Nichole Currier
Robin DeRosa
Critical Theory
8 December 2015
Harry
Potter and the Chamber of Secret Meanings
One
of the most well known book series in children’s literature is the seven book
series Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling.
Inspiring kids of many ages for years, Harry
Potter is a series that deals with many timeless issues. Telling the story
of a young boy who is out of place until he realizes his true identity as a
wizard, it’s easy to see how any outcast child could relate to this series.
However, what happens when a queer theory is spun on the novels to provide an
entirely new meaning for Harry’s story and the way his life plays out? Small
aspects such as Harry’s abuse from the Dursley’s and his room in the closet,
the way he and other wizards are viewed and treated by people such as the
Dursley’s, and the connection Harry immediately feels after meeting more people
like himself suddenly mean much more. David Nylund also takes a look at this
theory in his paper Reading Harry Potter:
Popular Culture, Queer Theory and the Fashioning of Youth Identity. By
taking all of these details into consideration, it’s easy to see how Harry Potter may have a deeper and more
complex meaning than readers initially though. Looking at the story through
this lens has the possibility of even changing the entire meaning of the story.
Harry Potter is actually a story
about a young boy fighting against the homosexual abuse of his childhood and
coming to terms with his sexuality.
Since
infancy, Harry was forced to live with his awful aunt, uncle, and cousin.
Constantly being abused by these three members of his family, it is easy to see
why Harry resents home so much. The Dursley’s excuse for their constant
hardships on Harry, however, is solely for the fact that he is different than
them in a way that they cannot understand. “In short, Harry is different and
fated to live in the world of so-called “normal” people” (Nylund). This relates
directly back to homosexual children who are caught in the position of trying
to come out to a family that does not understand this sexuality. The book
series goes so far as to put Harry in his own closet underneath the stairs, a
metaphor that is used constantly by the queer community as someone being ‘in
the closet’ before admitting to themselves or others that they are homosexual.
When Hagrid arrives to take Harry away from his abusive home can be seen as the
moment Harry finally made the decision to come out of the closet. Yet the
Dursley’s never let up on their constant ridicule of the wizarding community.
It’s
important to look closely at how the Dursley’s go about demeaning wizards and
those that are different from them. Nyund points out how Mr. Dursley is
constantly referring to this community as “her crowd” and “their kind” when
speaking about Harry and his late mother. These are terms that are constantly
used in the ridiculing of homosexuals. When Harry is forced to live under his
aunt and uncle’s roof, such as between school semesters, he is constantly told
to stay in his room and keep quiet. Mr. Dursley’s solution to the problem of
his nephew being different is to shut him up and be sure he is never seen or
heard from. This is a punishment that many homosexual children face in
households that do not accept who they are. This is also a method that had been
used in times when homosexuality was seen as a disease that needed to be cured.
In what was said to be meditation like practices, homosexuals were locked away
for days at a time in an attempt to cure them of their homosexuality. They were
lead to believe they were completely different and were treated as outcasts,
much like Harry. However, these people were not alone.
One
important aspect of the Harry Potter series
to take into consideration is the amount of acceptance that Harry feels when he
is finally surrounded by those that are just like him. He no longer feels
ridiculed or out of place, but supported and liked by those who share the same
traits he does. Nyund compares these feelings to those told in his paper by a
young homosexual, Steven. Steven shares how, when he was introduced to other
homosexuals who had gone through similar circumstances he had, he “felt a lot
less alone. [He] imagined that’s how Harry felt when he went to Hogwarts and
found out there were other kids who were different” (Nyund). Just like Steven,
Harry felt absolutely alone when stuck in his house with the Dursley’s.
However, it was when he was saved by Hagrid and taken off to Hogwarts that he
realized he wasn’t alone. This realization is what helped Harry, and Steven,
come to terms with who they really were and continue to live life through the
hardships that others faced them with.
Many
aspects of the Harry Potter series by
J.K. Rowling show how there may be more to the story than what is initially
seen. Harry can be seen as a young boy who, stuck in a household where he is
unappreciated and unvalued, is constantly forced to deal with the fact that he
is different from those around him. He is ridiculed, harassed, and ultimately
abused daily for these differences. However, when he finally finds a group of
people who share these differences with him, it’s the final bit of strength
Harry needs to fight through the hardships that have been presented to him
since childhood. While many see Harry
Potter simply as a story about ‘the boy who lived,’ it is much more than
that. Harry Potter is actually a
story about a young boy fighting against the homosexual abuse of his childhood
and coming to terms with his sexuality.
Works Cited
Journal Of Systemic Therapies,
Vol. 26, No. 2, 2007, Pp. 13–. Journal
of Systemic Therapies, Vol. 26, No. 2, 2007, Pp. 13–24 READING HARRY POTTER:
POPULAR CULTURE, QUEER THEORY AND THE FASHIONING OF YOUTH IDENTITY (n.d.): n. pag. Web.
Rowling, J. K. Harry Potter. London: Bloomsbury,
2007. Print.
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