good ones that it was intentional. There is tons of secondary literature devoted to this discussion. At one point, Hemmingway was asked about this and he said "of course it was intentional". Now, what does this statement mean for the debate? Nothing. Because no matter what he set out to write, he simply didn't write it that way. He didn't write a story in which a woman kills her husband in cold blood. He wrote a story in which she fires a shot (I think there was an animal involved that was about to attack) and in which there is nothing that proves that it was intentional or not. So, people can read that story and they can decide what they think happened. Hemmingway's thoughts are as valuable as anyone else's because he left it open in the story and now the story exists out there in this form.
Also, I have managed to successfully ship a m/m pairing for almost a decade where one half of my OTP was married to a woman, both in canon and film - but I simply ignored that, like 99% of the fandom. We just wrote our own versions, without the wife, and were very very very happy. :) (Although, granted, it was easy to ignore her as she was an afterthought in the books and not much more in the films. It's a tiny bit more difficult in Sherlock but still possible!)
I think a problem we are facing with Sherlock series 3 is that there is a drop in quality when it comes to the writing of the eps and there is a lot of disappointment about that and it is channelled into the John-Mary-Sherlock debate. I think we were spoilt by the first two series and then series 3 came along where it is my impression that the writers were very much drunk on the evergrowing, stellar success of Sherlock and simply indulged themselves in great visuals and funny one liners and big unforeseen surprises and forgot to pay attention to detail in the way they did in the first two series. And hey presto, now we have plot holes and dubious character motivations and sloppy writing - on top of a disruption of the peace surrounding the main OTP - and that combination is what's gotten a lot of people on the barricades.
Personally, I'm trying to stay away from interviews at the moment and concentrate more on the fic reading. And I try to remind myself of the Merlin fandom where we had to battle with giant plot holes and bad writing and the worst continuity mistakes but where it never really mattered because it was that way from the start. We simply took the bits we liked and wrote fanfic around them and ignore the rubbish bits and despite the series ending Christmas 2012 the fandom is still going strong. :) So that might be a way forward to the Sherlock fans - greater distance to the cast, crew and writers and more fic reading and writing, and more ignoring of the series canon. It's possible to do that! :DDDD
Oops, this got long. Sorry!
no subject
Date: 2014-02-03 12:54 am (UTC)I didn't really attribute the ship issue to a drop in writing quality - I see instead that the increased complexification of canon over tame as seasons are added will invariably result in more dissatisfaction as a wider range of possible interpretations are reduced. But I think I may have different expectations for the writing of the series than other folks. I believe more and more in the fact that this is a long game and that we're looking at the mid-point of a WIP where things are going to be less clear or drawn out for the purpose of conflict because the end is dependent upon factors beyond the control of the writers (e.g. renewal and actor interest and availability).
no subject
Date: 2014-02-03 11:39 am (UTC)I disagree. Authorial intent IS gospel - at least in as far as they get it on the page. What's on the page is gospel - it is what's written.
What follows is exegesis.
Even if it's the author who does it.
no subject
Date: 2014-02-03 11:56 am (UTC)We co-construct meaning. Words and sentences glean meaning from our experiences and understanding of the language. Communication (whether it be spoken or written) occurs between people and therefore requires co-construction.
What an authors says requires interpretation and translation on the part of the reader/hearer. And this is massively true in English, an international language where so many people with so many diverse experiences will intend and infer very different things with the same words and phrases and sentences because those same words and phrases carry very different situated experiences and histories for different communities and individuals.
Just because something is written does not make it static, immutable and fixed. It just means it's been transformed into symbols on a page and more easily reproduced and shared than language and ideas which have not.
no subject
Date: 2014-02-03 12:16 pm (UTC)And disagreeing back atcha!
Writing something down is precisely what fixes it. It's everything else that changes. As we see from the constant problems the church has always had maintaining the "Gospel" in a changing society. It's the changing society and different cultures that produce the exegesis - and it's THAT which is alive.
In HP canon, Hermione and Ron marry and have kids. That's not going to change. What changes is how that is received, interpreted, re-imagined, re-told. But in the text, it stays.
no subject
Date: 2014-02-03 03:22 pm (UTC)The printed words may be affixed to that paper, but what those words mean is not fixed or universally shared. What is marriage anyway? That word's getting a lot of attention these days in certain quarters.
The church is fighting a losing battle.
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Date: 2014-02-03 03:52 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-02-04 07:59 am (UTC)I don't know and I miss you like crazy. I feel so shitty for what happened last time and how I missed out on coming to your place and hanging with you and Pythia.
I want to hang out with my friends without being so consumed by Sherlock and spoilers.
no subject
Date: 2014-02-04 09:09 am (UTC)Next time, we'll organise something different!
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Date: 2014-02-03 08:58 pm (UTC)if that's not going anywhere, nor is the bible- despite what some people may think.
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Date: 2014-02-03 09:04 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-02-04 03:00 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-02-04 02:48 pm (UTC)Good point about the increased complexification of canon over time! I'm not sure though that actor interest and availability really is a problem - it's something that they always say in interviews but I get the feeling they do that because it is such a simple and logic thing to say. But both the leads have been saying how much they want to continue to be involved and it seems genuine. I'm more worried that the writers don't have this great plan. At the moment my Tumblr dash is full of theories that explain the gaps and inconsistencies and people are reading them and hoping that once series 4 airs we'll get answers. But I now fear that we will never get answers, that they will just come up with new things and not bother with explaining things from the previous series - after all, look how the Reichenbach cliffhanger was solved...
As for renewal - I cannot see the BBC not commissioning more series when it is so very successful in the UK - and BBC Worldwide is definitely making a pretty penny out of it, too (even if they have no say in which programmes the BBC commissions).
no subject
Date: 2014-02-02 08:58 pm (UTC)I wonder if she's going to Snape bash. =( Then again, it may never get off the ground.
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Date: 2014-02-02 09:05 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-02-03 12:54 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-02-03 05:02 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-02-04 03:24 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-02-04 03:29 am (UTC)I have given up on doing any of the actual game things on Pottermore (potion brewing and dueling) but I've been going through to read the chapters lately and read all the background notes.
they have a feature where you can skip things...
Date: 2014-02-04 03:42 am (UTC)granted, it's a pain to navigate if you're not on a BIG sized compute screen, everything get's smushed together with a really long comment section in every moment.
Re: they have a feature where you can skip things...
Date: 2014-02-04 03:45 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-02-03 12:55 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-02-04 03:30 am (UTC)I know you're talking at this from a SH perspective but...
Date: 2014-02-02 09:17 pm (UTC)Everyone is going on an on about authorial intent and how authors change all the time and how they thought at the beginning changes to now,etc,etc.etc
and that's fine- It's not the first time rowling talked about something she changed her mind about (like having the potter and the grangers being neighbors on an island *didnt happen* someone without magic developing it later in life (didnt happen) Hermione having a sister, the weasleys having a cousin named mafalda who ended in slytherin...etc,etc
those don't matter because they were ideas that had no influence on fandom.
but in this "things change" both rowling and watson "seemingly" dismiss romione/ron as a bad job when A. they both praised it in the past (and if it was all for publicity i find that a very cruel thing to do to fans) and b. saying that she "regrets" writing a couple/dinamic that brough joy to so much people in fandom
specially considered that Ron/romione has always been a character/ship that was at the receiving end of a lot of hate and this, like you said, just brough a lot of really nasty things back.
the fact that the author itself seems to be bashing a character that already been bashed is what's guttering.
and just.... this was not at all needed and whyyy.
Re: I know you're talking at this from a SH perspective but...
Date: 2014-02-02 11:19 pm (UTC)This is the "Snape is NOT a hero" thing all over again.
WHY WON'T YOU LET ME LOVE YOUR CHARACTERS JO???
Re: I know you're talking at this from a SH perspective but...
Date: 2014-02-03 01:00 am (UTC)*pets*
We can love some her characters more than she does.
Re: I know you're talking at this from a SH perspective but...
Date: 2014-02-04 03:43 am (UTC)that she's losing love on her characters- SPECIALLY Ron/Romione which seemed to be her favorite.
Re: I know you're talking at this from a SH perspective but...
Date: 2014-02-03 12:58 am (UTC)I'm sorry. I can only imagine how upsetting this is for you, but I hope that you can continue to enjoy and appreciate Ron and Ron/Hermione despite Rowlings current statement. The other thing about authorial intent is that it doesn't have to matter. I disagree with some of Rowlings choices and there's really nothing she can say that would change my mind. And I happily don't need her approval to have my reading of the text.
no subject
Date: 2014-02-03 06:46 am (UTC)Yeah, I agree. I still want to wait and see what the interview actually says but no matter what i still love Ron.
Re: I know you're talking at this from a SH perspective but...
Date: 2014-02-04 03:52 am (UTC)I wish I could listen to you and all the other people that say "authorial intent dont matter, it's written she can't change it"
but to me it feels like... someone actually said this better than me but I can't remember her username.
she said this:
"as if your mother came to you one day, after years in which you were the awkward and struggling kid but you made someone of yourself! your life is fantastic! you are in a long term relationship with an incredible person!
and YOUR OWN MOTHER tells you "You were a Mistake. You weren't born from happy planning but from a idealized drunken One Night Stand. You can't really achieve things. And you're relationship is messed up"
and then the significant other's "Twin" to AGREE that YOU are Not good enough."
so yeah, it's not in the "books" but the fact that the author said those things about her OWN characters, characters and pairing she made many fall in love with, Even ENCOURAGED personally to root for- to do this.
it's like a big nasty black cloud following you everywhere and you don't know if it's going to go away.
because Darn it, I don't think i'll be able to read the books/watch the movies now with those stupid quotes crawling in the back of my mind like parasites.
*sniffs*
I hope she Sees all this anger/heartache that she caused with her "hindsight" and Owes up to it.
Re: I know you're talking at this from a SH perspective but...
Date: 2014-02-04 08:07 am (UTC)This does hurt a lot. And I am saying this here because it is also possibly why I am not as affected as some people by what a creator says about my interpretation or favorite character or love of a work. No one, not even my own mother can hurt me like that again.
But it's not a good feeling to have and I am sorry it is hurting you so much. I really am especially if your pairing is a source of squee and joy for you.
Re: I know you're talking at this from a SH perspective but...
Date: 2014-02-04 06:42 pm (UTC)hopefully it's all a big misunderstanding or she says something to mean that's she sorry and she didn't meant it. (by she i mean JK & Emma)
thanks for being supportive. It's getting easier to deal with it because there are people in fandom who do understand and sympathize and don't just tell us we're being ungrateful (or rub it in our faces)
*hug* thanks
Re: I know you're talking at this from a SH perspective but...
Date: 2014-02-09 04:56 am (UTC)Re: I know you're talking at this from a SH perspective but...
Date: 2014-02-10 04:03 pm (UTC)Re: I know you're talking at this from a SH perspective but...
Date: 2014-02-11 03:25 am (UTC)You know, becoming a mother is a pretty enlightening experience in a lot of ways. The Munchkin is 9 years old and there are *still* mornings when I wake up and several split-seconds will pass before I remember that oh yeah, I'm married, and we've spawned, and I am responsible for these two little people. Eek! It definitely has given me a new perspective on my own childhood and parents.
And speaking of my parents, they no longer live in Tucker, but if you ever want me to drive across the border and knock some heads together, Atlanta is still only 2 hours away from me. ;)
no subject
Date: 2014-02-03 06:45 am (UTC):(
no subject
Date: 2014-02-02 11:16 pm (UTC)Now, I'm not all that fussed one way or the other, the series is written and is over, I enjoyed the story overall, MOVING ON...
Not a JohnLock shipper though nor a JoanLock shipper either ;p
no subject
Date: 2014-02-03 01:08 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-02-09 04:22 am (UTC)"For reasons that have very little to do with literature and far more to do with me clinging to the plot as I first imagined it..."
She has *FINALLY* realized the error of her ways in regards to Snape, and this is her first step towards publicly admitting it!
J/K, heh. I don't imagine we Snapefans will ever get that, in so many words, but it's gratifying to me personally to see her admit that she was too stubbornly devoted to her original vision to allow the story to grow beyond it.
It's a little freaky that I saw this today, too, because I just finished re-reading an old favorite SS/OFC the other day, which then inspired me to revisit an old SS/HG fic I abandoned a long time ago. I even started reading Sorcerer's Stone today at work, heh. So this is quite a co-inky-dink.
no subject
Date: 2014-02-10 04:00 pm (UTC)JKR like all human beings has her flaws. I haven't picked up a HP book or read any HP fic in such a long while. I am so immersed in Sherlock. It's been a lot of fun and is eating my brain!
no subject
Date: 2014-02-11 02:50 am (UTC)I've seen the first two seasons of Sherlock because they were on Netflix. I think Benedict Cumberbatch is a great actor, but I couldn't get as fired up about the show as I did about HP.
Speaking of Cumberbatch, did you ever get a package from me around late December/early January? If not, I'm afraid the post office may have eaten it. :(
no subject
Date: 2014-02-12 10:01 pm (UTC)As for Cumberbatch, I am such a ridiculous fan of his. And I'm positive he'll be cast when the WB decide to redo the Potter films.
no subject
Date: 2014-02-13 04:49 pm (UTC)