Toujours Pur (dot) Net

[Hermione Granger]

When announcing that Dumbledore was, in fact, gay, JKR said that he was in love with Grindlewald when he was younger. What do you think about this? From what we learned of the duo in the final installment, did you get the feeling that Dumbledore was in love with Grindlewald, or did you think it was just a normal friendship? Also, do you think Grindlewald had mutal feelings for Dumbledore?

[Clarice Rose]

Honestly, I never got that from the final book....if anything, I got a very close friendship. I got that Dumbledore loved him, but it felt more like a brotherly type love, not an IN-love type deal if that makes sense. And I think it was the same for Grindlewald; they loved each other but not in that way. I dunno, I was pretty surprised JK said he was gay, because even after re-reading the entire series, I never got that impression. *shrugs* But that's just me, I could be totally blind about it and just not know it yet, haha!

[Hermione Granger]

No, I totally agree, Deana. I never got the feeling that he had been in love with Grindlewald. Had his worst memories been of Grindlewald betraying him and not of his sister dying, then I could see how that would work, but you're right, I only ever saw their relationship as something that resembled brotherly love, and nothing romantic.

[Lex]

The first time I read through the book, before JK said he was gay, I never got a romantic feel. Then again, it was hard enough for me to reconcile my feelings about Dumbledore in the previous books and what we learn about him in DH, without considering romantic feelings on my first read-through.

During my second read-through and being aware Dumbledore was gay, my perception changed and I read it knowing they were in love and I accept it and think that's an awesome interpretation, but that never would have been my interpretation without a nudge from JK.

I do like to speculate though, and if I had to guess I would say Grindlewald loved Dumbledore but perhaps not as intensely as Dumbledore loved him, because his other pursuits were more important in his mind.

[eirwen]

I had always thought of Dumbledore as asexual. That he wasn't interested in anyone and that he was there for Harry who was the culmination of the last 20 or 30 years of his work against Voldemorte. When JKR said that he was gay I just didn't see it. Like has been previously said, I saw the relationship between Grindelwald and Dumbledore as a platonic brotherly type relationship.

One thing though it does allow for more fanart so that's definitely a plus ^_^. But other than that when I'm reading the books, I just don't feel it/see it.

[Hermione Granger]

I just read a really fascinating interview with JKR, and they brought up this pair. I put in something into a Twilight vs. Potter blog and decided to share it here as well. It's not meant as any offense to Twilight, but shows a difference between the two stories.

We all know that Edward is infatuated with Bella. It's borderline obsessive how he feels about her, and visa versa. The problem that so many of us have with Twilight is that this obsession is written as though it's healthy--that this type of "love" is not only normal, but will be rewarded. While the characters Harry, Ron, Hermione, and so many others do fall in love and show their love in ways completely differently from Edward and Bella, there IS a character in HP who deals with dark, dangerous infatuation: Dumbledore.

Dumbledore was in love with Grindlewald. From the outside, it seems like an innocent, abeit, deep friendship. But in reality, Dumbledore has found someone who is brilliant like him, but lacks his morals. The problem is that Dumbledore doesn't immediately recognize this quality in Grindlewald. As JKR says in the interview: "he became infatuated with a man who was almost his dark twin."

This infatuation is not rewarded, like it is in Twilight. JKR shows the dangers of infatuation and losing oneself in another through Dumbledore and Grindlewald. Look at what Grindlewald became, and Dumbledore had to learn to see this wizard for what he truly was, and not be blinded by his love for him.

What further makes JKR great is that she takes this defeated Dumbledore, who in the end has to fight and battle the love of his life, his infatuation, and she still makes Dumbledore a good man--and not just a good man, but a champion for TRUE love. "Dumbledore, who was the great defender of love, and who sincerely believed that love was the greatest, most powerful force in the universe, was himself made a fool of by love."

We do not meet someone, fall in love, and that's the end. And heaven forbid if we become infatuated. We all lose love. And that's what Twilight fails to mention to its readers: that we can be blinded by love, and when that happens, we will not be happy. We will not be honored. We will be tricked and made a fool. But when this happens, and it happens to us all, the most important thing is to remember that love does exist, and that we need to find a true love. Love should not blind us, love should not make a fool of us, love should love us back.

[Blondie]

That's an interesting and wonderful take on what "blinded by love" can do to you. Thanks for posting Bex and I do think that by making Dumbledore fall in love with Grindenwald, he becomes fallible and imperfect. People had this weird perfect preconception of Dumbledore and what JKR did was to make him human, not superhuman.

I think the fact that he was in love with someone who turned out to be completely evil made him realize that while he had his heart broken, he still can believe that love can win all. He loved his sister so much, that was one of the redeeming qualities of love.