Read without ads and support Scribd by becoming a Scribd Premium Reader.
See Premium Plans
 
Kieron Brown1
Discuss the importance of paganism and death in the
Harry Potter 
series
J.K Rowling‟s Harry
Potter novels have become the mostsuccessful series of book in history but have been subject tocriticism on the grounds of Pagan and anti-Christian readingsof the texts. Richard Abanes - perhaps the most vocal criticof the novels - expressed what he interpreted as anti-
Christian themes in his 2001 book „Harry Potter
and theB
ible‟
, providing what were understood as encouragingreferences to medieval and contemporary paganism and theoccult. However, it is to be argued that the historical/realworld references used throughout the series are vital to theinternal integrity of the (re-)constructed world. In theinstance provided, they also serve as narrative devices usedto address the key theme of the novels. Death, throughout theseries provides a sentimentalised and immortal
–
yet, material-view of the soul, from which the series also draws its senseof morality.
One of the most cited „dangers‟ of the
book is thelocation of the series, taking place within
–
an alternateversion of-
the reader‟s world. This is the first
of sevenseparating
„hedge
s
‟ provided by Steven Greydanus
(2007) in acomparison of the magic in
Tolkien‟s „
Lord of the Rings
‟
and
„C.S. Lewis‟s chronicles of Narnia‟
. The hedges provided aresaid to limit the
reader‟s
immersion into the realm offantasy. While the magic present is Harry Potter is equated to
that in the Tolkien and Lewis‟s works, t
he absence of thisfirst hedge in Harry Potter, causes a real world associationwith the pagan allusions made throughout the series. Thus, itis thought to negate the
“net effect of limiting and
 
Kieron Brown2
restricting the role of magic in their fantasy worlds
”
(Greydanus, 2007).J.R.R
Tolkien‟s Middle
-Earth has long been thought of asan allegorical war time Europe but it remains independent of
the reader‟s
world. Worlds fashioned in this sense are self-supporting; they have their own dense histories that add alevel of plausibility to events within those worlds. The HarryPotter books differ in that they grounded in an alternateversion of our own
–
 
the ignorant „muggle‟ (non
-magicalpersons) world - where magic exists outside of muggleawareness. This world effectively uses esoteric elements ofreal world history and myth and rather than diverging from them, attempts to open our muggle eyes, to a distinct historyas seen by those who are magically aware.While much of the magic portrayed in this alternativeworld setting has its associations with different strands ofpaganism (astrology, divination etc.) it seems unlikely thatthe series has a pagan agenda given the juxtaposing of
eclectic „mystical‟ elem 
ents found within the text (mythic/imaginary creatures, airborne sports etc.). Rather, thecombined use of these mystical elements suggests their primaryuse is as a convenient means of adding an internalplausibility to the narratives
–
aiding the reader in thesuspension of their disbelief.While the Harry Potter series is set in an alternateversion of our own world,
J.K Rowling has constructed „a new‟
world through inclusion of a multitude of real worldreferences to historical and mythic figures (e.g. alchemistNicolas Flamel) and other references to practices that are notbased with the realm of scientific reason (divination,astrology etc.). Henry Jenkins (2006) refers to the concept
 
Kieron Brown3
of „transmedia storytelling‟
 
as a “process of
worldbuilding
“
(Transmedia Storytelling 101, Pg. 1) whereby theencyclopaedic ambition of transmedia texts inevitably lead to
gaps in the narrative which the reader is inclined to „fill‟.
Geoffrey
Long (2007) refers to this „space‟ as negative
capability-
“
simple references to people, places and eventsexternal to the current narrative provides hints to thehistory of the characters and the larger world in which thestory takes place
…
This empowers audiences to fill in the gaps
with their own imaginations”. In the case of
Harry Potterhowever, much of the histories, locations and eventsreferenced have roots in real world history
–
 
“
Nicolas Flamel,
Aldabert Waffling, and Helena Blavatsky…Spell
-casting,numerology, fortune-telling, divination, astrology, palmistry,charms, crystal gazing, out-of-body travel, and spirit-
channeling” (
Wohlberg, 2005. Pg. 64-65).The act of
„f
illing in the gaps
‟
of any of theseindividuals or skill based pursuits in the Harry Potter seriesmay be interpreted outside the context of their appearances of
J.K Rowling‟
s books (i.e. in contexts associated with a Paganbelief system). In a world that is not independent of our own,the consequence of expansiveness in transmedia storytellingcould be perceived as the pursuit of knowledge of the occultand practices that may or may not be perceived to be Pagan.The idea that the inclusion of real world practices willresult in vicarious interest in those practices is not absurd.However, these references are almost prerequisites if theworld modified by Rowling is to be contextually plausible andcoherent.
In her essay „Harry Potter and the Witch hunters‟ AmandaCockrell refers to Harry Potter‟s adoptive family‟s
-the
Search
Search History:
Searching...
Result 00 of 00
00 results for result for
  • p.
    • Notes
    Load more