I felt that, you know I have a fully fledged member of the order of the Phoenix who were female and who were fighting alongside the man and I really needed to show some female Death Eaters. And Bellatrix is the female death eater par excellence.
Bellatrix is not a great advertisement for prison if this is what it's done to her. But she is doing everything for Voldemort and she follows him over the precipice like a lemming. There is a interesting there, isn't it? About the female psychopaths, they often need to meet a male counterpart to release that part of themselves and that's how I see Bellatrix.
She is the only true follower, you know, she went to Azkaban, but she's prepared to die. So she's really convinced by his supremacy and superiority and worthiness. I mean, Voldemort, clearly is her idol, her obsession. He is the only person to whom she feels subservient. She has that curious personality, disorder or quirk, whatever we are gonna call it, but I think is peculiarly female. And Helena portrays that with such gusto. It's fabulous to watch.
However, it's my strong feelingly hat of the two sisters, Narcissa and Bellatrix, Narcissa is a much more decent person. She decided this woman that would risk her own life to save her own son, understands loyalty and understands preservation of life. I think one could argue that Draco, who was ultimately not to be an evil character. Draco got his goodness from his mother. And ultimately, I want, there is an echo of what Lily did, quite a conscious echoed what Lily did right at the start of the story, and the very end of the story. At the start of the story, Lily died to keep her son alive. At the end of the story, Harry lies, pretending to be dead on the ground, and it's a mother who saves him again because she's trying to get her own son.
I do strongly express my worldview in the books. One of the things I find most revolting in life is self-righteousness that covers self-interest. And that was Umbridge from beginning to end. And she's actually quite as sadistic as Bellatrix. But, under, you know, it's all justified."Because I work for the Ministry. "So, horrible woman.
She has this kind of like, horrible double side to her, where, on the outside, she's all fluffiness and pinkness and niceness and then on the inside, she's just evil, just like, pure evil.
Power for me, it's a very difficult issue. I am suspicious of people who want power, which I think comes across quite strongly in the books. But I've come to accept that if you are in a position to give, for example, a lot of money to a cause, then that gives you power. Because money can be a very powerful tool. If you have a profile, that means you can give a voice to a cause that otherwise wouldn't have such a loud voice. And that's also a form of power. But for me, it's a slightly more complicated issue than that, because, I think, as an author, you know, I chose a career path that traditionally does not to lead to a lot of power. So I am really not being disingenuous when I say that any form of power that has come to me through Harry Potter, was very very, unexpected.
Emma: I really admire her grace. She's definitely been an inspiration and a role model. I mean, I just feel so blessed that I was given the chance to experience all of these amazing women. Helena was also a really important mentor to me on this last movie. She very sweetly invited me to dinner, and we talked about books, a lot, and just being a woman. I feel as if somehow I have been under microscope even slightly more than the boys, just by being the girl. You know, whether Its what I am wearing, whether it's what I am doing, where I am going to school. Just in every sense, I feel that as if the public are so much harder on woman. We both know how that feels, being under that kind of scrutiny. You know, we talked about how to be able to absorb criticisms and flattery, and knowing what's genuine and what isn't , and knowing who to trust. We had such a good time. It was such a big evening for me, I don't know if she knows how kind of important it was for me, but I've never told her this. But after I had my evening with her, I went home and wrote down everything that she said, everything that we shared. And I actually have a book, of important encounters to me. And I write down thing that they say. Cus I was like, "One day I will wish I remembered what that incredible person I met said, and what they thought about things, and I just don't, I don't wanna forget." So, Joe has a page, too.
I wouldn't say that I based any of these woman on specific women that I knew. But Hermione is an exaggeration of me. So Hermione really did come from a very deep place inside me. I was very insecure, still I am quite insecure in a lot of ways. But I was a very insecure person for longer than I like to admit. And I think writing about the time in Hermione's life that I write about growing from childhood into womanhood, literally, because when we finish the book, she's 18. I think it brought back to me how very difficult it is. So much is expected of you as you become a woman. And often you are asked to sacrifice parts of you in becoming a girl, I would say. Hermione doesn't. She doesn't play the game, if you like.
Emma: The kind of teasing that Ron gives Hermione for being clever and always being in the library, and you know, I've had that my whole life. Guys giving me a hard time for doing well and being smart. So I can totally relate.
I think the three main characters work as a trio. And part of makes it work is their gender. And I have fun with that. I have fun with that, in Deathly Hallows, when its three main characters alone in a tent. And Hermione says, "I notice I am the one who gets to do the cooking, cus I'm a girl, like I suppose". And Ron says,"No, it's because you're the best witch, you are the best at Magic."It was fun play with that.
Emma: They couldn't get through a day without her. She really is, she's the brains. She's the best at spells. She's always two steps ahead. She's very much part of the action. The main female characters aren't there as a sort of, like, added bonus, which I feel like so many female characters are. Even Ginny is this incredibly powerful, stubborn, intelligent, quick-witted woman. She's another kind of, girl-power figure. Obviously, as Ginny's character develops, you really see her as very independent. And I think people portray female characters as very loud and chatty, and needing to show their, maybe, sexuality. Although, it's not really needed. So I think that that's what makes, I think Jo Rowling's female characters very strong. Because they are a bit more naturalistic, and a bit more down-to-earth.
Emma: she is just true to herself, no matter what. And I think that's a really important message. Even Luna, who's this very, like, airy-fairy kind of, like, in-her-own-world character, still has this amazing conviction in her beliefs. And she's still incredibly smart, and she's very emotionally clever.
The key to Luna is that she has that unbelievable rare quality of actually not giving a damn what anyone else thinks of her. Now, if we as adults say honestly, how many people we've known like that I think many of us would say, "Uh, none. " And Luna is like that. She's so comfortable with being different. She's fearless. It's sometimes difficult, for a woman, to say," well, actually, this is who I am. And I am not gonna pretend otherwise." But that's the only way to be truly happy. So that's what I want to say to girls, particularly.
You see, I was a plain, and that is relevant. That, you know, that is relevant. That's not a trivial thing when you're a kid. I was a very plain, bookish, freckly, bright little girl. I was a massive bookworm. And I spent a significant part of my reading looking for people like me. And then in creating Hermione, I felt I created a girl who was a heroine, but she wasn't sexy, nor was she the girl in glasses who's entirely sexless. You know what I mean, she's a real girl. But she never compromises on beings smart girl. She never compromises in acting dumb. She never tries to make Ron feel better by pretending to be less than she is, which is why they don't get together a lot sooner. That's the reality of life. But I am proud of Hermione. She is who she is. And you know, if that spoke to girls like me, then, of course, I am hugely, hugely proud of them. That's what it's all about.