Laura Mortiers 1

Ghent University

Faculty of Arts and Philosophy

From Orphan to Family Man

Family, Gender and Choice in

Supervisor: Paper submitted in partial

Prof. Dr. Gert Buelens fulfilment of the requirements for

the degree “Master in de Taal- en

Letterkunde: Frans-Engels”

by Laura Mortiers

May 2014 Laura Mortiers 2

The bond that links your true family is not one of blood, but of respect and joy in

each other's life. Rarely do members of one family grow up under the same roof.

(Bach, “Family”) Laura Mortiers 3

Preface

Growing up with Rowling's work, became in many ways a second home to me. Reading the Harry Potter novels meant – and still means – a return to a world that is magical and mysterious, one that offers me a moment away from everyday life. At Hogwarts, I meet old friends, who have changed and grown up, as I have. Indeed, having now reread the whole series while writing this paper, I have noticed that, though with each perusal new ideas strike me and characters have developed even more, that magical world is still that very same, well-known and, above all, comforting place it has always been to me.

This reading pleasure and comfort, I think, is the essence of what childhood reading should be all about. Whatever may be the lessons a reader draws from the work at hand, it is important that, before any other considerations come into play, a novel has a lasting effect on its reader. Whether talking about straightforward morality, more abstract life wisdom or the work's direct reflections on life, a reader should always cherish that pure joy of opening a book, reading it, and being under its spell from page one, right through to the end.

While doing my research for this paper, I read how Peter Hunt sees his work on children's literature as “the public face of an intensely private reading” (Hunt viii.). I cannot possibly express my feelings about this paper any better. To me, writing about Harry Potter has been a dream come true, but also an incredibly instructive experience. The novels have always been a passion of mine, but writing about a story with which I am so intimately familiar has taught me how to look beneath the story's surface, loving it as I have never done before.

Laura Mortiers Laura Mortiers 4

Acknowledgements

To Kristof

I would like to thank my supervisor, Professor Dr. Gert Buelens, who has been wonderful, helping me along by always asking the right questions about my work and making me think more critically about what I was writing. Likewise, I would like to thank his daughters, who know even more about

Harry Potter and have, even if they might not know it, helped my work along marvellously.

Next, I want to thank my family and friends, who were utterly bewildered when I announced the topic of my dissertation, but still supported me along the way. Special thanks also to my dear friend

Christine and her husband, Patrick, for taking the time to read this paper and provide me with some very useful feedback.

I am also grateful to Professor Kimberley Reynolds, from Newcastle University, for personally taking the trouble of sending me her essay on “Changing families in children's fiction”, which I was unable to find anywhere in Belgium. Laura Mortiers 5

Table of contents

I. Introduction 7

Situating Harry Potter : modern family fiction 8

Biological family 10

Father figures 10

Mother figures 11

Family of choice 13

II. Family in Harry Potter 14

1. Biological family 14

The Dursleys 14

The Potters 18

In the Family's Footsteps: Recognizing Right from Easy 24

2. Surrogate father figures 25

Rubeus Hagrid 25

Sirius Black 28

Albus Dumbledore 32

Severus Snape 36

Following the Father: Considering Advice 40 Laura Mortiers 6

3. Surrogate mother figures 42

Molly Weasley 42

Minerva McGonagall 46

Rubeus Hagrid 49

Hermione Granger 51

Following the Mother: a Paradigm of Care 54

4. Family of choice 56

Ronald Weasley 57

Hermione Granger 60

Neville Longbottom 64

Ginny Weasley 67

The Weasleys 68

Groupings: Gryffindor, Order of the Phoenix, Dumbledore's Army 69

Family of Choice: a Labour of Love 73

III. Conclusion 74

Harry Potter: the Family story 74

Gendered parental roles 76

A Choice Story: Exceeding Expectations 79

IV. Works cited 81

Word count : 26,551 Laura Mortiers 7

I. Introduction

From the publication of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone in 1997 to the seventh and last instalment, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, published in 2007, J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series has become a worldwide literary phenomenon that has enchanted its readers from the very beginning. Stretching over the seven books, the feud between the heroic Harry Potter and his ever- evil enemy, , has become one of the most legendary battles of our time. Aside from the essentially simple storyline that portrays Harry's quest to defeat his parents' killer, however,

Rowling has also infused her stories with an abundance of images depicting the development of life at school, of a new family and of an overall community that has to deal with social and moral issues on a daily basis. What makes the stories so remarkable, then, is the way in which all of the values which Rowling's story cherishes come together in the surrogate family circle that gathers around the central character of Harry Potter. At first sight, the roles of these characters in Harry's life are superficially conventional, in that they conform to traditional roles, within the family and otherwise.

In line with the overall story, however, each and every one of them also deviates from the norm, transforming an outwardly conservative role into a personally practicable one. What this paper will then try to demonstrate is how, in showing Harry's family to be holding the middle between convention and novelty, J. K. Rowling has constructed a complex image that confuses the traditional representation of family, while also giving a whole new meaning to the long-standing debate surrounding fate and free will. Departing from a brief overview of the prevailing ideas about family in children's literature, including the gendered nature of parental roles, a thorough discussion of the characters that constitute the family of Harry Potter will determine how, though starting out with a traditional representation, the additional element of choice ramifies the seemingly straightforward theme that is family. Laura Mortiers 8

Situating Harry Potter : modern family fiction

Locating J. K. Rowling's work in a literary era what is often called the Third Golden Age of children's literature seems no less than appropriate, not only because of the series' enormous success, mirroring the consumerist trend so often noticed in recent children's literature, but more specifically also in the story's portrayal of family life, which, while not remarkably progressive, does hint at the recent changes in family conditions.

The Third Golden Age, first of all, is a literary era marked by the immense commercial success of children's literature, a development that started in the second half of the twentieth century and has continued into the twenty-first century. Because of its increasing popularity, several authors have claimed that children's literature today has become a part of “an era of literacy fast- food consumerism” (Blake 74). Moreover, an increasing commercialization of children's books as profitable goods has made the genre the victim of a “relentless progress of globalization” (Zipes

2008: 21). In short, these authors argue that recent developments have taken the attention away from the books' cultural merits, making children's literature into, quite simply, globally marketable merchandise. Moreover, authors have also claimed that the result of this development has been not only the obvious, namely that the popularity and production of books have grown, but also that quality has become secondary to the economic interests of the publishing industry (Hunt 82; Zipes

2008: 5). Seen most pessimistically, then, the Third Golden Age is not, as its name would imply, a period of literary merit, but rather a time when “the cart of marketing is driving the horse of creativity” (Hunt 82). Still, when discussing Harry Potter, it is clear that popularity and quality are equally important, going hand in hand, as the publication history and astonishing success of

Rowling's series are never discussed without also doing credit to Rowling's writing talent and masterful use of complex and intertextual forms and topics (Bürvenich; Blake; Eccleshare; Smadja; Laura Mortiers 9

Zipes 2008). In short, “the Harry Potter effect” (Grenby 200), created by Rowling's writing and marketing skills, is both a reflection of the spirit of the Age, that is, the public popularity of children's literature, and an achievement of remarkable literary value.

Within the context of this era, a change has taken place in the representation of the family in children's literature, more specifically in the way it develops parallel to changes that are taking place in present-day society. Numerous observations have led to the strong belief that many contemporary children's books are trying to find a new way of representing family life, as reality, too, is changing and moving away from the traditional nuclear family (Grenby 136; Reynolds 203;

Thiel 157). However, as Alston observes, children's literature has not yet completely caught up with this reaction against the domestic ideal, which did last well into the twentieth century; instead of being either deeply traditional or openly progressive, children's literature today is making a transition and is currently still torn between nostalgia for a past ideal and acceptance of the present changes (Alston 136). Taking this evolution into account, Rowling's work is indeed a product of the age, as it is marked by that same transitional character. Even though the story's central families, such as the Dursleys and the Weasleys, are essentially traditional, they are not always perfect, and are, in the children's lives, often supplied by additional, non-biological family bonds. To be precise, whereas the form of the story is indeed traditional, the emotions and beliefs bubbling beneath its surface are often more innovative than they seem at first sight. Harry Potter, then, is essentially “a contemporary boy” (Blake 71); though he is initially driven by a desire to reconstruct that lost nuclear home, Harry's eventual family includes surrogate parents, as well as an extensive family of choice, all of whom are bound together by both choice and love.

In short, while Rowling's Harry Potter series superficially adheres “to the conservative conventions of children's literature” (Alston 136), the truth turns out to be much more complex, as Laura Mortiers 10 her story is one that attempts to reconcile those conventions with a more modern view on family as a bond that can be created both biologically and by choice; Harry Potter is truly a child of the age.

Biological family

The first people to belong to Harry Potter's extensive family circle are without a doubt his relatives, the Dursleys, as well as his deceased parents. The basis for the discussion of his biological family will be how, “[o]ftentimes, for a hero, [the] beginning lies within one's heritage” (Pharr 54). Harry's biological family not only serves as the foundation of his heroic identity, but, more importantly, also contributes to the formation of his character, developing as an individual. Indeed, the undeniable and functionally important presence of Harry's biological family in the story stresses the overall importance of “[d]escent relations”, that are “relations of 'substance' (by blood or nature)” (Sollors

6); in line with a widespread wizarding mentality, Harry's descent relations are often of crucial importance to his story. However, without disregarding their importance in his life, Harry's story also underlines that, even though “heritage is a crucial starting point”, it is “never an end unto itself” (Pharr 65). Despite the fact that his family identity, both past and present, forms the basis of his personality, Harry has also much more to learn by searching his own way in life, choosing whom to resemble and how to act. In short, the biological family of Harry Potter serves mainly as an example, not only teaching him about his heritage as it is the basis of his heroic status, but also making him see the importance of prudently choosing his way in life.

Father figures

Breaking with tradition, Rowling has given the male parental figures in Harry Potter not only a central place in her narrative, but also a counselling function essential in the success of Harry's Laura Mortiers 11 endeavours. What is remarkable about Harry's surrogate fathers is the fact that Rowling does not portray them the way father figures typically are portrayed in children's literature, that is by picturing them as “distant and most often feared” (Avery 454). Indeed, according to the conventions of children's stories, fathers are always in some way separated from the rest of the family, be it by their being absent from the home (Avery 456) or simply because they have their own place within the house which children are not allowed to enter (Alston 98). Because of this separation, the father often seems to have little influence over the children, who, instead of staying protected within the family home, go out to enjoy “their own adventures”, leaving their parents behind (Avery 454). In

Harry Potter, then, despite the fact that Harry's biological father is indeed a distant figure, Harry's surrogate fathers all come into close contact with the boy. Hagrid, Sirius, Dumbledore and Snape, as well as other paternal characters, such as Arthur Weasley and , all help Harry along without having to be fearsome or distant. Hagrid and Sirius, especially, openly accept Harry into their homes, this in contrast to the more private characters of Dumbledore and Snape. Aside from their physical presence in the hero's life, then, Harry's surrogate fathers influence his development, as each of them teaches the boy what he knows. This functional presence is more in line with traditional children's literature, where “[t]he majority of information about the outside world is first passed through the father” (Alston 97); Harry's fathers all possess information and wisdom that might help him, be it about the past, the magical world, or quite simply about human nature. In short, what makes modern father figures recognizable is how, being present in their children's lives, they often still have a unidirectional advisory role, providing the family with information.

Mother figures

When having to identify maternal characters in Harry Potter, food is most useful, as well as their common functionality, that is caring for and protecting their family. In a discussion of mother Laura Mortiers 12 figures, firstly, it is apt to follow Lévi-Strauss' idea that “food is good to think with” (Keeling &

Pollard 16). Even though food does not a mother make, the activity of cooking, when present in a story, is a useful marker of a woman's maternal identity. Indeed, “[t]he symbol of the maternal body that cooks for and nourishes children […] is inseparable from women's role in Western domestic economy” (Blackford 2009: 42). Food, in short, is “a primal cultural mover” (Keeling & Pollard

13), for, in using and transforming it, a mother can assert her status within the household, while also preparing her children for the outside world. In addition to a mother's involvement in her children's diets, she is also concerned with their general well-being, trying to keep them healthy and out of danger. The perfect mother, in short, does not just cook for the family, but is truly proud of her function, doing all in her power to perfect a task which she considers to be her calling (Alston 23).

Ideally, the mother takes care of all aspects of family life, from preparing food and household tasks to assuring the personal safety of each and every one of the family members. In Harry Potter, then, this caring personality is easily distinguishable both in Lily Potter's sacrifice and in the appearance of several surrogate mother figures in Harry's life. Expressed not only by the female characters of

Molly Weasley, Minerva McGonagall and Hermione Granger, but also by male Rubeus Hagrid, a general concern for Harry's safety identifies those characters as the most overtly maternal personae in the story. However, these traditional traits notwithstanding, Harry's surrogate mothers also possess more subversive characteristics, from fierce magical skills to overt rejection of the stereotype. Quite simply, their highlighted presence in the story, in both intellectual deliberation and actual combat, contradicts the literary tradition of “keep[ing] mothers in the background” (Avery

454). Aside from being simply protective when it comes to their family, the mother figures in Harry

Potter insert themselves in the lives of their children, becoming useful in ways that transcend the stereotypical cooking and nursing. In conclusion, the overall representation of maternal characters in the series is a mixture of tradition and progress, as the use of mother figures, though descriptively more traditional, often serves a larger purpose, especially in bringing to light issues of gender. Laura Mortiers 13

Family of choice

Finally, the core of Harry's newly constructed family is his group of friends, who serve most clearly to underline his ability to assemble around him a 'family of choice'. As to the specific significance of this term, Kimberley Reynolds explains that it refers to “same-generation 'family' groups” that have been “created through choice rather than biology”; in children's fiction, child characters have a tendency to form their own, interdependent family bonds in order to survive outside of the family home (Reynolds 204-205). Such families, then, are bound together by what Werner Sollors calls

“consent relations”, the essential effect of choosing one's relations being that it “stresses our abilities as mature free agents and 'architects of our fates'” (Sollors 6). In the case of Harry Potter, this notion of forming a family by choosing its members from among a closely knit group of friends, as well as from some larger organizations, is wholly applicable. Singling out some of his friends, Harry creates “a notional blood bond” (Reynolds 206) that binds them together so closely that their friendship survives not only the dangerous adventures narrated in the series, but also the absolutely normal everyday lives they lead following their schooldays. Therefore, instead of opting for the traditional return to the family hearth after the conclusion of the children's adventures

(Alston 28; Blake 38), Harry and his family of choice create a whole new life in which they themselves have become the new heads of household, promoting their own family ethics. Laura Mortiers 14

II. Family in Harry Potter

1. Biological family

Before discussing Harry Potter's considerable chosen family, a discussion of the importance of his relatives is necessary to show how the hero's biological family functions in and exerts its influence upon his identity. The Dursley family, first of all, seems to give no more than a cartoon of family life (Kornfeld & Prothro 188). However, in their awfulness, the Dursleys do give an outstanding negative example, showing the unacceptability of certain types of behaviour toward others, which will greatly influence Harry's development and later choice of friends and family. In contrast, despite their physical absence from the story, Harry's parents serve largely as a positive example of familial love, in that their sacrifice saved their son's life. Nonetheless, James Potter's appalling bullying behaviour also serves as a negative example to Harry, moving the boy to make the conscious decision not to follow in his parents' footsteps at all times. All in all, Harry Potter's biological family is therefore very much influential in his life, mainly for the simple reason that they serve as examples, both positive and negative, of how to conduct his family life, as well as who to choose as friends. More often than not, while in the process of forming his own identity,

Harry can decide whether or not to follow those examples.

The Dursleys

Harry Potter's aunt and uncle, Mr and Mrs Dursley, are introduced in the very first sentence of the saga as the most ordinary family imaginable (Stone 7). Since they are the only living family Harry has left, he is forced to grow up within their family, even though they quickly turn out to be

“unimaginative and often unpleasant adults […] who neither understand [him] nor care to” Laura Mortiers 15

(Nodelman & Reimer 125, quoting Stephen King). During the time Harry spends with them, which comprises not only his entire childhood to the age of eleven, but also his summer vacations away from Hogwarts, the Dursleys continually treat their nephew as garbage. As it is, Harry does not learn of the true reason for his having to call the Dursleys' house his 'home' until his fifth year at

Hogwarts. Only at the end of that year does Dumbledore finally disclose the truth, namely that

Harry is “protected by an ancient magic” (Order 918):

'While you can still call home the place where your mother's blood dwells, there you cannot be touched or

harmed by Voldemort. He shed her blood, but it lives on in you and her sister. Her blood became your refuge.

You need return there only once a year, but as long as you can still call it home, whilst you are there he cannot

hurt you. Your aunt knows this. […]' (Order 918-919)

As Dumbledore explains, upon sacrificing herself for her son, Lily Potter cast a protective charm over the boy, that would protect him for as long as he lived in his family's house. It is therefore because of his mother's protection that Harry is forced to call the Dursleys his family, at least until he comes of age at seventeen, or leaves before that time, in which cases the charm and its protection will be lifted. Moreover, Lily's protection exists solely in the blood ties between Harry and the

Dursleys; their consanguineous relationship is what makes the charm effective. Moreover, aside from this reinforced genetic connection, the mutual antipathy between Harry and the Dursleys does not cancel out the possibility of redeemability. More specifically, in the beginning of the last novel,

Dudley says goodbye to Harry by shaking his hand, a belated expression of gratitude for having saved his life the previous summer, and even aunt Petunia momentarily looks as if she wants to say goodbye to her nephew (Hallows 52). This parting scene shows that Harry's cousin and aunt are, in the end, at least “partly redeemed” (Winters 219). In short, despite their unlikeability, the Dursleys remain Harry's only living relatives and the only remaining link to his mother; despite all else, the biological connection or “descent” relation (Sollors 6) remains fundamental. Laura Mortiers 16

Next, where the Dursleys' behaviour is concerned, the outrageous way in which they conduct their family life is portrayed acutely from the very first paragraph of Philosopher's Stone.

The ironic tone, used to describe the characters, instantly underlines what the family is and will be about, thus setting the tone for the rest of their appearances throughout the story:

Mr and Mrs Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank

you very much. They were the last people you’d expect to be involved in anything strange or mysterious,

because they just didn’t hold with such nonsense. (Stone 7)

From this initiating scene, it is clear that Mr and Mrs Dursley are obsessed with keeping up appearances. What they want, above all else, is for people to see them as an example of “the domestic idyll” (Thiel 157), that is, perfect parents with a perfect child, living in a perfectly kept house. Mr Dursley, head of the household, is a bred businessman, obsessed with making good deals and with having the perfect family to put on display to his business relations. Mrs Dursley, the stay- at-home mother and housewife, is a nosey woman, obsessed with having a perfectly kept house, as well as with spying on the neighbours, therein seeking reassurance that Mr and “Mrs Next Door”

(Stone 12) are far from having as perfect a family as the Dursleys themselves have. Finally, the

Dursleys' son, Dudley, is “a thoroughly unpleasant person all told” (Webb 114); fat and lazy, obsessed with food, television and videogames, Dudley is interested in only one sport, namely punching Harry. Despite their outward perfection, then, it rapidly becomes clear that the Dursleys, in a way very much similar to the description cited above, are only perfect in form. Once that façade is removed, it becomes clear that the Dursleys are in reality boring, manipulative and often cruel to

Harry, regarding his deviation from the family ideal as a threat to perfection. Specifically, as Harry is placed with them, his magical inheritance immediately makes him the embarrassing family member, the shameful element that threatens the Dursleys' strived-for perfection. Trying to ignore him and hide away his magical “nonsense”, the Dursleys often resort to locking up their nephew Laura Mortiers 17

(Stone 37; Chamber 21; Order 55). By behaving thus, Mr and Mrs Dursley make clear how, in their family, the traditional domestic ideal is still “the template by which all [is] gauged” (Thiel 157); their life's ambition is to maintain a perfectly kept, perfectly organized household, where not one object or person is allowed to be out of place. In short, what goes on in the Dursley household reads

“like theater of the absurd” (Kornfeld & Prothro 189), providing the reader with a less than subtle commentary on the dangers of the overall prevalence of the domestic ideal. If anything, the

Dursleys are portrayed as a “parody of the familial ideal” (Thiel 169), who are, in their hyperbolic

“monstrosity […] crucial in Harry's early development” (Pharr 56) as they come to function as a manifestly negative example of what family life should be like.

In conclusion, as horrible as they might be, the Dursleys do have an important role in the development of Harry's personality. Their obsession with maintaining normalcy, first of all, causes the Dursleys, from the very beginning, to see Harry, a budding wizard who produces magic that he cannot yet control, as a rule-breaker, applying to the boy a label that he eventually comes to accept as an inherent part of his person. Moreover, Harry is also confronted with the unfairness of the extensive set of family rules, most of which seem to have been created for the sole purpose of undermining his development; whereas Dudley's escapades are lovingly covered up, the rules seem to apply only and most strongly to Harry, viewing to suppress his growing magical powers. Since these rules are so unfair, then, Harry sees no reason to follow them, even when he has learnt to control his powers, a reasoning that lies at the origin of his predisposition to break the rules, not only at Privet Drive, but also later on at Hogwarts. Most importantly, however, growing up as the victim of not only Dudley's, but also his parents' constant bullying, Harry's childhood with the

Dursleys has taught him what it means to be pushed around, by extension giving him a negative example of the sort of friends and family he should choose later in life. This almost traumatic childhood might indeed be the reason that Harry chooses not to befriend , preferring Laura Mortiers 18 instead the more gawky as his friend. Moreover, the Dursleys' function as a negative example of family life is made strong in contrast with the more congenial Weasley family (Alston 2;

Thiel 168); as Harry's living relatives represent what one should not want for a family, they also serve to emphasize the appropriateness of his choosing, later in life, the Weasleys as family. All in all, as “[t]he neglect inherent in Harry's upbringing fails to damage him” (Winters 218), the parodical use of the nuclear family in the Dursleys is by no means a weakening of the family idea, but rather just an ironic portrayal of those families who covet traditional perfection. In their failure, the nuclear family of the Dursleys “promotes, by negative example, ideologically constructed notions of normality” (Alston 75). In the end, the overall effect of his upbringing with the Dursleys is that they teach him how not to conduct his family life, therein forcing him “to seek home and family elsewhere” (Kornfeld & Prothro 197).

The Potters

Next, Harry's orphanhood and heritage from his parents define, as becomes increasingly clear throughout the series, both his personality and adventures (Pharr 54; Gruner 219). More specifically, Harry's parents are implicated in his life by three powerful, magical tools: the prophecy, Lily's protective charm, and a selection of other character's memories about James.

Interpreting the prophecy, first of all, family proves to be essential, not only as it offers a way of identifying the hero, but also as it will determine Voldemort's choice of opponent:

'The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches … born to those who have thrice defied him,

born as the seventh month dies … and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal but he will have power the

Dark Lord knows not … and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives

… the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies …' (Order 924) Laura Mortiers 19

The first marker of the hero's identity is the fact that he is the son of extraordinarily brave and capable parents, which, in addition to the precise date of birth, points to Harry Potter and Neville

Longbottom. The prophecy therefore also predicts a choice; giving Voldemort two possible opponents, the actual choice of foe is left up to him. Seeing the Lily and James as the more dangerous of the two families, Voldemort kills them, thus personally marking as his equal “the boy he thought most likely to be a danger to him” (Order 925). Therefore, in looking at the prophecy, family and genes, as brought into view magically, influence the fate of Harry and Neville showing that they are destined to be heroes. At the same time, however, the prophecy also underlines how the villain himself has to choose a worthy opponent. In short, the prophecy itself holds the middle between fate and free will, as both familial heritage and choice have their respective roles in the fulfilment of the prediction.

Next, with respect to Lily Potter, her protective charm has a remarkably lasting influence upon her son's life (Carmeli 16; Ionoaia 62), even as she is physically absent from his life.

Sacrificing her life for her son's, Lily cast a protective charm over the boy. A strong narratological device, it is this “lingering protection […] that flows in [Harry's] veins” (Order 918) that forces

Lily's son to live with the Dursleys, linking them until he comes of age at seventeen. Moreover,

Lily's protection works throughout the story as a reminder of the lost mother figure. Despite the fact that Harry does not enjoy living with his relatives, they constantly bring to light the absence of a maternal authority figure in his life. On the whole, Lily's role in Harry's life underlines how “the absent mother is a powerful tool” (Thiel 27); through the biological connection with the Dursleys, the absent mother continues to have a strong influence over Harry's life. In the end, it is clear that

“Lily's love for her child was significant and lasting” (Carmeli 16), resulting in a “moral choice to mark Harry's life – literally and figuratively” (Ionoaia 62), as, even beyond death, Lily Potter continues to be an important figure in the life and development of her son.

Finally, Harry also learns more about his father, both by means of other people's memories, Laura Mortiers 20 experienced in the Pensieve1, and through the narratives of his parents' friends. The first novel to give such a high amount of information about James' earlier life is Prisoner of Azkaban. When

Harry is brought into close contact with Remus Lupin and , two of James' best friends, they tell him about how James once heroically saved Snape while they were still students at

Hogwarts. However, as the series continues, Snape's side of the story is revealed in Order of the

Phoenix, when Harry takes an unauthorized look at his teacher's memories in the Pensieve and learns that fifteen-year-old James Potter was not just the popular boy his friends say he was, but also a bully. Struggling with this knowledge, Harry eventually chooses to accept this aspect of his father's personality, but only as Remus and Sirius swear to him that James grew up to be an honourable man (cf. infra). All in all, this introduction to James Potter by means of others' memories and narratives is very informative, but also very confusing for the young Harry, who is continually torn between loyalty to his father's memory and rejection of his father's faults.

On the whole, the bond between Harry and his parents is very strong, despite the fact that they have long since been deceased. Through several magic constructs, “maternal love and the

'natural' family is shown as the ultimate power” (Thiel 169). The prophecy, the charm and the stories all underline the Potters' bond and pave the way for the formation of a more complex relationship, as Harry learns all about his parents. In doing so, Harry will learn not only about the people his parents were, but also in what ways they influence him to the present, from some inherited character traits to his quest against Voldemort (Nodelman 329). Harry, in short, can only become the story's hero if he knows about his family's past, accepting their faults and choosing his own way of continuing their legacy.

As for Lily and James' parenting, a lack of information makes it difficult to discuss what they were like as parents. Even so, as mentioned before, a lot of information is given about their respective characters. A discussion of their personalities will therefore provide a clear notion of

1 The Pensieve is a basin in which surplus thoughts and memories can be stored and, if necessary, relived later on. Laura Mortiers 21 what the Potters were like and in what ways their characters might have influenced their son. Lily

Potter, first of all, had a character similar to that of Harry's friend Hermione; next to being a

Muggle-born witch who turns out to be an incredibly gifted student, Lily was also a socially engaged, broad-minded young woman, accepting any kind of difference as an intrinsic part of life.

Moreover, Lily is clearly shown to be unaccepting of the set social hierarchy; while at school, rather than being impressed by James' juvenile alpha male behaviour, she defends Severus 'Snivelly'

Snape, a social outcast at Hogwarts (Order 712-713). Eventually, this information about Lily naturally underlines her later maturity, as she has evidently developed from an understanding adolescent girl into a caring mother, willing to give her life for those people whom she loves.

Moreover, Lily Potter is, though posthumously, indeed an affirmation of the archetypal mother figure in children's literature, that is the character “who holds the home together” (Avery 454); it is only because of his deep respect for his mother's sacrifice, that Harry will be prepared to overlook his father's disquieting macho behaviour toward Snape. James Potter, then, was the quintessential alpha male teenager. Gathering around him a supporting group of friends, James and his gang not only had a habit of breaking the school rules, but they also liked to laugh at and bully the social outcasts, in particular. This behaviour earned James the deep dislike of Lily, who saw him as a rule-breaking, “arrogant, bullying toerag” (Order 712). In Harry, too, James' behaviour eventually causes a profound confusion, as the boy realizes that he has more in common with his father than just his looks, an innate proneness to misbehaviour being not the least of them.

However, at the same time, the young James did already display some more admirable characteristics, being both intelligent and courageous. Not only did he and his friends create the very useful and powerful Marauder's Map2, demonstrating their intellectual and magical capabilities, but he also once saved his very rival, Snape, from a joke almost gone wrong this “at great risk to his own life” (Prisoner 261). Moreover, as Lupin and Sirius explain, James did not

2 The Marauder's Map is a magical guide to Hogwarts and its surrounding grounds. Moving dots on the map indicate where the school's inhabitants are located. Laura Mortiers 22 always remain the bully he was at fifteen. As it was, Lily eventually did start dating him, but not until he had changed thoroughly and “had deflated his head a bit” (Order 738). The love Lily then showed for James, despite his earlier escapades, is without a doubt an indication of his having changed dramatically, for Lily, insofar as her indirect portrayal allows an assessment of her character, would probably not have accepted James without a profound transformation of character.

From these hints, then, it gradually becomes clear that James, later in life, became a responsible, though still at times slightly playful and careless, adult man, prepared to fight and sacrifice himself for his family. On the whole, the Potters, even though they are not characterized directly in the story, are indirectly portrayed as having been loving, responsible parents, willing to save their son,

“the only cost [being] their mortal lives” (Pharr 55). Eventually, their sacrifice will be an important motivation for Harry, as it moves him to desire to remain loyal to his family identity, thus continuing his parents' legacy.

Finally, with regard to the actual influence Lily and James have on their son's life, both continuity and discontinuity can be observed in the way Harry experiences his familial heritage.

Continuous, first of all, are Harry's attempts to live up to his parents' legacy, his desire to be more like his parents and to be worthy of their love and sacrifice. As numerous teachers, such as Snape,

Lupin and Dumbledore, point out to Harry throughout the story, he resembles both of his parents very much; physically resembling his father, though having his mother's eyes, Harry also inherited certain of their character traits, including his mother's unprejudiced acceptance of difference, as well as his father's tendency to break the rules. This resemblance, to his father especially, comes to a climax in Prisoner of Azkaban, when Harry is convinced of having seen his father casting the

Patronus spell3, whereas, in fact, it was a future version of himself, travelling through time. Though, mainly because of the time travel, this seems a very complex situation, Dumbledore observes

3 The Patronus spell serves to protect its owner from the depressing effects of a Dementor's presence. The silvery form of the Patronus, as it comprises the wizard's happiest memories, is representative of his or her personality. Harry's Patronus is a stag, which turns out to have been the animal into which his father could transform. Laura Mortiers 23 simply that, “[y]our father is alive in you, Harry, and shows himself most plainly when you have need of him” (Prisoner 312). In other words, “Harry uses the father image inside him to feel confidence in himself. He is, after all, his father's son.” (Carmeli 19); when others tell him he is like his father, Harry clearly feels proud. This pride then moves Harry to tread in his parents' footsteps, because he is their son and because he wants to be like them, in appearance as well as in personality. The family legacy, in short, is continued as both a congenital and a chosen part of his identity. Specifically, as Harry learns more about his father, a certain trend of discontinuity also jumps forward, especially in his confusion about and deliberate choice not to become the bully his father was at fifteen (Order 737). This active refusal to become a bully like his father might be motivated by his childhood with the Dursleys; unlike James, who grew up protected from any outside harm, Harry learned from a very early age what it was like to be the victim of Dudley's constant bullying. As it is, Harry is only able to accept this defect in James' character when he learns about his becoming a better person later in life, as well as the love between his parents. In short, Harry's initial pride in the family resemblances is counterbalanced by his bewilderment at learning about his father's less positive attributes and his consequent hesitations when it comes to resembling his parents. All in all, Harry's relationship with his parents is a descent relationship in that the Potters' love, sacrifice and overall personalities form the foundation of Harry's identity, therein greatly influencing his psychological development (Eccleshare 100). However, Harry also transforms the relationship with his deceased parents into one of consent, as he consciously decides in what aspects to resemble his parents, as well as when to ultimately forgive them their mistakes.

In the end, the bond between Harry and his parents is marked by both descent, in the family resemblances, and consent, as Harry simultaneously chooses when to follow and when to set aside his family heritage. Laura Mortiers 24

In the Family's Footsteps: Recognizing Right from Easy

In conclusion, Harry Potter and his biological family are intrinsically linked, especially as their genetic connection is repeatedly underlined and made strong magically; through the magic constructs of the prophecy and Lily's protective charm, Harry remains connected to the Dursleys, as they form the intermediate link between the boy and his parents. Functionally, both the Dursleys and the Potters serve, directly and indirectly, as examples to the budding hero, illustrating what relations with friends and family can be like, giving Harry the option to either follow or discard their examples. As the Dursleys show the danger of overindulgence (Webb 116), Harry's parents are, in contrast, the paragon of unconditional love and sacrifice. More generally, as Harry's family does, in the end, exemplify how the 'natural' family is still the most influential and powerful image of family to be used in literature (Alston 40; Thiel 169), Harry deals with all of them in a similar way, becoming an outstanding example of how family identity can be supplied by choice. Harry alone is responsible for choosing his way in life, either in line with or in spite of his family background. All in all, Harry can be said to have “learned empathy from the old school of hard knocks” (Pharr 58), as it is because of the loss of his parents and the abusive relationship with the

Dursleys that he is able to think empathically and make his own choices in life, instead of blindly following his heritage. In short, Harry has learned that it will always be essential “to make a choice between what is right, and what is easy” (Goblet 784), not only when he is confronted with others, but also when it comes to his family. Laura Mortiers 25

2. Surrogate father figures

As numerous authors have noted, Harry Potter's adventurous journey is counselled by several surrogate father figures (Ghesquière 189; Gruner 219; Nodelman 330; Pharr 60). Moreover, each of the father figures in Harry's life, “instructing him in different areas with varying degrees of success”

(Pharr 60), has his own respective function, embodying a particular facet of fatherhood. Hagrid, first of all, initiates Harry in the world of magic by giving him some of the most basic information about that and its past. Next, Sirius Black is, as Harry's godfather, more involved in the hero's emotional state of mind, helping him deal with the emotional aspects of his adventures;

Sirius possesses, above all, an immense knowledge of human nature. Thirdly, Dumbledore has to teach Harry about the past surrounding the Harry's family, Voldemort and his Horcruxes4. Finally,

Severus Snape also turns out to have Harry's best interests in mind, though not for love of the boy himself; only for the sake of his love for the boy's mother, Lily, is Snape prepared to protect and help him throughout his adventures. All in all, as the following discussion will try to point out, these surrogate fathers, from Rubeus Hagrid to Severus Snape, become not only increasingly important in

Harry's life, but also increasingly complex and ambiguous characters, offering Harry a diversified image of fatherhood, masculinity and the values that are associated with them.

Rubeus Hagrid5

Rubeus Hagrid is, from his very introduction into the story, one of Harry Potter's most important friends and caregivers. From the moment he meets Harry, right at the beginning of Philosopher's

Stone, Hagrid is characterized as being, despite his enormous figure and wild looks, an incredibly

4 A Horcrux is an object in which a wizard has stored part of his or her soul, in order to become immortal. As to its creation, Dumbledore explains that a Horcrux is produced “[b]y an act of evil – the supreme act of evil. By committing murder. Killing rips the soul apart.” (Prince 587). 5 Later on, Hagrid will also be discussed as a mother figure. Laura Mortiers 26 caring, parentlike figure. As he leads Harry through his first steps into the magical world, Hagrid has to give the young boy all the necessary, basic information that he needs to grow up in its fantastic, though also confusing society; from the story about what really happened to Lily and

James Potter, to the workings of Hogwarts and its teachers, Hagrid is Harry's introduction into the world of magic. Next, as the story continues, Harry and Hagrid develop a mutually beneficial friendship, with Hagrid helping the trio through numerous trials, from the dangers of the Forbidden

Forest to their everyday lives and quarrels, occasionally also letting them help him, such as, for example, when his love for dangerous creatures causes problems at Hogwarts (Stone 256; Prisoner

163). For all that, Hagrid's role undeniably does transcend that of just a friend, as not only his help and advice, but also his home is accepted as an important place in the friends' lives. Hagrid's hut, a cosy one-man household, comes to represent, within the story, a “place of deep human emotions”

(Eccleshare 60); as Harry, Ron and Hermione go about their tumultuous lives at Hogwarts, Hagrid accepts them into his home, where he helps them and gives them advice. This, in itself is an important mark of the bond of family between Hagrid and the children, for “home and family here are most inseparable […] for home is essentially family” (Alston 69). In its own way, Hagrid's cosy, warm hut becomes an important locus in the story, a second home for Harry and his friends, as it stands for guidance and safety. All things considered, Hagrid can be identified as a surrogate father figure, not only in his giving Harry the information he needs to thrive in the magical world, but also in his providing Harry and his friends with a place, outside of the Hogwarts castle, where they can feel safe, as Hagrid tends to their worries.

As to his person, Hagrid's extraordinary physique, being “twice as tall as anyone else”

(Stone 75), gives him the force he needs to fulfil his duties as Hogwarts' Keeper of Keys, tending to the school's grounds and the numerous magical creatures that inhabit them. His house, located on the school grounds, is primitive and in its own way representative of its owner, who is somewhat of Laura Mortiers 27 a “noble savage” with a close bond to the natural world and a simple lifestyle that reflects his honest, straightforward nature (Eccleshare 60). As the reader gets to know Hagrid better, it becomes clear that he is a very kind person, who feels very strongly about loyalty, sympathy and family.

Hagrid's loyalty, first of all, is unconditional; once he has decided for his own whether or not someone is trustworthy, he puts his faith in that person, be it Dumbledore, Harry, or any other of his friends, without ever doubting his decision. Sympathy for others, too, is a value promoted strongly by Hagrid. Even though his love of dangerous animals is often ridiculed, the story also stresses how animals are not always inherently dangerous, simply because the official classification says so. In this, Hagrid is indeed one of the only characters in the series who openly defies the traditional stigmatization of creatures who are different. Lastly, with regard to family,

“Hagrid re-emphasises the significance of family when he states 'Makes a diff'rence havin' a decent family'” (Alston 136; Order 621); Hagrid, a half-blood giant himself, shows that he is well aware of the “wizardly obsession with lineage” (Blake 104), that is the emphasis laid on having a pureblood

'descent' family line. At the same time, however, as he brings his half-brother, Grawp, back to

Hogwarts to be able to take care of him, Hagrid shows how family, within the Harry Potter series, is not always all that “stereotypical and regressive” (Alston 136). Being a half-giant and social outcast himself, Hagrid embraces his giant half-brother as part of his family, despite the danger and worries this course of action might cause him at Hogwarts. On the whole, Hagrid can be considered as a noble savage figure who promotes the value of unconditional love. Disregarding all doubts and dangers, the values of loyalty, acceptance and family are put forward as the very foundation of all human and non-human relationships.

Harry's relationship with Hagrid is from the very beginning one of mutual fondness. Though confused at the appearance of the enormous figure, Harry is also thankful for the birthday cake

Hagrid brought for him, as well as curious as to who the giant personage actually is (Stone 57). Laura Mortiers 28

Along the way, as they get to know one another, Hagrid's status as a moral example becomes all the more clear. Introducing Harry to the workings of magic and Hogwarts, first of all, Hagrid fulfils the more straightforward function of a mentor, giving his pupil the basic information upon which he will later build the knowledge necessary to continue his quest against the villain Voldemort. Serving as a mediator in the numerous quarrels between Harry, Ron and Hermione, Hagrid emphasizes that one should “value yer friend more'n broomsticks or rats. Tha's all.” (Prisoner 202); Hagrid teaches the trio that friendship can and should transcend all worldly worries, as there will be enough of the latter as it is. Finally, then, Hagrid does succeed to some extent in making Harry accept the fantastic beasts of whom his teacher is so fond, as being not always as dangerous as the Ministry makes them out to be. For example, after once having thought of the gaunt, black-winged, horse-like Thestrals as horrible and scary creatures, Harry finally grows to accept their otherness (Order 837). Indeed, this scene is a decisive moment, for it stands as a symbolic representative of Harry's finally accepting difference even more thoroughly than ever before Hagrid has taught Harry not only to accept others, but also to see the inner beauty in all humans and creatures. All in all, Hagrid's example makes Harry accept difference and see the inner beauty of others, all the while also teaching him and his friends that love and friendship should be unconditional.

Sirius Black

Sirius Black, introduced in the course of Prisoner of Azkaban, is the second surrogate father figure to appear in Harry's life. His position is enhanced both by his childhood friendship with Harry's parents and by his legal status as Harry's godfather. Because of his friendship with Lily and James, first of all, Sirius functions as “a direct link to the past Harry cannot himself remember” (Pharr 61), in that he is one of the few people in Harry's life who are able to give him detailed information about his parents and the kind of people they were. In honour of their long-standing friendship, the Laura Mortiers 29

Potters named Sirius as Harry's godfather, thus reinforcing his later status as a legally sanctioned authority figure in Harry's life. Years later, as Harry knows of Black only as the vicious mass murderer who escaped from Azkaban, the wizard prison, Sirius and Remus barely succeed in telling

Harry the truth, namely that it was Peter Pettigrew, and not Sirius, who betrayed his parents to

Voldemort. When, after this scene, Harry finds himself in conversation with his godfather, who asks him if he would like to live with him, Harry's instant enthusiasm at the proposal shows that it has only taken clearing Sirius of the charges against him to make Harry accept the man as part of his family (Prisoner 277-278). This instantaneous bond is a direct consequence of their “both having survived the unsurvivable” (Pharr 61); the losses Harry and Sirius have suffered are so terrible that none of Harry's other friends could be expected to understand. As Sirius then enters Harry's life, the advice he gives his godson focuses primarily on supporting “the growth of Harry's emotional well- being” (Pharr 61). When Sirius is asked for guidance, it is always to help Harry figure out the meaning of a certain event, or to help him deal with the emotions that are an inevitable by-product of his tempestuous and dangerous adventures. Some examples of the communication between Harry and Sirius are Harry's hurting scar (Goblet 33), his fears about being a forced competitor in the

Triwizard Tournament (Goblet 320) and his suspicions about the malevolent Professor Umbridge

(Order 335). At the same time, however, Sirius eventually proves to be “somewhat of a disappointing paternal figure” (Carmeli 23), as he fails to fulfil his authoritative paternal duties.

While very much concerned with his godson's emotional health, Sirius seems rather unconcerned with his physical safety, oftentimes giving Harry more freedom than seems appropriate for a boy his age. In short, even though, of all Harry's surrogate fathers, Sirius is emotionally the most important one, he turns out to be the least commanding in his relationship with Harry.

Next, as far as his character is concerned, Sirius Black can be described as a morally admirable man who is also a great risk-taker. As a teenager, very much like his friend, James Potter, Laura Mortiers 30

Sirius used to be a bully who liked to laugh and joke at the cost of others, especially those of lower status than himself; as Sirius himself admits, he and his friends used to be “arrogant little berks […] all idiots!” (Order 737-738). In contrast, the Sirius whom Harry gets to know is an adult man, who has learnt to distinguish right from wrong, a lesson drawn from his lifelong fight against evil as a member of the Order of the Phoenix. However, the problem in Sirius' life is not just his careless behaviour, but the fact that he is “not a man of his chronological age” (Carmeli 24). In fact, Sirius seems to possess two personalities, a risk-taker and a hero, which collide in the present. This conflicting identity is largely due to Sirius' twelve year long imprisonment in the wizard prison

Azkaban, followed later on by a well-meant confinement to number twelve, Grimmauld Place, which is not only his own family home, but also Headquarters to the Order of the Phoenix.

Continually imprisoned in one way or other, Sirius is portrayed as frustrated, unable to get out of the house except on a few occasions, when he ventures into the outside world, be it to visit the bustling town of Hogsmeade (Goblet 566) or to see Harry off to school at the overcrowded King's

Cross Station (Order 203). These outings, moments when he risks his safety to be among people, show how, after all that he has been through, Sirius still remains the risk-taker that he was at fifteen.

Unlike his friend James, however, Sirius did not grow out of his dangerous behaviour by means of human interaction and adult relationships; when information is given about his later adult life, his only friends still seem to be those same childhood friends, James Potter, Remus Lupin and Peter

Pettigrew. This recklessness eventually affects his godfatherhood, as Sirius does not consider outside dangers as seriously as do, for example, Molly Weasley and Remus Lupin. Whereas they try to keep information from Harry, Sirius is continually one of the “few adults [who] “break the rule” of silence” (Elster 215), giving his godson more information about Voldemort and his movements than the other Order members would have preferred. In the end, Sirius Black is portrayed as a thoroughly good-natured, energetic and courageous man, prepared to give his life for the people he loves, as he actually does by duelling to the death with the Death Eaters who threaten to kill Harry Laura Mortiers 31 and his friends (Order 886). At the same time, however, because of his long imprisonment, Sirius is the series' greatest example of the danger of taking unnecessary risks, both in his personal life and in his function as Harry's godfather.

Finally, Sirius' impact on Harry combines a wealth of wisdom with an indirect lesson in parenting. The advice Sirius has to offer Harry, first of all, mostly deals with adventures and danger, as well as with the emotions that accompany such events. Indeed, most of Sirius' wisdom is related to Harry's adventures and emotional safety:

'[…] If you want to know what a man's like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals.'

(Goblet 571)

'[…] the world isn't split into good people and Death Eaters […]' (Order 336)

As these examples show, the wisdom Sirius has to offer Harry focuses on human nature. As his advice is mostly concerned with how his godson manages emotionally, Sirius also wants to raise awareness in Harry when it comes to assessing the moral nature of others. However, despite his great advice, Sirius himself does not think over his actions all that much, becoming increasingly less caring as a mentor, and more foolhardy as an individual. His irresponsible behaviour, from exposing his disguise to the public to failing to protect his godson, is therefore in great contrast with his parental role. Sirius, in short, shows that neglecting his parental duties is not at all “a mark of good parenting” (Winters 216), but the opposite, as he not only risks the safety of Harry and the

Order members, but eventually also causes his own death, having to save Harry's life from the

Death Eaters. Not so great at following his own advice, Sirius eventually becomes an irresponsible parent. This irresponsibility leaves its marks on Harry, as he, though missing his godfather very much, worries about becoming “just as reckless a godfather to Teddy Luppin as Sirius Black had been to him.” (Hallows 570). In the end, Harry comes to learn the dangers of hasardous behaviour, Laura Mortiers 32 and openly desires to become a more sensible person than Sirius Black was. On the whole, while he is also an ambiguous and reckless godfather, Sirius Black is a great moral example to Harry and his friends, in that he is an avid supporter of the fight against evil, promoting good moral values such as love of family and friends.

Albus Dumbledore

Albus Dumbledore, then, is probably the most important surrogate father figure in Harry's life.

Dumbledore's role, evolving from benevolent grandfather into wise mentor, is largely concerned with giving Harry the necessary knowledge about the prophecy, Voldemort and his decision to make

Horcruxes, all of which will be essential in helping Harry along with his quest. First of all, though, during Harry's earlier years at Hogwarts, Dumbledore did already show a certain interest in the boy, it might be argued that his role then was more one of a grandfather, “indulgently allowing him more independence than a father might” (Pharr 60). In that early stage of the story's development,

Dumbledore, who is well aware of the dangers that lie in Harry's future, does indeed seem to be repeatedly “foiled by his desire to keep Harry happy” (Winters 223):

'I cared about you too much,' said Dumbledore simply. 'I cared more for your happiness than your knowing the

truth, more for your peace of mind than my plan, more for your life than the lives that might be lost if the plan

failed. In other words, I acted exactly as Voldemort expects we fools who love to act. […]' (Order 921)

Time and again, Albus decides to delay telling the boy the truth, for the sole purpose of giving him time to enjoy his youth. Essentially, he fulfils his role as Harry's surrogate father almost too benignly, showing a deep love for a boy whom he considers it his duty to protect, for as long as possible, from the evil forces that rule outside of the safe home that is Hogwarts. The close relationship between Harry and Dumbledore, then, does not fully develop until Harry's sixth year at Laura Mortiers 33

Hogwarts, as portrayed in Half-Blood Prince, a story that shows a “movement from innocence to experience or knowledge” (Blackford 2012: 100). It is only during that particular year that

Dumbledore's private lessons about Voldemort's past create a bond of complicity between him and

Harry, as he gives his student the secret information about the Horcruxes. For that reason, Harry's sixth year is, within the overall story of the series, essential, in that it is the final educational stage before he and his friends are forced to leave the school and face danger on their own. Finally, the last stage in the relationship between hero and mentor takes place when Harry's faith in Dumbledore is put to the test with a series of revelations about young Albus' dubious childhood choices. As

Carmeli notes, it is only at the end of the story that Harry becomes “capable of perceiving

Dumbledore for what he is – human.” (Carmeli 26); despite his earlier doubts, it is only then that

Harry comes to realise that sometimes, he has to forgive others for their human mistakes.

Sometimes, instead of letting emotional doubts and quarrels get in the way, “you've got to think about the greater good!” (Hallows 624), that is, the protection of the wizarding world against the threat of Voldemort's power. On the whole, despite Dumbledore's dubious past and problematic parental protectiveness in the earlier stages of the story (Winters 223), the bond between Harry and

Dumbledore shows the mentor's increasing trust in the development of his pupil. To all intents and purposes, their relationship, which holds the middle between a father-son and teacher-pupil relationship, eventually results in a “transfer of the seed of power to Harry” (Blackford 2012: 103), as Dumbledore realises that Harry is much better fit to lead the revolt against Voldemort. From his position as both surrogate father and teacher, Dumbledore gives Harry not only the necessary information, but also the freedom to make his own choices, to decide for himself which path to take in the quest to vanquish Voldemort.

As to his private person, Albus Dumbledore stands within the story as “the epitome of the powerful, good wizard” (Elster 215), who remains, for a very long time, “a seemingly omnipotent Laura Mortiers 34 enigma” (Pond 192). An ambiguous character throughout, Albus was once a very conflicted young man, who embraced altruism only as he had to make up for his past mistakes. Firstly, during one summer, as he was friends with a villain in the making, Gellert Grindelwald, Dumbledore was an avid supporter of the concept of wizard rule over the non-magical population, an idea that is, within the series, generally seen as malignant. However, as the friendship between the two boys ended when a fight broke out at the Dumbledore house, and Albus' sister, Ariana, was killed, so did their mutual understanding and joint motivation come to an end. Though it was too late, Albus' guilt then finally taught him to value family and love above status and power:

'I loved them, I loved my parents, I loved my brother and my sister, but I was selfish, Harry, more selfish than

you, who are a remarkably selfless person, could possibly imagine. […]' (Hallows 784)

Albus, not knowing who actually cast the spell that killed his little sister, tells Harry about having to

“learn to live with my guilt, and my terrible grief, the price of my shame.” (Hallows 786), about, in short, having to live a life that is about atoning for his bad choices in the past. For the rest of his life, Dumbledore tries to make up for his past mistakes, fighting off evil and educating young wizards, teaching them to uphold those same values which he unfortunately chose to ignore for one summer. What the experience then taught Albus Dumbledore is not to trust himself when exposed to the temptation of power, which, nonetheless, remains a difficult thing for him to do. For example, upon his finding the cursed ring that was turned into a Horcrux by Voldemort, Albus cannot refrain himself from trying it on, thus incurring upon himself its deadly curse (Hallows 745). Nevertheless, despite his succumbing to the ring's alluring power, Dumbledore proves himself to be a wise man afterwards, when, aware that he is dying, he asks Snape to kill him, so that Draco Malfoy, who has been given that very same order by Voldemort, will not have to do it. This request, however harsh it is toward Snape, shows how Dumbledore remains, to the end, concerned with the psychological well-being of his students. In short, while Dumbledore is a man who struggles with the temptations Laura Mortiers 35 of power, who is “not perfect; perhaps he's not even entirely likeable”, he does also possess “his own brand of ethics” (Willson-Metzger 303), protecting other people for his own, cathartic reasons.

In conclusion, where Dumbledore's influence on Harry is concerned, two issues, aside from his lessons about Voldemort, are put forward: power and choice. Power, first of all, is something of which Dumbledore has a lot. Time and again, his position as Hogwarts' headmaster and several honorary functions at the Ministry of Magic underline his high status within the wizarding world.

However, because of his friendship with Grindelwald, Dumbledore has also come to fear this “lust for power that he distrusts in himself” (Blackford 2012: 104):

'[…] I had proven, as a very young man, that power was my weakness and my temptation. It is a curious thing,

Harry, but perhaps those who are best suited to power are those who have never sought it. Those who, like you,

have leadership thrust upon them, and take up the mantle because they must, and find to their own surprise that

they wear it well. […]' (Hallows 787)

As Dumbledore himself observes here, those who seek power are unworthy of the responsibility, whereas those who have power because they are forced into the position are always more worthy of the trust put in them. Dumbledore's point here is that he realises that Harry is a worthy leader, not only because he accepts the power thrust upon him, but also because he chooses not to stray from the path laid out for him. Secondly, as to choice, Dumbledore is a self-professed believer in making one's destiny, in choosing one's own way in life (Blackford 2012: 94):

'Yet the Sorting Hat placed you in Gryffindor. You know why that was. Think.'

'It only put me in Gryffindor,' said Harry in a defeated voice, 'because I asked not to go in Slytherin…'

'Exactly,' said Dumbledore, beaming once more. 'Which makes you very different from Tom Riddle. It is our

choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.' (Chamber 245) Laura Mortiers 36

With this outspoken faith in free will in mind, Dumbledore's reluctance to tell Harry about the past seems problematic, as it apparently takes all choice away from Harry. Nonetheless, Dumbledore is not as unfair as he seems at first sight, for, when the time is ripe, it is not him, but Harry who is the one to decide whether or not to move on to the next phase of preparation. Indeed, Ghesquière argues that it is exactly that gradual obtention of information that gives Harry the time, not only to enjoy his youth, but also to make his own decisions, at a time when he himself feels ready to do so

(Ghesquière 189). All in all, Dumbledore's role as surrogate father and mentor has a great influence over Harry, teaching him both “the significance of history” (Carmeli 28) as creating the present and the danger of power and its ability to corrupt even the most purehearted individuals. Harry, in the end, learns from Dumbledore to take the past decisions of others into account, as well as to make his own choices in the present. Therefore, despite the fact that Harry's adventures are in many ways a fated course of action, Dumbledore proves that it remains essential for the hero to choose his own path while fulfilling that destiny.

Severus Snape

Last but not least, Severus Snape is, though only belatedly, revealed to be a man so brave that he, in a way very similar to Dumbledore, has sacrificed his whole life to atone for his past mistakes, some of which led to the deaths of Lily and James. Where his image in the story is concerned, first of all,

Snape is “interestingly ambiguous” (Eccleshare 91), being both a cruel teacher and an admirably brave, private person. As a teacher, Snape has led all students to dislike and fear him, excepting those who are in his House, Slytherin, as those students are the only ones who do not have to suffer from his misuse of power. Because of this unfairness, only the Slytherins respect him and listen to what he has to say, whereas all other students, including Harry, take no notice of whatever knowledge Snape has to offer, during or outside of class. Even when Harry learns that Snape never Laura Mortiers 37 tried to kill him during his first game, but that he was actually trying to save him, he refuses to accept that Snape might be more honourable than he thought (Stone 310). As it is, Harry's loathing for his teacher only seems to heighten as the years go by, coming to an absolute peak when

Harry witnesses how Snape murders his beloved mentor, Dumbledore (Prince 703). Ultimately, it is only near the end of the saga that the hero finally learns the truth about Severus, and that he can concede that he was indeed “a Slytherin and […] probably the bravest man I ever knew” (Hallows

830). As to Snape's personal relationship with Harry, it is clear that, similar to Sirius, Severus Snape is involved in Harry's life because of a close connection to the Potters, more specifically because of his deep love for Lily. When she dies, Snape “marks Harry as his own” (Carmeli 31), of all characters becoming, interestingly enough, “the most concerned for Harry's well-being” (Willson-

Metzger 299). Unlike Sirius, however, Snape chooses to keep his role in Harry's adventures a secret, his obnoxious behaviour toward the boy, too, making sure that he does not in the least suspect the truth. In the end, it is only when Harry becomes acquainted with the truth about Snape's profound love for Lily, and all that he sacrificed in order to save her son, that he can accept the man as having been one of the greatest persons he has ever known. In conclusion, it turns out that “Harry can indeed learn from Snape, but only when Snape is not actually his teacher” (Gruner 223); it is only when Snape leaves his public role of teacher behind, and unlocks his private person for Harry to see, that Harry can finally see the brave man Snape was all along, in spite of his behaviour.

Once Snape's true story has been revealed, it becomes clear that he is no less than a true

“Byronic hero” (Blackford 2012: 96). Ambiguous throughout, the antihero's appalling behaviour toward others is redeemed only with the exposure of his secret past. As a teenager, firstly, Severus

Snape was a social outcast. Poor and from an insignificant background, the half-blood wizard boy found himself with only one friend, Lily Evans. Having developed a deep fondness for the girl,

Severus' romantic hopes for the future are destroyed when, at their arrival at Hogwarts, Lily is Laura Mortiers 38

Sorted into the House of Gryffindor, whereas he himself becomes a Slytherin. Then, when, soon after starting at Hogwarts, Snape starts hanging out with students from his own House, the majority of whom will grow up to become Death Eaters, his friendship with Lily is damaged even further, as she does not approve of his new 'friends' (Hallows 737). Finally, during their last year at Hogwarts, all hope is lost for Snape when Lily starts dating James Potter, and eventually marries him. Years later, as Snape has become a Death , one of the followers of Lord Voldemort, he eavesdrops on

Dumbledore's meeting with Sybill Trelawney, runs off to Voldemort and gives him an incomplete account of the prophecy. When this information causes Voldemort to want to kill the Potters, Snape realises the mistake he has made, and asks Dumbledore for help. In short, Severus' “lifelong devotion to a single human” (Willson-Metzger 299) is strong enough to overcome his personal hatred of James Potter and, though it is too late for Lily, Snape decides to do anything in his power to help her son, Harry, all for the love of his mother:

'I have spied for you, and lied for you, put myself in mortal danger for you. Everything was supposed to be to

keep Lily Potter’s son safe. Now you tell me you have been raising him like a pig for slaughter –'

'But this is touching, Severus,' said Dumbledore seriously. 'Have you grown to care for the boy, after all?'

'For him?' shouted Snape. 'Expecto patronum!'

From the tip of his wand burst the silver doe: she landed on the office floor, bounded once across the office,

and soared out of the window. Dumbledore watched her fly away, and as her silvery glow faded he turned back

to Snape, and his eyes were full of tears.

'After all this time?'

'Always,' said Snape. (Hallows 753)

Snape's Patronus takes exactly the same form as did Lily's, thereby evidencing how, after all those years, his love for her remains as strong as ever. However, as Severus does not want his secret to be known, he acts as a double agent, continuing to fulfil his role as a , all the while passing on Voldemort's information to Dumbledore. Sadly, this loyalty to Dumbledore includes a Laura Mortiers 39 confidential agreement, namely to kill the already dying headmaster when the time is ripe, to save

Draco Malfoy's soul from the damage that murdering someone would cause it. Dumbledore's death, in short, is as much an assisted suicide as it is an act of mercy; instead of being a murderer, Severus turns out to be an extremely compassionate man, prepared to set aside his personal feelings to save

Dumbledore from a violent death. All in all, Severus Snape is a complex character with a limitless layering (Nodelman 332), who, in his attempts to save Lily Potter's son, as well as in his granting

Dumbledore's extraordinary request, remains a true antihero to the end.

Finally, as mentioned before, Snape's influence on Harry's personality can only be accepted when he no longer holds his official position as Hogwarts teacher; it is only when Harry leaves

Hogwarts, that Snape's influence becomes more obvious, and only when Harry enters Snape's memories in the Pensieve that the man's true nature becomes apparent. Snape's more perceptible help, first of all, includes his trying to save Harry from Quirrell's hex during the Quidditch game

(Stone 206-207), convincing the other teachers of Harry's innocence (Chamber 109), trying to teach

Harry the art of Occlumency6 (Order 584), as well as casting the silver doe Patronus to help Harry find his way to the sword of Gryffindor7 (Hallows 405). These and other instances in the series show how Snape, as a surrogate father figure in Harry's life, tries to do his best to mentor the boy, as well as he can, all the while hiding the true nature of his involvement. As a teacher, however,

Severus Snape is too horrific to make Harry accept the knowledge he has to offer. He only becomes a full-fledged mentor by proving his true, worthy nature, thus making Harry and the others accept the wisdom that he has to offer them. More specifically, Severus Snape has two important pieces of wisdom to give to the hero and his friends. First of all, “[p]art of his role in the series seems to be to demonstrate to Harry that hasty conclusions are inherently weak” (Pharr 59), a lesson Snape himself

6 Occlumency is “[t]he magical defence of the mind against external penetration” (Order 572). In Harry's case, it serves to keep Voldemort from invading his mind, either to steal information or to implant false memories. 7 The sword of Gryffindor is a powerful magical heirloom from one of the Hogwarts founders, Goderic Gryffindor. Made by goblins it is indestructible and only takes in those substances that makes it stronger. Impregnated by deadly Basilisk venom, the sword is one of the only means to destroy a Horcrux, which is why Harry needs it. Laura Mortiers 40 learnt only the hard way, in having to bear the consequences of his thoughtlessly telling Voldemort about the prophecy. This lesson proves to be important to Harry, who only in Deathly Hallows realises that “[h]e could not remember, ever before, choosing not to act.” (Hallows 553). In many ways too late, Harry finally understands the imprudence of his many rash decisions in the past and, choosing not to pursue a quest for the Deathly Hallows8, instead focusing on the Horcruxes, he drastically changes his way of thinking, finally becoming more heedful in his adventures. Secondly,

Snape's very story teaches Harry that “things are rarely as simple as people might like” (Nodelman

332), and that outward behaviour does not necessarily directly reflect a person's true nature. In this,

Snape's story finally makes Harry see the truth of something Sirius once said, namely that “the world isn't split into good people and Death Eaters” (Order 336). In the end, then, despite his unpleasant personality, Snape does possess wisdom that Harry needs to become a wise, adult man

(Blackford 2012: 98). Severus' story teaches Harry to consider the danger of hasty decisions, as well as the importance of not judging others before really knowing them.

Following the Father: Considering Advice

In conclusion, though other figures, such as Arthur Weasley and Remus Lupin, also try to assist

Harry, the four characters discussed above are the most important ones, each of them trying to help the hero to his own abilities; as a friend, a godfather, a teacher and a secret supporter, they all use the knowledge they possess to support Harry as he gradually becomes the hero he is needed to be.

Moreover, as each father figure helps Harry in a most personal manner, their increasingly complex functions, in relation to both the information they have to share and their chosen methods, are accompanied by their increasingly ambiguous personalities, each of them having had a difficult past. Nonetheless, though “Harry's father figures may not have been perfect”, they have been able

8 The Deathly Hallows are three object – the Elder Wand, the Resurrection Stone and the Invisibility Cloak – that, when reunited by one owner, make that person 'master of Death', that is to say that such a wizard would be supposed to be immortal. Laura Mortiers 41 to fulfil his needs and help him become a better person, and eventually also a better father, than they were (Carmeli 31). In addition, surveying the overall father-son relationships in the series proves that, though, superficially, the wizarding world is a patriarchal one, where power and information are transmitted unidirectionally from one male to another (Blake 43), Harry's surrogate fathers also go beyond the traditional paternal figure, as their mentoring function brings them into close contact with Harry. All things considered, Harry Potter's surrogate father figures mix both tradition and innovation, giving him some incredibly important moral lessons, while also posing as possible examples of fatherhood, ultimately creating in Harry a wise and heroic man. Laura Mortiers 42

3. Surrogate mother figures

With regard to the maternal figures in Harry Potter's life, four main characters have, to a greater or lesser extent, the function of surrogate mother: Molly Weasley, Minerva McGonagall, Rubeus

Hagrid and Hermione Granger. In contrast to the surrogate fathers in the series, each of whom has his own distinct function, giving advice to the best of his personal abilities, the female parental figures are oriented toward a more central cause, supporting values that are already underlined throughout the story, as well as drawing attention to highly gendered nature of parental roles. Molly

Weasley, first of all, is the principal mother figure in the story, as she is the only one of the characters to have her own family, acting out her function mainly by worrying over the children's activities and diets. Next, Minerva McGonagall is a teacher acting as a parent, as she watches over the students of Hogwarts, those of Gryffindor house in particular, all the while showing incredible loyalty to the school and its ideals. Thirdly, Rubeus Hagrid is the only male character to show maternal feelings, not only toward Harry and his friends, but also toward the magical creatures under his care; Hagrid is one of the most liberal and caring characters in the whole series. Finally, as

Hermione Granger grudgingly takes upon herself the role of caretaker, she brings to light the gender stereotype that is the foundation of the mother figure, emphasizing that caring for others should be a choice. In the end, the maternal characters in the Harry Potter series have two principal functions: promoting a liberal, caring nature and underlining the gendered nature of their role.

Molly Weasley

As an example of surrogate motherhood, Molly Weasley's role within the Harry Potter series is at first sight a traditional one; not only is she, of all the stories' characters, “most often seen doing the actual work of parenting” (Winters 223), but she is also the surrogate parent who most explicitly Laura Mortiers 43 embraces Harry as part of her family. As the mother of the Weasley household, first of all, Molly holds a central place in the family home, carrying out her function from the central locus that is the kitchen. Her role as a mother is accentuated especially by her extensive cooking exploits, that range from a traditional English breakfast with eggs and sausages (Chamber 31) to a Snitch-formed birthday cake for Harry (Hallows 136). As a cook, then, Molly is incredibly gifted, but not overindulgent, regulating the family's diets and eating routines. Doing this, though without aiming to manipulate, Molly represents a very traditional image of the ideal mother as a good and kind- hearted cook (Alston 112). Moreover, next to having the task of preparing the family's food, Molly

Weasley also occupies the main position of authority within the household (Bürvenich 74), as most discussions about the children and their education end with her husband's giving in to her demands.

In this, Molly Weasley is less traditional, as she refuses to remain in the background, the position where mothers are traditionally preferred to be kept (Avery 454), choosing rather to be in the middle of both her family and its activities. However, trying to protect her family, Molly tends at times to be overprotective and too worried about her children's dealings. This mothering, from which the children often try to break free by breaking the house rules, is not an innovating image, since, traditionally, a mother's “love is so embarrassingly obvious that it can't be overlooked”

(Grenby 119, quoting Gillian Avery). In the end, the parental role Mrs Weasley occupies in Harry's life reflects the way she handles her own family, from making sure that the boy has enough to eat to being overprotective of his personal safety.

As a woman, then, Molly Weasley is not just the pivot of her family, for, as a private person,

Molly is not without ambitions or desires. As mentioned, she does indeed embody the very stereotype of the maternal figure, who is a great cook, worried about the children's safety and, at times, embarrassing the children and Harry with her “mollycoddling” (Winters 223). At the same time, however, Mrs Weasley is an example of how motherhood necessitates constant change, of Laura Mortiers 44 how it is necessary to adapt oneself to the circumstances. This evolutionary interpretation of a mother's role becomes most clear toward the series' end, when, during the Battle of Hogwarts, Mrs

Weasley fights to protect Ginny (Hallows 806). As that crucial scene reveals,

Molly's motherly worries and overprotectiveness are effective only when they are upheld in action;

“[o]nly a change in tactic”, transforming from a worried stay-at-home mother into a woman prepared to fight ferociously, “enables her to save” her children (Winters 224). Moreover, the scene can been interpreted as the outing of Molly's inner warrior as, far from what her extensive cooking and interfering at home would have suggested, she turns out to be an extremely gifted witch, a truly fierce warrior on the battlefield, prepared to kill to protect her family. Within the context of this very duel, J. K. Rowling herself noted the importance of a woman's capability to choose whether or not to fulfil the traditional role of a mother:

“Very early on in writing the series, I remember a female journalist saying to me that Mrs Weasley, 'Well, you

know, she’s just a mother.' And I was absolutely incensed by that comment. Now, I consider myself to be a

feminist, and I’d always wanted to show that just because a woman has made a choice, a free choice to say,

'Well, I’m going to raise my family and that’s going to be my choice. I may go back to a career, I may have a

career part time, but that’s my choice.' Doesn’t mean that that’s all she can do. And as we proved there in that

little battle, Molly Weasley comes out and proves herself the equal of any warrior on that battlefield.”

(Rowling, “Choice”)

What Molly's duel with Bellatrix shows is that, while Molly has skills that would have been more than sufficient to have given her a great career, she chose to stay at home and take care of her family instead, taking the conscious decision to let her family have precedence over the possibility of a career. Finally, aside from her public role as a mother, Molly's private life, though well hidden, sometimes becomes visible, showing that motherhood does not exclude personal desires and ambitions. For example, such a moment is observed when, instead of using passwords, the Order of Laura Mortiers 45 the Phoenix uses personal questions to identify one another. At that point, Mr Weasley has to ask his wife how she likes him to call her in private, the answer being “Mollywobbles” (Prince 107).

However embarrassing this is for Mrs Weasley to admit in public, this scene does contradict the old- fashioned ideal that “mothers, like children, should be asexual” (Alston 115); the couple's use of endearments underlines the existence of their private life and desires. More subtly then, Molly's extensive cooking is also a sign that she is a woman who wants to get the most out of life; transgressing the purely functional, the food she produces not only tastes great, but is also beautiful to behold. When this type of cooking by a mother, such as is reflected for example in Harry's

Snitch-formed birthday cake, is presented, it can be considered as “an aesthetic expression of the female self, a subtle expression of female desire” (Blackford 2009: 42); through her elaborate cooking, Molly shows a passion for the beauty in life that is not traditionally associated with the mother figure. On the whole, Molly Weasley represents both the stereotypical mother figure and the private woman, as she shows that conforming to tradition should not exclude having private ambitions and desires.

Finally, as an influence in Harry Potter's life, Molly Weasley seems at first sight to be less salient, but serves nonetheless to reinforce values that already hold a central place in the story, more specifically inclusion and loyalty. Inclusion, first of all, Molly demonstrates in her open acceptance of Harry as a son into her family, showing how unrelated people can also become part of a family, if one only makes the choice to welcome them. This tendency to include is repeated nineteen years later in Harry's own family, when Harry, Teddy's godfather, sets himself up as a surrogate parent for the orphan, including him in the family life, to the point where Teddy lives with them on an almost permanent basis (Hallows 829). Secondly, loyalty is also held high by Mrs Weasley, in that her character demonstrates the permanent precedence of family over all other worldly worries; family is worth the fight, and, if necessary, the sacrifice. Sure enough, loyalty and sacrifice are also essential Laura Mortiers 46 in Harry's life, who, throughout his whole story, fights to protect the people he loves, to the point where he sacrifices himself for the whole of Hogwarts' students, thus casting upon them the very same protective charm his mother's sacrifice cast upon him as a baby (Hallows 809). All in all, though Molly Weasley influences Harry Potter in a more indirect manner, she does serve to underline the mores already present and central in the story, particularly those of accepting others into the family and of unconditionally loving them.

Minerva McGonagall

Secondly, in contrast to Mrs Weasley's guarding over the children outside of school,

Professor Minerva McGonagall, a teacher “acting in loco parentis” (Winters 221), takes upon herself the motherly responsibilities at school. As Deputy Headmistress, it is, from the moment the students arrive at Hogwarts, her task to introduce them to Hogwarts and the school rules. Because of her proud and stern looks, however, she is not immediately seen as a motherly person (Smadja

83), but rather the embodiment of strict authority. Only later on in the story does McGonagall become more of a “mother figure, concerned that students get enough sleep and stay well”

(Heilman 225). As the head of Gryffindor House, Minerva McGonagall worries about the well- being of that smaller group of students, who are even more directly under her care than the general population of Hogwarts. McGonagall's pride at her students' successes, then, includes, but is not limited to, Harry Potter, and underlines the maternal role she has taken upon herself:

'Why would Harry Potter try to get inside Ravenclaw Tower? Potter belongs in my House!'

Beneath the disbelief and anger, Harry heard a little strain of pride in her voice, and affection for Minerva

McGonagall gushed up inside him. (Hallows 649)

What this scene shows is not only how, at Hogwarts, the students should regard their respective Laura Mortiers 47 school Houses as family (cf. infra), but also how Minerva McGonagall sees herself as having parental responsibility for the students of Hogwarts, more specifically for those who belong to her

House. As to her relationship with Harry, McGonagall does seem to have a soft spot for the boy, which she sometimes shows by offering him food, either because he arrives late at school and misses the start-of-term feast (Chamber 65) or because she wants to show him that she agrees with his rebellious behaviour toward the insufferable Professor Umbridge (Order 275). Nonetheless, though the offering of food shows Minerva to be a character motivated by maternal instincts, the refreshments she offers Harry have none of the allure of Mrs Weasley's home-cooked meals; having been produced magically, the food McGonagall offers is more functional and less comforting. On the whole, while Professor McGonagall sometimes seems to have a personal liking for Harry Potter, she does not let it obscure her maternal judgement; Harry is a part of her family, not because of his heroic actions or because he is superior to the other students, but, quite simply, because he is a

Gryffindor student. All in all, Minerva McGonagall's role in Harry's life is not a very personal one, as her function of Gryffindor supervisor obliges her to assume parental responsibility for all of its students, rather than for Harry in specific; as a maternal figure in Harry's life, she is more distant, attending to his safety from afar.

Regarding Minerva McGonagall's personality, then, it is clear that she is more than the person portrayed by Heilman as simply “book smart, but not wise, powerful, or brave” (Heilman

225). While indeed book wise, Minerva McGonagall is also an incredibly gifted witch, “a strong, independent […] empowered female” (Dresang 234-5). Aside from her bookish wisdom, Minerva undoubtedly holds a position of power within the story, which she can maintain only by acting upon her power wisely. From that position of power, more specifically her function as Deputy

Headmistress of Hogwarts, Professor McGonagall is often left to lead the whole school, rising to the occasion especially by taking charge when Hogwarts is under siege by Voldemort and his Death Laura Mortiers 48

Eaters (Hallows 653). Moreover, apart from her bravery and wisdom in battle, Minerva is also a concerned teacher, the very “epitome of fairness” who “seems to 'embody wisdom'” (Dresang 235); unlike Severus Snape, McGonagall punishes and rewards all students alike, including those of her own House, Gryffindor. Finally, in addition to her fair treatment of the students, Minerva

McGonagall shows true bravery as she stands up to others to protect people who are in some way victimized, even if that means having to personally face Voldemort's Death Eaters to protect the students of Hogwarts:

'We can push it off on the kids,' said Amycus, his pig-like face suddenly crafty. 'Yeah, that's what we'll do. [...]

Couple of kids more or less, what's the difference?'

'Only the difference between truth and lies, courage and cowardice,' said Professor McGonagall, who had

turned pale, 'a difference, in short, which you and your sister seem unable to appreciate. But let me make one

thing very clear. You are not going to pass off your many ineptitudes on the students of Hogwarts. I shall not

permit it.' (Hallows 649-650)

Other examples of Professor McGonagall's standing up for the ill-used are her saving haughty

Slytherin student Draco Malfoy from a corporal punishment by Professor Moody (Goblet 227) and protecting her least favourite colleague, Divination Professor Trelawney, from being fired by

Dolores Umbridge (Order 655). All in all, then, despite the fact that there is little information about her person, Minerva McGonagall is “neither a caricature nor a stereotype” (Dresang 234), but a wise, brave and powerful woman who, above all, strives to be just, following through with her commitments, whatever may be her opinion of the people with whom she is confronted.

Overall, Minerva McGonagall personifies several values that are held high in the Harry

Potter series, loyalty, fairness and protectiveness toward others being the most important ones. First of all, she shows that staying true to one's identity and choices is indispensable. Loyalty to friends, Laura Mortiers 49 whatever may be their familial or cultural background, should be, above all, unconditional and incorruptible, no matter what the circumstances are, whether in safety or in danger. Fairness, then, is the wise usage of power, as McGonagall shows that, instead of using it to exploit others, power should be used to punish wrongdoing, to reward success and to protect the disadvantaged. In this,

McGonagall is therefore an exceptional counterexample to characters such as Voldemort, who see power as an instrument that exists for the sole purpose of being misused, whatever may be the consequences. Thirdly, offering protection to others is, as mentioned, encouraged as an almost inevitable duty of those who have power. As a surrogate mother figure to the students of Hogwarts,

Minerva shows that power always comes with responsibility. On the whole, Minerva McGonagall is a role model, not just to Harry specifically, but to the whole body of Hogwarts students, in that she shows true earnestness in upholding the values for which she stands.

Rubeus Hagrid

The third example of surrogate motherhood in the Harry Potter series is found, remarkably enough, in a male character: Rubeus Hagrid. As previously stated, Hagrid's home is a central place in the story, a “place of deep human emotions” (Eccleshare 60) where Harry and his friends go to talk about their worries; Hagrid's paternal advice is intricately linked to the locus of his home. However, next to his advisory role in their lives, he is also “more maternalistic […] tremendously capable of expressing his feelings in a feminine fashion” (Liedl 19). Hagrid is of a deeply caring nature, hence his being, next to a surrogate father, also a surrogate mother figure. Interpreting his person as a mother, then, Hagrid's house, too, receives a whole new interpretation:

There was only one room inside. Hams and pheasants were hanging from the ceiling, a copper kettle was

boiling on the open fire, and in a corner stood a massive bed with a patchwork quilt over it. (Stone 153-154) Laura Mortiers 50

Interpreted as a more feminine place, the homeliness of the hut is not only associated with the advice Harry and his friends receive there, but also with food and other traditionally female handiwork. This association between Hagrid and his homely hut, as well as the safety it offers

Harry and his friends, is an important literary marker of Hagrid's maternal character, as “[m]other and home, like mother and family, are constantly linked” (Alston 78). As to his food, more specifically, Hagrid's very introduction into the story is made by his giving Harry a home-made birthday cake (Stone 56). That cake is followed throughout the series by other examples of Hagrid's food and treats, which, though often terrible and almost inedible, are always home-cooked and prepared with love. Whatever else Hagrid's function is within the story, his cooking activities and caring function in the home therefore make him into an endearing figure, displaying both male and female characteristics, playing both the father and the mother.

With regard to his personality, Hagrid exemplifies not simply a mother's caring nature, but also the more generally applicable strength of maternal love; he is, without a doubt, “the most emotional character in the series” (Willson-Metzger 297). As noted before, Hagrid has a predilection for the magical creatures of whom he takes care, shielding them from discrimination.

This nurturing protection, then, as well as his seeing almost any creature as helpless, is not only a sign of his broad-mindedness, but also brings to mind the more feminine, maternal supervision of innocent children. For example, when, in Philosopher's Stone, Hagrid takes care of the Norwegian

Ridgeback called Norbert, a newly hatched baby dragon, he unveils that he is not just willing to take care of the creature as if it were his child, but also that he has no problem with openly taking on the role of its mother:

“Isn’t he beautiful?” Hagrid murmured. He reached out a hand to stroke the dragon’s head. It snapped at his

fingers, showing pointed fangs.

“Bless him, look, he knows his mummy!” said Hagrid. (Stone 254) Laura Mortiers 51

While this scene comes across as somewhat comical, the value Hagrid places on caring for others is also quite endearing, as, even more than Molly Weasley and Minerva McGonagall, Hagrid represents the unconditional purity of a mother's love, and the power it has in transgressing class and race boundaries. All things considered, Hagrid is the series' greatest example of maternal love and care, as the protection he offers the magical creatures is given unconditionally, without the expectation of receiving anything in return.

All in all, Hagrid's maternal personality exemplifies what it means to be of a truly liberal and caring nature. Broad-mindedness, on the one hand, is put forward as a way of dealing with others who are new or different; Hagrid is an incredibly tolerant character who accepts difference as intrinsic to all persons. In this, he is still quite similar to the series' other male characters, such as

Sirius and Dumbledore, in that they, too, strive to protect the less powerful, whether or non-wizard magical creatures, from the caprices of the more powerful wizards. Hagrid's caring nature, on the other hand, is a powerful reminder of a mother's pure love and is therefore a more feminine value, connected not to the unknown other, but to those who are close and loved as part of the family. Caring for someone not only implies accepting them for who or what they are, but also embracing them as equals, as part of one's extended family. All things considered, then, Rubeus

Hagrid embodies, in a way that will prove to be similar to Hermione's and Harry's androgynous portrayals, both male and female character traits, showing that neither one should exclude the other, and that there is no shame in embodying the best of both.

Hermione Granger9

Finally, while Hermione Granger is also an important member of Harry's 'family of choice' (cf. infra), it is important to bear in mind that she also functions, though only to a limited extent, as a

9 Later on, Hermione will also be discussed as a member of Harry's family of choice. Laura Mortiers 52 surrogate mother to Harry and Ron, helping them with their work and cooking their food. While at school, she serves as a mother in that she helps the boys with their homework, proofreading and correcting their numerous essays, and constantly reminds them of the work they still have to do

(Stone 197; Order 317; Prince 532). More outspoken, however, is her role in the last novel, as the three friends embark upon their solitary quest for Voldemort's Horcruxes. During their journey, the tasks of setting up the protection around their campsite and of cooking befall Hermione, who accepts the second task only reluctantly, having little talent or inclination for preparing food:

'Harry caught the fish and I did my best with it! I notice I'm always the one who ends up sorting out the food;

because I'm a girl, I suppose!'

'No, it's because you're supposed to be the best at magic!' shot back Ron.

Hermione jumped up and bits of roast pike slid off her tin plate on to the floor.

'You can do the cooking tomorrow, Ron, you can find the ingredients and try and charm them into something

worth eating, and I'll sit here and pull faces and moan and you can see how you–' (Hallows 325-326)

This scene is particularly strong, as it shows how Hermione accepts the task of cooking only out of necessity; because of the dire circumstances of their journey, she is prepared to cook, but she wants

Harry and Ron to be aware of the fact that she should not have to do it simply for being a woman.

Hermione does not look upon cooking as in any way her duty as a woman, and the boys, therefore, should not complain about the poor results, as she has, at least, tried her best. In the end, Hermione's cooking and caring role notwithstanding, she is not motherly because she is the only girl in the party; Hermione has indeed assumed a fairly stereotypical female function, but she also underlines how she has done so by choice, rather than by gendered force.

With regard to Hermione's mothering personality, then, it should be said that the characterization is ambiguous at best. While she is indeed very caring and socially engaged, Laura Mortiers 53

Hermione is also very determined, to the point where she almost becomes aggressive. Her warmheartedness, first of all, is shown most clearly in her social engagement, as she fights social inequality between the wizard and non-wizard races. As an example, her self-made organisation

S.P.E.W., “Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare” (Goblet 246), serves throughout the story to underline her preoccupation with the issue of wizard superiority over other magical creatures, as she fights to free House Elves from their enslavement. Despite the exaggeration and ridicule with which

S.P.E.W. and Hermione are treated within the story, this social engagement on her part is a frequent reminder of the social inequality from which magical creatures suffer; Hermione, as a moral example to her friends, “is going to stand up for the downtrodden” (Dresang 228). In short,

Hermione's caring nature is expressed in a general desire “to do some good in the world!” (Hallows

141), rather than to take care of only those people closest to her. Furthermore, the construction of

Hermione's character transcends the purely feminine, for, even as she fulfils a mother role in the story, she embodies a rather “androgynous model of moral and ethical development” (Dresang 232).

Hermione's caring nature, a trait traditionally considered to be more feminine, is fortified by a tenacity and obstinacy that become highly apparent as she tries to achieve her goals. In contrast to the stereotypically female “comforting, consoling, and providing of emotional support” (Heilman

225), this more aggressive, goal-oriented thinking of Hermione's shows that she simultaneously takes a more male stance. In short, Hermione's character is about uniting “both masculine and feminine traits and thereby subverting the stereotypes” (Dresang 224). As a person, Hermione is a caring, warmhearted maternal character who, at the same time, shows a resoluteness that is more in line with the male characters in the story.

In summary, if Hermione's role as caregiver teaches Harry and Ron one lesson, it is, above all, that they should not take gender stereotypes for granted. As a girl, Hermione is well aware of the gendered roles laid out for her, forcing her to cook, clean and take care of the heroes. As she Laura Mortiers 54 cooks for Harry and Ron, she makes sure to tell them that she only does so out of necessity, and not because she sees it as her duty; Hermione draws attention to the possibility of refusing to accept stereotypes. In her protest, she therefore mitigates gender restrictions, showing that women can be capable of occupying a caring position, while at the same time being self-determined and independent persons. After Hermione's example, then, being a caring person, whether female or male, implies fighting to protect those who are weaker than others, extending the traditional mother- child care to all possible types of protective relationships. All things considered, the general matter of care in the Harry Potter series is differentiated by Hermione at two levels, as she shows that being a caring person is something all people, men and women, young and old, should try to achieve, as well as that they should do so by choice, rather than because they see it as a gendered obligation.

Following the Mother: a Paradigm of Care

In conclusion, the mother figures in Harry Potter are much more than simply “the nurturing mothers whose role involves cooking, cleaning, and caring for the children” (Kornfeld & Prothro

189). Despite their not having a specific purpose during Harry's adventurous journeys, as do the father figures, maternal characters certainly have their importance, supporting fundamental qualities and drawing attention to gender issues. Specifically, with Molly's protectiveness, Minerva's fair supervision, Hagrid's pure, liberal love, and Hermione's social engagement, the Harry Potter series engages in a paradigm of care that transcends not only familial, but also race and gender boundaries. Therefore, while ostensibly fulfilling a more traditional mother role within the family, the mothers in Harry's life also serve to raise awareness of race and gender issues; while these four characters use their skills to take care of others, they do so in a personal manner, always staying loyal to who they really are. On the whole, this mixture of maternal protectiveness, family loyalty Laura Mortiers 55 and pure love is reflected in Harry, especially as his character, too, becomes an “integration of both masculine and feminine characteristics” (Billone 191); Harry Potter, like his surrogate mothers, grows up to be a caring, liberal and loyal person, prepared to fight for the values for which he stands and the people whom he loves. Laura Mortiers 56

4. Family of choice

Finally, as the last part of Harry Potter's extended familial connections, his family of choice shows how and when he chooses his friends, specifically indicating what values are important in a family setting. The term 'family of choice', as mentioned before, refers to “same-generation 'family' groups” in a children's story, who can be distinguished by their “ethos of interdependence based on equality” (Reynolds 205); a family of choice is not bound by biological connections, but by a reciprocal commitment between its members. Harry's chosen family, then, consists of his friends, as well as some more general groupings of which he is a part. Of his friends, first of all, Ronald

Weasley is the first person whom Harry befriends, therein already showing an early determination to follow his instinct when it comes to making friends. Secondly, Hermione Granger is included as third member of the trio when Harry and Ron, who do not yet like her at that point, choose to risk their lives to help her escape a mountain troll. Next, is also a central figure in

Harry's adventures, especially in the later stages of the story, as his transformation into a hero takes a course similar to Harry's development, therein underlining the prophecy's accuracy, as well as its ambiguity. Finally, not only inspires the hero's romantic hopes, but also underlines, yet again, those characteristics that are central in the Weasley family and, by extension, in Harry's family. Next to Harry's individual friends, then, the Weasley family represents an extension of the family bond beyond friendship, as they accept Harry into their home and provide him with an outstanding example of true family loyalty and support. Finally, the groupings that are Gryffindor,

Dumbledore's Army and the Order of the Phoenix underline the overall importance of having, within a family, something to share, ranging from specific character traits to a common cause. All in all, Harry's family of choice consists of a large group of people, all of whom have their own distinct personalities, but who, more importantly, strive to support and protect one another through life. Laura Mortiers 57

Ronald Weasley

As the first member of Harry's family of choice, Ronald Weasley is by far the greatest example of how Harry insists on personally choosing his friends and extended family; Harry Potter, as he himself makes sure to tell people, chooses his own allies, based on what he deems appropriate. The origin of their friendship, first of all, lies in the reciprocal interest that arises between Harry and

Ron at their first meeting on the Hogwarts Express (Stone 110). Harry, new to the wizarding world, gains in Ron a friend who knows a great deal about wizards, and Ron, the insecure sixth boy of the

Weasley family to go to Hogwarts, gets to satisfy his curiosity about Harry's scar and life with his

Muggle family. Moreover, when Harry notices Ron's impoverished familial background, he decides to share with his newfound friend the enormous amount of candy he just bought; Harry, having grown up without money or friends with whom he could have shared anything, can easily sympathize with Ron's unfortunate situation (Bürvenich 75). Next, Harry and Ron's friendship is sealed during the same train ride, when haughty Draco Malfoy interferes and offers Harry to become his ally. However, as Harry is aware, due to their meeting once prior to the train ride,

Malfoy is a wizard who openly despises anything less than a pureblood status, and who is only interested in becoming Harry's friend for his fame:

'You'll soon find out some wizarding families are much better than others, Potter. You don't want to go making

friends with the wrong sort. I can help you there.'

He held out his hand to shake Harry's, but Harry didn't take it.

'I think I can tell who the wrong sort are for myself, thanks,' he said coolly. (Stone 120)

Harry's rejection of the odious Draco here underlines the fundamental appropriateness of choosing

Ron as his friend, showing a readiness to remain himself, a determination to stick to his own intuition and beliefs. During the next years, then, Harry and Ron's friendship becomes an almost Laura Mortiers 58 unbreakable bond, interrupted only occasionally, as they quarrel over Ron's jealousy of Harry's selection as Triwizard Champion (Goblet 314) and over his frustrations with the unproductiveness of their quest (Hallows 340). In the end, however, Harry and Ron's friendship comes out as strong as ever; even nineteen years after their collaborative efforts to defeat Voldemort, they continue to support each other, confiding in one another and sharing secrets, such as Ron's having cheated on his Muggle driving examination (Hallows 827). Consequently, Ronald Weasley is the greatest example of what being a family of choice truly means, as, even before really knowing the other's character, Harry and Ron choose to become friends, keeping up their mutual support through thick and thin, continuing unchanged, friends for life.

As a person, Ron transcends his earlier, rather empty-headed image only toward the end of the series, when he is finally able to become his own person, instead of the insecure teenager he is during the previous years of their life at Hogwarts. In the course of the first years of the story, first of all, Ron is a “relatively flat” character (Morris 157), in that he seems to be dominated by one characteristic, that is his lack of academic motivation. Having little inclination for academic achievements, Ron's school career is founded on the idea of succeeding with the least possible effort, therein incarnating Snape's belittling stereotype of the Gryffindor student as someone who would “rather be brawny than brainy” (Hallows 736). At the same time, however, though he does show insufficient academic ambition, Ron's awkwardness also stems from a more deep-rooted insecurity, caused mainly by his family identity, especially as his penurious background is contrasted with Harry's high standing in the wizarding world. First of all, growing up as the youngest of six Weasley boys, with only one younger sibling, his sister Ginny, Ron has the continual feeling of having to live up to his parents' and teachers' expectations:

'I'm the sixth in our family to go to Hogwarts. You could say I've got a lot to live up to. Bill and Charlie have

already left – Bill was Head Boy and Charlie was captain of Quidditch. Now Percy's a Prefect. Fred and Laura Mortiers 59

George mess around a lot, but they still get really good marks and everyone thinks they're really funny.

Everyone expects me to do as well as the others, but if I do, it's no big deal, because they did it first. […]'

(Stone 110-111)

As Ron explains here, he feels unequal to the task of exceeding at school, as it would, in any case, be no great achievement to live up to expectations. Secondly, both at Hogwarts and in the outside world, it seems that Ron's “lack of family money weakens his male authority” (Heilman 234); within the magical world, possessing money is next in importance to having a pureblood status.

Throughout the series, then, as he is often ridiculed by others students, Draco Malfoy in particular, for being of a relatively poor background, this lower social status profoundly affects Ron, making him even more insecure. Finally, Ron's self-assurance is also impaired by feelings of resentment toward Harry, whose fame and money often cause bitterness between the friends, and has a hard time dealing with that contrast in personal status (Ghesquière 190). Ultimately, however, this does not destroy their friendship, as, toward the end of the story, Ron learns to accept Harry's manifestly high status within the wizarding world:

A great number of faces, both on the train and off, seemed to be turned toward Harry.

'Why are they all staring?' demanded Albus, as he and Rose craned round to look at the other students.

'Don't let it worry you,' said Ron. 'It's me, I'm extremely famous.' (Hallows 831)

On the whole, the teenage Ron is an insecure person who lacks ambitions. Only belatedly does he become a brave man, rising to the occasion in the last novel especially, as he helps Harry and

Hermione destroy the Horcruxes. Growing up, Ron has become a responsible adult who is able to leave behind him his childhood worries, coming to look at his earlier insecurity from a more cheerful point of view. Laura Mortiers 60

Finally, with respect to his function in the story, in spite of the fact that he is almost always present when something happens to Harry, Ron is of less importance during their adventures than is, for example, Hermione with her bookish knowledge (Elster 204). Essentially, Ron Weasley is present as a reminder of family life, both as it causes insecurity and as it offers emotional support.

His insecurity, first of all, demonstrates how growing up in a loving home can have its drawbacks.

Not only does Ron have to live up to his family's expectations, but he also suffers the more from the isolation as their solitary quest deprives him of his family's comforting presence and of his mother's copious, home-cooked family meals. At the same time, however, Ron also serves as a counterexample to Harry, having had a happy childhood that is almost directly opposite to Harry's wretched upbringing with the Dursleys. Above all, having grown up in a cosy home, surrounded with a loving family, Ron is a constant reminder of what Harry's life might have been like, had his parents not been killed. Ron's character underlines the importance of growing up in a warm family home, portrayed in the story by means of various family scenes such as the copious family meals, where parents and siblings are an unending source of support. Though also the source of his insecurity, Ron's family background is therefore one of his greatest strengths (Morris 157) as it

“enable[s] him to support Harry emotionally” (Eccleshare 96). All in all, aside from the more striking aspects of his personality, such as his lack of intellectual curiosity and deep-rooted insecurity, Ron's life is all about family and about showing true friendship. In short, Ron's function in the story is to support his friend, offering him comfort and relief in times of tension, as well as to emphasize the blind acceptance that gives their family of choice such a strong bond.

Hermione Granger

Harry and Ron befriend Hermione Granger only after a few months at Hogwarts. Her earlier boastful behaviour toward the other students preventing any cordiality on their part, it is only when Laura Mortiers 61

Harry and Ron save Hermione's life that she shows a more sociable disposition and becomes also more friendly and engaging toward other students. As a new character, first of all, Hermione is presented in the story as the girl with “a bossy sort of voice” who immediately starts boasting about her bookish knowledge (Stone 116). This manifest conviction of self-worth does not abate for another few months at Hogwarts, as Hermione continues to boss around other students, giving them unwanted advice and getting on their nerves. Finally, it is only when Harry and Ron help her defeat a mountain troll, that she becomes their friend:

But from that moment on, Hermione Granger became their friend. There are some things you can't share

without ending up liking each other, and knocking out a twelve-foot mountain troll is one of them. (Stone 195)

This shared experience becomes the foundation of the trio's friendship, which continues throughout the story as an interdependent relationship (Dresang 230) as Harry, Ron and Hermione depend on one another to survive the trials of life, from passing their school exams, to ultimately defeating

Voldemort. Within the group of friends, then, it has been argued that Hermione, having only an intellectual role to fulfil, “remains secondary in her role to the males in her story” (Dresang 240). In the story of the earlier novels, this statement is true, as those years are the ones during which

Hermione serves primarily to help Harry and Ron catch up with their school work. Often ridiculed, her sole purpose seems to be to correct Harry's and Ron's homework and help them pass their tests, as well as to help them solve mysteries. In Deathly Hallows, however, Hermione's function transcends her earlier function, as she becomes increasingly important in the story, not only caring for Harry and Ron (cf. supra), but also motivating them and moving along their quest through tenacious inquiry and critical thinking. Altogether, while Hermione Granger, one of Harry's best friends, always remains secondary in importance to the hero, her position in the last novel is more central, as the snobby young girl transforms into a smart, self-confident, sympathetic young woman. Laura Mortiers 62

As an individual, Hermione possesses a diversity of traits, ranging from her idiosyncratic bookishness to an admirable perseverance in fighting, both figuratively and literally, that show her to be a strong, independent character who is much more than a “damsel in distress” or “tag-along” who depends on the boys to protect her (Schoefer n.p.). Hermione's scholastic enterprises, first of all, make her stand out as very “knowledgeable and adept at analytical thinking” (Dresang 227), an asset that becomes extremely useful during their quest. Despite the ridicule with which her bookishness is treated from early on in the story, other students seem to be well aware of the advantages of Hermione's expertise, as they often go to her for help with homework. Later on in the story, Harry and Ron become even more dependent on Hermione, as she often has to share her knowledge with them in order to move along their quest for Horcruxes; from her ability to read runes to her suggestion to visit the Lovegoods, Hermione's knowledge and perceptiveness are an integral part of the search. Next to that industrious side, then, Hermione's social engagement, as exhibited in her involvement in S.P.E.W., shows from an early stage on how she really “sticks to what she believes” (Dresang 227) and how she is prepared to adopt an aggressive approach to communicate her message successfully (cf. supra). All things considered, despite the fact that she is a character secondary to Harry Potter himself, Hermione's strong role in the series is quite unique, especially since it “is not achieved by construction of a typically male role for her” (Dresang 225), nor that she remains “a 'flat' character in that she has a single dominant quality” (Morris 158).

Particularly, rather than becoming a blatantly masculine character in order to fulfil her role by the hero's side, Hermione stays true to herself, a curious mixture of austere bookishness and fierce moral convictions (Bürvenich 77), and learns how to use those memorable idiosyncrasies to her own and to others' advantage. On the whole, Hermione's determination in the later stages of the story is no surprise; not only has she proven herself to be a tenacious fighter for social equality, but she is also, and has always been, a true Gryffindor, showing that particular House trait of “daring, nerve and chivalry” (Dresang 228) in each and every one of her endeavours. Laura Mortiers 63

In the end, with regard to Hermione's direct familial influence on Harry and Ron, her siblings of choice, she teaches them how to use abstract knowledge in real life, as well as that they should stick to their moral convictions. Regarding knowledge, firstly, Hermione is the one character in the series who is most clearly “learning how to reconcile her love of learning with the limitations of life” (Dresang 222). From the beginning obsessed with books and knowledge, Hermione eventually evolves into a more balanced figure, becoming an increasingly indispensable participant in the trio's adventures. More specifically, as her preoccupation with books and knowledge rubs off on Harry and Ron, they, too, come to accept that information found in books can be very useful in reality (Gruner 231). As an example of this intellectual influence Hermione has over Harry and

Ron, the scene where they fight off the mountain troll is significant; whereas, before the adventure,

Ron laughs at Hermione's advice on how to use the levitation charm “Wingardium Leviosa”, it is only with her particular instructions that he can perfect the spell, using it to defeat the troll (Stone

186-192). In short, “Hermione's intellectual prowess helps save the day” (Liedl 245), not only as she solves problems by herself, but also as she teaches the others how to apply abstract knowledge to life. Her exemplary presence of mind, thinking before acting, teaches Harry and Ron to consider their knowledge and options, instead of acting mainly on instinct. Secondly, apart from her intellectual influence on Harry and Ron, Hermione's persistent adherence to her beliefs intensifies the importance of moral constancy. The unending flow of support Hermione has to offer, as was first exemplified in her founding S.P.E.W., becomes especially apparent in the last novel in the series; whereas Ron has a crisis of faith in their quest and temporarily leaves the fellowship,

Hermione, disregarding her romantic feelings for Ron, remains supportive and tries to promote the search in any way she can. In the end, Hermione Granger is at least as important as a helper in

Harry's life as is Ron, if not more so (Elster 204); in contrast to Ron's more straightforward, comforting presence, Hermione is functionally more important, as she offers the others advice and knowledge to promote their quest. Hence, as a part of Harry's family of choice, Hermione Granger Laura Mortiers 64 is not only crucial as she assists the others in their survival, but also as she teaches them to value knowledge and to respect themselves and others.

Neville Longbottom

Thirdly, Neville Longbottom, too, is an essential member of Harry's family of choice, not only as a school friend, but also later on in Harry's life, when “Professor Longbottom” has become a close friend of the Potter family. With his first appearance in the story, as “a round-faced boy” who has, yet again, lost his pet toad (Stone 105), Neville seems to be no more than a blundering secondary character. During the following four years at Hogwarts, he is indeed no more than a clumsy and

“bullied underachiever” (Elster 207) who is only “occasionally given the limelight”, standing up to bullies such as Malfoy (Heilman 234). However, as the students begin their fifth year at Hogwarts,

Neville's presence in the story becomes more conspicuous as he joins Dumbledore's Army (cf. infra). Dedicated to learning how to defend himself and others, he improves his magical skills perceptibly (Order 434). Moreover, during the same year, Harry and his friends learn about

Neville's traumatic past, specifically about how his parents, who were also members of the Order of the Phoenix, were tortured by Death Eaters, leaving them psychologically damaged for the rest of their lives. What is more, only a few months after learning that the Longbottoms are permanent residents of the wizarding hospital's closed ward, Harry's finally hears the prophecy, including how it could also have meant Neville. This abundance of new information about Neville Longbottom, all compressed into Order of the Phoenix, causes Harry and the others to reassess their friend's potential, thus influencing his role in the story. During their fifth and sixth years at Hogwarts, then,

Neville is sometimes even “included as a fourth member” in “Harry's heroic group” (Elster 207), becoming increasingly capable and confident. Laura Mortiers 65

Nonetheless, it is not until the last novel in the series, Deathly Hallows, that Neville

Longbottom genuinely “rises to the task” (Nodelman & Reimer 330) and progresses to the

“fulfillment of his potential” (Pond 202). With Harry, Ron and Hermione absent from Hogwarts,

Neville, with the aid of Ginny Weasley and , forms a new gang at Hogwarts, protesting against the school's newly instated Death Eater administration. The tenacity Neville shows in his protests then, risking his own safety to protect other students from harm, already shows a selfless, heroic nature that is in no way inferior to Harry's bravery. Next, Neville's rising status in the story culminates when Harry confides in him and asks him to kill Voldemort's pet snake, Nagini, who is also the one of the last Horcruxes10. Indeed, the moment he is given the opportunity, Neville heroically carries out the deed:

In one swift, fluid motion Neville broke free of the Body-Bind Curse upon him; the flaming Hat fell off him

and he drew from its depths something silver, with a glittering, rubied handle –

The slash of the silver blade could not be heard over the roar of the oncoming crowd, or the sounds of the

clashing giants, or of the stampeding centaurs, and yet it seemed to draw every eye. With a single stroke,

Neville sliced off the great snake's head, which spun high into the air, gleaming in the light flooding from the

Entrance Hall, and Voldemort's mouth was open in a scream of fury that nobody could hear, and the snake's

body thudded to the ground at his feet – (Hallows 803)

This description underlines the truly heroic nature of Neville's actions. Not only does he dare to kill the snake under Voldemort's very eyes, but he does so using the sword of Gryffindor, which only presents itself to the people who most completely embody those traits of bravery and chivalry inherent to being a Gryffindor. Putting his own well-being at risk to save the others, Neville shows himself to be a genuine hero. In the end, it cannot be clearer that “Neville's confidence was really there all of the time – it just took Harry and others believing in Neville to enable him to believe in

10 The fact that Voldemort succeeded in making the snake one of his Horcruxes shows that it is possible to store part of one's soul in a living creature, the risk being that, if the creature dies, the Horcrux is destroyed as well. Laura Mortiers 66 himself” (Morris 150). Growing increasingly powerful, Neville's self-assurance and heroic status climax only when others give him the opportunity to prosper.

All things considered, Neville Longbottom becomes as great a hero as Harry Potter is, the difference being that Neville grows up at “a more natural pace” than Harry, not having to live up to the same, extremely high expectations (Pond 201). After all that happened, “the prophecy really turned out to mean both Harry and Neville, as it took both of their efforts to vanquish Voldemort”

(Morris 151). The portrayal of Neville's development is, like Harry's, the coming-of-age story of a hero, but, in contrast to Harry's, Neville's coming-of-age story allows its hero to develop at a slower pace, ultimately showing what Harry's life could have been like, had Voldemort chosen to kill the

Longbottoms, rather than Harry's parents. In the end, as a last reminder of Neville Longbottom's competence, a conversation between Ginny and her son James tells the following:

'Don't forget to give Neville our love!' Ginny told James as she hugged him.

'Mum! I can't give a Professor love!'

'But you know Neville –'

James rolled his eyes.

'Outside, yeah, but at school he's Professor Longbottom, isn't he? I can't walk into Herbology and give him

love...' (Hallows 829)

This conversation serves to show how, later in life, Neville became a great wizard who, having always had a gift for Herbology, became a teacher at Hogwarts, a school where, it must be said, positions seem to be scarce and only exceptionally vacant. Moreover, the scene indicates how

Neville has truly become a part of Harry's close circle of friends, that is his family of choice, knowing not only his Hogwarts peers but also their children. In conclusion, Neville Longbottom's development as a character is in many ways similar to that of Harry, metamorphosing from an Laura Mortiers 67 insecure young boy into a self-confident adult hero. Within the family of choice, Neville is, as it were, Harry's twin brother; their similar transformations underline not just the worthiness of the prophecy's second option for a hero, but actually create a second hero within the story, a hero who helps Harry, but who also remains true to himself.

Ginny Weasley

A late addition to the gang, Ginny Weasley's indirect characterization does not prevent her from becoming an eye-catching presence in the last three novels of the series, not only attracting Harry's romantic attention, but also developing an increasingly powerful set of magical powers. In

Philosopher's Stone, first of all, Ginny is no more than Ron's small, red-haired baby sister, who is excessively eager to meet the famous Harry Potter (Stone 108). During the next year, as she attends

Hogwarts, Ginny has a more central role to play, specifically as she falls victim to the Heir of

Slytherin, who takes her to die in the Chamber of Secrets, and has to be saved by Harry (Chamber

217). In all other respects, however, during the first four novels, “Ginny remains a cypher”

(Eccleshare 98), about whom little information is given. Vaguely characterized, aside from some extremely girly traits, the only time Ginny is given attention is when she is faced with Harry, moments when she invariantly starts giggling or blushing (Chamber 31; Prisoner 51; Goblet 63). It is then only from Order of the Phoenix onward that Ginny becomes more prominent, not only as she joins the DA, learning to perform powerful protective charms, but also as she becomes an independent young woman who has her own private pursuits, including several romantic interests.

In Half-Blood Prince, Ginny Weasley becomes even more appreciable, not only as Harry finally starts to notice her as a possible romantic partner, but also as she displays increasing magical powers, such as, for example, her performing “the most marvellous Bat Bogey Hex”, thereby earning herself a place in the elitist “Slug Club”, into which Harry is also invited (Prince 175). Laura Mortiers 68

Lastly, in Deathly Hallows, Ginny shows her dedication to moral justice as she joins Neville

Longbottom and Luna Lovegood in their defiance of the new authorities at Hogwarts. The fierceness evident in Ginny, a trait which she seems to have inherited from her mother, is not left unnoticed by Harry, who remarks that Ginny has indeed become a tough woman:

She was not tearful; that was one of the many wonderful things about Ginny, she was rarely weepy. He had

sometimes thought that having six brothers must have toughened her up. (Hallows 132)

Finally, this characterization of Ginny as a warmhearted, fiery woman is continued to the end, when the way she handles her family, scolding her sons for teasing one another, but also promising her youngest to write every day of the week, if he wants her to (Hallows 825), reflects the firm, but loving upbringing she herself enjoyed at the Burrow. In short, despite the relatively vague description of Ginny Weasley, it is clear that she does evolve into a woman who is both affectionate and powerful, the remarkable addition to Harry's family of choice who becomes wife and the mother of his children.

The Weasleys

As Ron's best friend, Harry becomes a part of the Weasley family, in whose home he is instantly welcomed with open arms, allowing him to become a part of their biological family. Within the story, the Burrow, the Weasleys' home, serves as a sanctuary, offering protection equal to that which the students are given at Hogwarts; at both locations, Harry is shielded, both magically and familially, from outside harm. The Weasley house, in short, is not simply a “hospitable environment”, but in fact a truly “self-contained world of unconditional affection in which the family is inclusive and all-important” (Thiel 168). At the Burrow, family support reaches out to all of its members, showing how, in an ideal family situation, love and care are integral parts of family Laura Mortiers 69 life. As Harry is brought into their family life, then, the Weasleys show him how, in contrast to his upbringing with the Dursleys, family can indeed be an “emotional power base” (Eccleshare 95).

Supportive throughout, to the point where the whole family fights together in the Battle of

Hogwarts, the Weasleys become the foundation of Harry's family of choice. Consequently, when

Harry later forms his own family, this image of family life in “stereotypical lines” that is seen in the

Weasley family life (Thiel 168) is reflected in the combination of lively banter and unconditional love of the young Potter family (Hallows 825). All things considered, in becoming a part of the

Weasley family, which is both a natural family and a family of choice, outsider Harry is given an emotional foundation for his family life, not only during his schooldays, but also later on in his life.

Groupings: Gryffindor, Order of the Phoenix, Dumbledore's Army

Finally, before concluding, a brief discussion of Gryffindor, the Order of the Phoenix and

Dumbledore's Army will point out the groupings' import in the formation of Harry's identity, as well as their common functionality, uniting characters “around their family theme” (Kornfeld & Prothro

193), especially as they come together by choice. While these groups, the DA and the Order especially, do not have the traditional make-up of a family, being oriented towards defensive and military purposes, they do signal the centrality of the elements of choice and survival, both of which are essential impulses that lead to the creation of a family of choice.

Gryffindor, first of all, is the school House to which Harry belongs, after having deliberately asked the Sorting Hat not to sort him with Slytherin. The school Houses, first of all, are in their very being important factors in the identities of their students:

'[…] The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your House will be something like

your family within Hogwarts. […] The four Houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Laura Mortiers 70

Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. […]'

(Stone 126)

As McGonagall explains to the new students upon their reaching the school, the Sorting ceremony serves to assign students to the four Houses according to “certain key personality traits and perspectives” (Kornfeld & Prothro 193). As each of the Houses requires a different set of character traits in its students, the Sorting Hat determines what characteristics are or will be most prominent in the students, in its own way determining their respective personalities. However, as Harry's deliberate choice not to become a Slytherin student indicates, the Houses do not completely “create another social order of a determinist nature” (Eccleshare 77); the Sorting Hat takes into account not only the students' pre-existing character traits, but also their conscious contributions to the decision that is being made. Of those four Houses, then, Gryffindor is, as the Hat explains, “[w]here dwell the brave at heart” (Stone 130). The fact that Harry, Ron, Hermione and Neville, whether by choice or because of who they are, become Gryffindors is therefore an early indicator of their having the potential to become heroic individuals, possessing abilities that do rise to the surface throughout the story. On the whole, the school Houses provide the students with “more than just a physical demarcation”; each of them forms a microcosm within Hogwarts, representative of its respective history, values and ambitions (Kornfeld & Prothro 193-195). That being so, Gryffindor stands within the series as a House composed of brave and liberal individuals, many of whom, such as

Harry, will prove themselves valiantly when the opportunity presents itself.

Secondly, another student organization that holds a central place in Harry's life is

Dumbledore's Army, formed on Hermione's initiative, during their fifth year at Hogwarts. Essential in understanding the DA is the fact that its members are tied together by a common cause: in spite of 's continual attempts to prevent such an event from happening, the students want to learn how to perform defensive spells. Their sincerest desire is therefore not to become Laura Mortiers 71 military, as their name would suggest, but to learn how to defend themselves and others, revealing a protectiveness that is evocative of the care family members take of each other. Moreover, although the DA is also a student grouping, it is vital to see how it is distinctively different from Gryffindor; unlike the distinctive traits of the school Houses, DA members are of different ages and come from different backgrounds, as well as from three out of four of the Houses, Slytherin being the exception. For that reason, since they are not bound together by similar personalities, the members' informed choices to join the group is the very basis of the DA's commitment. Choice is what binds the members together. Nevertheless, unlike the strong, almost hereditary family bond that seems so essential in uniting the student Houses, the bond between the members of Dumbledore's Army is more delicate, a fact of which Hermione is well aware, as she hexes the membership register, signed by all members, so that, if someone betrays their secret, the DA can easily find out who was the traitor. In designing this document, Hermione betrays a certain lack of confidence in the trustworthiness of the students, a distrust that eventually proves to be founded, as one of the members is forced to give up their secret meeting place. At the same time, however, the occasional fragility of the affiliation pales when compared to the bond of trust forged between the group's core members, as is unequivocally demonstrated in their cooperation at the Ministry of Magic (Order

836), fighting off Death Eaters at Hogwarts (Prince 706) and taking up arms against Voldemort and his followers during the Battle of Hogwarts (Hallows 639). Ultimately, the DA prompts in Harry, as well as Neville and many of the others, a confidence in others that was absent before. In contrast to the previous years, Harry's teaching the DA members how to use defensive spells teaches him that others might, in fact, be able to help him. Everything considered, it follows that Dumbledore's Army is indeed a family, in that it is a group of unrelated young people with a common cause, tied together not only by their choices, but also by their bonds of mutual trust and the protective fondness they show for one another. Laura Mortiers 72

Finally, also in the fifth novel, Harry is introduced to the Order of the Phoenix, yet another organization with a common goal: the Order members all share the desire to fight off Voldemort's increasing power and, ultimately, to defeat him. The difference with Gryffindor and the DA, however, is that Order membership is restricted to those wizards who have come of age, the reasoning being that, whereas students are supposed to stay safe at school, the members of the

Order have to risk their lives on an almost daily basis. As follows, the Order is less like a family than the other two groupings, not only because its military purposes do overshadow interpersonal relationships, but also because its membership has an age limit and is, in that respect, far from unconditional. Nonetheless, the Order of the Phoenix is still a group of choice within which loyalty is based purely on the decision its members make to join; though not unrestricted, Order membership is always optional. Finally, because the Order, like the DA, is bound together by choice, the bond of trust between its members is both more fragile and more important. Its fragility stems from the fact that Order members all come from different backgrounds and have contrasting personalities, yet the bond is also more significant, as they put their lives in each other's hands. The

Order of the Phoenix, in short, draws its power both from the incredibly powerful magic performed by its adult members and from the unconditional loyalty and trust between them, all of which serve as reminders of the loyalty and trust that unite a family.

In conclusion, each of these family groups to which Harry belongs consists of unrelated individuals, bound together by a common cause, forming a purposeful collective round their

“family theme” (Kornfeld & Prothro 193). Gryffindor students are brave heroes in the making, DA members want to learn how to protect themselves and others from dark magic, and the Order of the

Phoenix defies official rules and regulations in their mission to defeat the Dark Lord. All in all, these organizations show that one of the strongest foundations upon which to found a familial connection of choice is that of the common cause, as only that, combined with the choice made to Laura Mortiers 73 join, gives each and every one of its members a sound reason to show loyalty to and trust in the others, working together to ensure the survival of the family group of choice.

Family of Choice: a Labour of Love

In the end, it has become clear that Harry Potter's substantial family underlines within the story those generic values that are central in family life, upholding its own commitment to the interdependent relationship that unites non-relatives and makes them into a family. The values portrayed in the story, ranging from open-minded acceptance of others to unquestioning support and protection of one's kin, eventually all come down to the same ideal, namely that the essence of family is unconditional love. Demonstrating this absolute love and faith, all characters involved show that any family of choice rests on the mutual support its members offer one another. From the instinctual commitment between Harry and Ron to the momentous allegiance between the members of the Order of the Phoenix, the mutually beneficial nature of these relations of choice reinforces their very existence. Ultimately, Harry's family of choice is made by labours of love, that is to say that, without ever asking for anything in return, its members offer unconditional loyalty, protection and support. Laura Mortiers 74

III. Conclusion

To sum up, the overall image of family life and its implications on gender in Harry Potter, especially as they demonstrate Rowling's skilful blend of tradition and innovation, eventually boils down to a story in which set structures and fate are always the point of departure, and where the characters' free will allows the supplementation and completion of that first, basic impression.

Harry Potter: the Family story

Where the Harry Potter family story is concerned, it is undeniable that “[w]hile in descriptive terms

Rowling falls readily into caricature […], in emotional terms she is both understanding and caring”

(Eccleshare 95). The traditional appearance of and the sympathetic addition to Harry Potter's family story are, in fact, two sides of the same coin. Instead of having a countervailing effect, the superficially burlesque description and its compassionate subsurface story are, in fact, complementary in how they allow the construction of a story that is recognizable and enticing, yet without being alienating.

With regard to the traditional traits of Rowling's depiction of family life, it is clear that each of its members incorporates such qualities as to make them instantly recognizable to all who are familiar with the basic conventions of children's literature. Harry's biological family, first of all, is an undeniable presence in the story that forms the basis of his identity; the orphaned protagonist is a hero because he is the Potters' son, and an empathetic one for having grown up with his terrible aunt. Next, father figures, on the one hand, stand tall as they occupy the most visible posts within the story, assisting their son by giving him advice on how to deal with his problems, especially as they relate to his adventures. Mother figures, on the other hand, are much more subtle characters Laura Mortiers 75 than their male counterparts, since their general task consists of taking care of the children, cooking for them and making sure that they stay safe and healthy. Finally, the construction of a family of choice shows the literary convention of same-age children bonding over schoolwork and emotional distress, disregarding their parents' rules and having their own adventures. All in all, these traditional aspects of the story are not easily ignored, as they form the very basis of family life in

Harry Potter. The series is therefore an outstanding example of how “[i]t is impossible to be phenomenal without conforming to conventionality” (Zipes 2002: 175). Making the unknown, magical world recognizable, utilizing tradition is Rowling's way of beginning a family story, allowing the construction of an elaborate family in which tradition is only the point of departure.

Rooted in those institutionalized features, Harry Potter's family expands, reconciling the set image of the nuclear family with a modern conception of the family as a group who is bound by love and choice, meaning that, as Harry's family grows, the bonds between its members tighten.

Harry's relatives, first of all, serve as examples in his life, not only where the pleasing family similarities are concerned, but also as their behaviour underlines their own defects. These shortcomings are important incentives for Harry to become more critical of his family background, giving him the opportunity to become something more than a mere replica of his relatives.

Secondly, Harry's fathers are, though traditional in their standing within the story, novel in their close involvement in his life. As they give Harry advice, their role often transcends the purely consultatory, at times even becoming emotional, especially as they share information about their own past. Thirdly, the mothers of Harry Potter are all remarkable persons, in that they are independent and powerful women who combine their personal pursuits with their maternal responsibilities. Finally, while a conventional family of choice already resembles the relationship between siblings in a natural family, Harry Potter's family of choice is exceptional in that their bond is extremely strong, surpassing its functionality beyond their adventures. Instead of disbanding and Laura Mortiers 76 going back home when their adventures are over, Harry and his friends take the concept of a family of choice to a whole new level, consolidating their consent relations by marrying and having children within the group, thus creating a new natural family that is bound by both consent and descent relations. In the end, this means that the overall foundation of innovative families in Harry

Potter is not a harsh departure from the known, comfortable domestic ideal. Rather, Harry's family is pulled together even closer, as fathers get involved in the children's lives, mothers become more fully developed, realistic persons, and siblings of choice become a permanent part of the family.

In conclusion, family in Harry Potter is as much a caricature of traditional roles as it is an open-minded reinterpretation of those roles. Using a conventional form as the basis for her family story, Rowling depicts an intricate picture in which the additions of surrogate parents and family of choice deepen the sympathetic relationships that exist within a family. All in all, what makes the story so remarkable is, without a doubt, that “[t]he Harry Potter books are so full of love they burn us when we touch them; it is in their very skin” (Billone 199). Whether talking about Harry's biological family or surrogate relatives, love is always the foundation upon which the family's relationship is built.

Gendered parental roles

Where the issue of gender is concerned, the functions and mentalities of Harry's biological and surrogate parents demonstrates how the novels are not simply “formulaic and sexist” by reducing women to be silly subordinates (Zipes 2002: 171). instead, the story brings to light the severity of stereotypes, as they regulate both male and female characters. What is most important to keep in mind, therefore, is to see gender as “a relational term” (Nodelman & Reimer 160) which refers not only to men and women, but also to the relationship between them. From that point of Laura Mortiers 77 view, then, Harry's fathers are at least as problematic as his mothers; fathers problematize stereotypical maleness by behaving indecently, mothers by surpassing their clearly delineated, gendered roles. Moreover, some characters embody such an equally divided amount of male and female characteristics as to make them become androgynous. In short, gender restrictions in Harry

Potter are examined by underlining both the defects of stereotypical maleness and the shallowness of conventional femininity, as well as by occasionally blending the two genders into one character.

Firstly, the portrayal of male characters in the Harry Potter series is especially problematic in the way they do conform to stereotypical masculinity. In particular, Harry's fathers draw attention to the stereotypes because of their complex and ambiguous characterization. Conform to tradition, first of all, they take on the more standard role of the male advisory figure who is an important source of information about the outside world. Moreover, they also exemplify the gendered conception that “boys are wild things again and again” (Nodelman & Reimer 166); from Hagrid's love of wild creatures to Snape's love of dark magic, Harry's fathers all follow their own paths, disregarding rules and regulations along the way. In their spontaneity, it seems that fathers are always “wiser, braver, more powerful, and more fun than females” (Heilman 223). It is, however, also their male wildness that problematizes the men's situation within the story. Specifically, rather than being outstanding male figures of authority, the men's faults, from a strong tendency to break the rules to a confusion of good and evil, serve as negative examples to Harry, showing him how not to lead his life. This problematization of male authority in the story brings to light how, in reinforcing “the idea that masculinity is natural […] books about boys do, in fact, reinforce ideas about maleness” (Nodelman & Reimer 166). Using Harry's reaction against the behaviour of his fathers, Rowling highlights in what ways their conduct is improper, thus aggrandizing the otherwise subtle nature of male stereotyping. In short, the overall characterization of father figures in Harry

Potter uses the men's masculine behaviour to question stereotypical maleness. Laura Mortiers 78

Next, with regard to the depiction of female characters, the story is again a combination of stereotype and subversion. Whereas the women in the story are most often seen occupying caring, feminine roles, a closer look at Harry's mothers has proven that their roles do not exclude the fact that they are, at heart, ardently independent figures. Firstly, the fact that the women in Harry's life can be identified as maternal figures, cooking food and protecting the children, corroborates the prevalent image of “women [as] the primary caretakers of children” (Nodelman & Reimer 165).

Moreover, as this paradigm of care is extended beyond the maternal circle, women are assigned the more general, yet still stereotypical function of “helpers, enablers and instruments” to the hero and his friends (Schoefer n.p.); from Molly Weasley's food to Hermione Granger's knowledge, it seems that the women in Harry's life primarily serve to promote his quest. This functional presence, however, is not the only role of the women in Harry Potter, for magical females are so much more than mothers. “[E]employed in a variety of positions”, witches' functions range from stay-at-home mothers to high-ranking teachers and officials (Liedl 260). What is more, the powerful magic they can perform shows them to be fierce warriors with personal agendas, evoking the image of the modern woman who strives to build a career for herself. All in all, Rowling's female characters have both traditional and modern mannerisms in them, demonstrating together how an otherwise stereotypical role can go hand in hand with a subversive and self-governing personality.

Thirdly, before concluding this discussion of gender, it has to be noted that, while the story's male and female characters each have their singular ways of transforming stereotypes, a third class can sometimes be distinguished: characters who incorporate both masculine and feminine traits.

With Hagrid as a maternal figure, for example, behaviour that is normally considered to be feminine is poured into a male character. The characterization of Hermione, too, is androgynous, as she is of a gentle and caring nature, but also, when the circumstances require it, a tenacious fighter.

Eventually, this fusion of male and female characteristics can also be found in Harry, as well as, to a Laura Mortiers 79 lesser extent, characters such as Dumbledore and Mrs Weasley, all of whom have both compassionate and adamant sides to their personality. In short, some of the characters in Harry

Potter, including, but not limited to, Hagrid, Hermione and Harry, unite the best of both genders.

What they bring to light, above all, is the compatibility of those heterogeneous characteristics, evidencing the fundamental difference between and interchangeability of gendered mannerisms and biological sex.

In conclusion, the relational application of gender to the story of Harry Potter has come to show how gender stereotypes concern men, as well as women. As to the question whether

Rowling's overall representation of gender is innovative or stereotypical, a valid assessment would be to say that “Rowling inscribes this question within her stories themselves” (Billone 198).

Starting out with stereotypical descriptions of the positions men and women occupy in the wizarding world, the deeper truth of the characters underlines how every one of them, men and women alike, has his or her way of deviating from the formulaic, whether by exaggerating conventions or by rejecting them. In short, J. K. Rowling combines, over and over again, tradition and innovation, creating a complex picture of the issue of gender that shows innumerable possibilities for both men and women.

A Choice Story: Exceeding Expectations

Family tradition and innovation, gender stereotype and subversion, it eventually all comes down to one time-honoured duality, namely the duality between fate and free will. Even from the finite scope of this paper, that is, the construction of family life, it has become clear that both predetermination and choice are present in J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter and that they have become interdependent concepts. Specifically, fate forms the basis upon characters can choose to build. Laura Mortiers 80

Present in aspects of the story such as the prophecy, family resemblances and the prearranged make- up of parental roles, fate is found not only in straightforward predetermination, but also in aspects of the story such as genetic heritage and gendered positions. Providence, such as it is portrayed in

Harry Potter, determines the key features of a character's identity, from their innate personality traits to their function in the story. However, fate's influence on life, being very much similar to the way literary tradition influences a story, consists of paving the way for personal creativity and self- government. In other words, fate initiates a course of action, a personality, a role, but allows those to be diversified by the character in question, so that he or she can choose to outstrip mediocrity.

Choice is what allows characters to become distinguished persons with an personalized identity.

From Harry's choosing to sidestep some of his family resemblances to his surrogate parents' subverting gender roles and the formation of a close family of choice, all members of Harry Potter's family make their own choices in life, becoming who they are, not just because of fate, but also because those choices. In conclusion, Rowling's Harry Potter series is an intricate web of connections between convention and transformation, cliché and change, all because the characters are given the opportunity to expand their lives beyond the ordinary, making choices as they go.In line with Nietzsche's theory, Harry Potter is a story in which “free will is attainable within the limits of personal fate”; characters are allowed to make their own choices, “rather than remaining passively average” (Pond 196). Through their choices, Rowling's characters can distinguish themselves, becoming more than what their predetermined self would have been, exceeding expectations. It is, in short, this ability to reconcile fate and free will, accepting the one and demanding the other, that makes Rowling's family of characters so exceptional. Laura Mortiers 81

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