Dear J.K. Rowling: A Question About Disabled People at Hogwarts

Welcome back to Musings of an Arthritic Artist! Today I'm going to be talking about Harry Potter and disability.

In general, I like this series. However, from a disability perspective I do have some questions. There will be spoilers for this series, so if you haven't read it, I'd recommend reading it then coming back here unless you don't care about spoilers.

Without further ado, let's get into the post! 

So, I loved the Harry Potter series when I originally read it almost a decade ago, however the other day I was thinking about disabled characters in movie adaptations of books and randomly thought of this series. It made me wonder a few things about the school.

Question 1: Why does every disabled character in Harry Potter die? Examples: Mad Eye Moody, Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew, and--arguably--Albus Dumbledore. I understand that all their deaths had a purpose and moved the plot forward. In no way am I saying that this information makes J.K. Rowling ableist. However, it is something I thought about.

Question 2: Why is Hogwarts so inaccessible? Based off descriptions of the school and the way it's shown in the movie, Hogwarts has stairwells galore. They have revolving staircases, which are--for more than one reason--not wheelchair accessible. There are seemingly no ramps whatsoever. 

Question 3: Is the Wizarding World just ableist? Okay, just hear me out. To illustrate my points, I will be using an article from the Wizarding World website that details J.K. Rowling's thoughts on disabled wizards (I'll link it here: Illness and Disability - Wizarding World (opens in new window)). To quote this article,

"I decided that, broadly speaking, wizards would have the power to correct or override ‘mundane’ nature, but not ‘magical’ nature. Therefore, a wizard could catch anything a Muggle might catch, but he could cure all of it; he would also comfortably survive a scorpion sting that might kill a Muggle, whereas he might die if bitten by a Venomous Tentacula. Similarly, bones broken in non-magical accidents such as falls or fist fights can be mended by magic, but the consequences of curses or backfiring magic could be serious, permanent or life-threatening."

Based off this knowledge, it would seem as if the Wizarding World is, at least partially, ableist. While many people would love to be cured of disability, there are many others who wouldn't and are happy just being themselves. Personally, I wouldn't change anything about my life. I wouldn't cure myself because the life I have has made me who I am. My disability has taught me so many things in my life that I wouldn't want to erase it. I've had these issues since I was a baby. It's the only life I've known. 

So to know that wizards can just cure anything that's of a 'mundane' nature is kind of disheartening. At least in my opinion.

One last question I have: Do disabled students have a place at Hogwarts? Or would their 'Muggle' disabilities automatically be cured upon arrival at Hogwarts? And what about wheelchair-users who are witches and wizards? What about witches and wizards who have wheelchairs due to magical maladies? What about students who use them due to magical maladies? Hogwarts doesn't seemingly accommodate them. Are they just left at St. Mungo's for them to be taken care of there? 

There are a lot of questions I have, and a lot of questions that won't be answered.

That's it for this post! 

See you Thursday, 

Lexi K🖌