J K Rowling and weight

[brainache78]

I am just pontificating on this. My DD is listening to a Harry Potter audiobook.

Earlier in the week, I saw a thing on Facebook about J K Rowling. She was talking about having had some woman commenting on her weight and how annoying she found it. How there are hundreds of things a person can be that are more important than 'thin'

Yet - while I was listening along with DD, I was struck by a description of Goyle - and the size of his neck. It made me think that Rowling, much like Ronald Dahl, seems to make a lot of her most unpleasant characters overweight.

If you read the books, a few of the 'baddies' are porky. Goyle, Vernon and Dudley Dursley and Aunt Marge.. and none of the 'goodies' that I can think of.

If being fat is not a bad thing, why would she have done this?

Just thinking...

Perhaps she thinks being fat is bad but also thinks it is incredibly rude to comment on someone's weight.

Also, the first Harry Potter was written nearly 25 years ago - perhaps her own thoughts have changed in that time.

Sorry, just checked and it was published 22 years ago, not 25. Still long enough to change your mind on something tho.

Aunt Petunia is skinny though, as is Snape and the Malfoys

Mrs Weasley is always described as being “plump” and she’s arguably one of the best characters not my daughter you bitch

Slughorn is also described as large and he’s good by the end

Hagrid is enormous but is as good as the come, also, Professor Sprout and Molly Weasley are both on the larger side. There will be more, i just cant think of them at the moment

Madeye Moodie!

published 22 years ago

I always have the impression that Neville wasn't slim and fit, though I can't remember whether anything in the books specifically says so.

Ive never read a Harry Potter but it seems to me her overweight characters are central to the plots in her books

I will save my ire for the chick lit books and TV dramas that always have the overweight character as the supportive friend.

Having a thick neck is more about being stocky and muscular than overweight surely?

Neville was far too, wasn’t he? He was certainly described as ‘round faced’. And he’s about as good as they come!

*Fat too

Neville is one of the best of them. Brave enough to stand to his friends and Voldemort. Far better and more important than Ron. And yes, fat. The actor who was cast in the role was originally chubby but actually grew up to be lanky as is sometimes the way of things but book Neville was chubby.

Not to mention the thin characters that are unpleasant... Aunt Petunia, Prof Snape, Lucius & Draco Malfoy. And Voldemort, as a youth (before he is resurrected in his snake like form) he's actually very conventionally handsome.

I have nothing to add apart from I love snape

Always ❤️

Google says she is 165cm and 54kg, which is a healthy weight for her height (misses point of thread).