Professor McGonagall
Professor McGonagall also does not let the men have all the glory. She is a very powerful witch who teaches Transfiguration at Hogwarts. She has a great position of leadership as Head of the Gryffindor house and even becomes the Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts when Dumbledore leaves the school in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and Headmistress in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. This gives her a position of great power and no one can say her actions are irrelevant during these times. Here she does not let “males nearly always take charge” (Wallace 98) but relieves Severus Snape of the headmaster's job by force. McGonagall shows her strength with the various spells she uses eventually driving Snape out of the castle. “McGonagall moved faster than Harry could have believed: Her wand slashed through the air and…Harry thought that Snape must crumple…” (Rowling 598) then when he performed a shield charm “she brandished her wand at a torch on the wall and it flew out of its bracket” (Rowling 598). She is protecting the students of Hogwarts by changing the situation they and herself are in by kicking out their ruthless and evil Headmaster.
She is also a very powerful witch, in fact Professor McGonagall is one of “only seven Animagi this century” (Rowling, Prisoner of Azkaban 351). To become an Animagi you have to be an extremely gifted and powerful witch or wizard. This puts McGonagall on a level above many of the wizards of this time. Her power can also be seen when she has a battle of wits with Professor Umbridge in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and, as stated above, a wizard’s duel with Snape in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: In these examples we can see that Professor McGonagall is a progressive female because she tries to change her current situation. With Umbridge, we see that she is trying to oppress McGonagall and make her look weak but we see McGonagall fighting back. When Umbridge attacks her directly McGonagall shows no sign of caring, in fact, she attacks her right back and even gets the upper hand over her making “Umbridge [look] as though she had just been slapped” (Rowling, Order of the Phoenix 320).
Wallace states that men always take charge and that women can't do anything if they aren't following a man's orders. In the scenes described above, McGonagall clearly takes charge of the situation and she doesn't make any of her moves because a man has told her what to do. She is a feminist because she tries to take charge of her situation and does it for the benefit of those that she cares about. While McGonagall exemplifies one type of progressive female, there are also other kinds. She mainly focuses on helping others, whereas some, such as Ginny, focus on helping themselves. Then there are also feminists like Hermione that help themselves and help others.
She is also a very powerful witch, in fact Professor McGonagall is one of “only seven Animagi this century” (Rowling, Prisoner of Azkaban 351). To become an Animagi you have to be an extremely gifted and powerful witch or wizard. This puts McGonagall on a level above many of the wizards of this time. Her power can also be seen when she has a battle of wits with Professor Umbridge in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and, as stated above, a wizard’s duel with Snape in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: In these examples we can see that Professor McGonagall is a progressive female because she tries to change her current situation. With Umbridge, we see that she is trying to oppress McGonagall and make her look weak but we see McGonagall fighting back. When Umbridge attacks her directly McGonagall shows no sign of caring, in fact, she attacks her right back and even gets the upper hand over her making “Umbridge [look] as though she had just been slapped” (Rowling, Order of the Phoenix 320).
Wallace states that men always take charge and that women can't do anything if they aren't following a man's orders. In the scenes described above, McGonagall clearly takes charge of the situation and she doesn't make any of her moves because a man has told her what to do. She is a feminist because she tries to take charge of her situation and does it for the benefit of those that she cares about. While McGonagall exemplifies one type of progressive female, there are also other kinds. She mainly focuses on helping others, whereas some, such as Ginny, focus on helping themselves. Then there are also feminists like Hermione that help themselves and help others.