| 18 Arlington Catholic Herald, 20 January, 2000 Harry Potter Author, 'I believe in God, Not Magic' By Anne LeVeque Catholic News Service WASHINGTON- 'I believe in God, not magic,' said J.K. Rowling, author of the popular Harry Potter series of children's books During a U.S. book tour stop in Washington, Rowling discussed the nature of evil, censorship, and faith, among other things. The three Harry Potter books, about a young wizard's adventures, have caused a sensation in the publishing world because they have held top spots on The New York Times' best seller list as well as on Amazon.com, the online bookseller. Some parents have wondered whether the setting of the books and there dealings with witchcraft makes for wholesome reading. In the stories, Harry is an orphan- reared by unloving relatives- who discovers at age 11 that he is a wizard. He has a mysterious lightningbolt scar on his forehead, evidence of an attack by the evil Lord Voldemort. He goes to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, where he meets many more children- and adults- like himself. 'I personally think they are moral books,' said Rowling. 'I absolutely that you have the right to determine what your child reads, but I dont think that anyone has the right to determine what other people's children read.' In discussing the evil Voldemort, Rowling said, '[Other than those] who are mentally ill and not responsible for their actions, evil will be the result of very poor choices and possibly insufficient bravery to take the right path. And that's what I'm attempting to show with my villain. Here is someone who had choices- he had a great deal of natural talent which he's abusing, he's totally self-serving, but he could have gone a different way. 'That is supposed to be contrasted quite strongly with Harry, who has come from an equally difficult start in life, but who constantly tries to make the right choices. Sometimes he fails.' Rowling has drawn criticism for characterising Harry with human feelings, but, she says, 'He is a human child. I want to show that [he's human]; I want him to sometimes make mistakes... but he is generally acting with the best of intentions.' So far, none of her bad characters have decided to reform, but Rowling hints that in future books there will be themes of redemption. 'You will see redemption and you will see the other side; some people struggling to do the right thing who do not.' Some of the main characters are based on real people. Hermione is based on the author herself, while Ron Weasley is based on an old friend who is her daughter's godfather, Sean Harris, described by Rowling as 'a committed Catholic'. Rowling is planning to write a total of seven books in this series, one for each year that Harry is at wizard's school. She is committed to having the entire series remain appropriate for ages nine and up. 'Harry does grow older and I hope grows older plausibly. I do have a problem with treating a sixteen year old character as though he were a pre-pubescent.' Describing future books in the series, Rowling said, "The books will become darker in the sense that you feel more palpable menace from Lord Voldemort. 'But,' she said, 'I'm not about to write something that's doom and gloom from begining to end, that would depress me.' In describing her personal belifes, Rowling said, 'I believe in God, not magic. I don't think children will be seriously disappointed to hear that I don't belive in magic. I do have doubts, that just goes along with being me. Sometimes faith is trusting that faith will return.' |
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