Reading Harry Potter Again: New Critical Essays

254 Pages·2009·1.206 MB·English

by  Giselle Anatol (editor)

READING HARRY POTTER AGAIN
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READING
HARRY POTTER
AGAIN
New Critical Essays
Edited by Giselle Liza Anatol
PRAEGER
AnImprintofABC-CLIO,LLC
(cid:2) (cid:2)
SantaBarbara,California Denver,Colorado Oxford,England
Copyright2009byGiselleLizaAnatol
Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthispublicationmaybereproduced,storedinaretrieval
system,ortransmitted,inanyformorbyanymeans,electronic,mechanical,
photocopying,recording,orotherwise,exceptfortheinclusionofbriefquotationsina
review,withoutpriorpermissioninwritingfromthepublisher.
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
ReadingHarryPotteragain:newcriticalessays/editedbyGiselleLizaAnatol.
p. cm.
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN978–0–313–36197–5(hardcopy:alk.paper)—ISBN978-0-313-36198-2
(ebook)
1.Rowling,J.K.—Criticismandinterpretation. 2.Children—Booksandreading—
English-speakingcountries. 3.Children’sstories,English—Historyandcriticism.
4.Fantasyfiction,English—Historyandcriticism. 5.Rowling,J.K.—Characters—
HarryPotter. I.Anatol,GiselleLiza,1970–
PR6068.O93Z843 2009
823(cid:2).914—dc22 2009005773
13 12 11 10 09 1 2 3 4 5
ThisbookisalsoavailableontheWorldWideWebasaneBook.
Visitwww.abc-clio.comfordetails.
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Contents
Acknowledgments vii
Introduction ix
GiselleLizaAnatol
1. HarrytheTeenager:MuggleThemesinaMagicalAdolescence 1
LisaDamour
I. ReligionandMorality
2. TheLightningBoltScarasaLightningRod:J.K.Rowling’s
HarryPotterSeriesandtheRhetoricoftheExtremeRight 13
RebeccaL.Stephens
3. ThePotterverseandthePulpits:BeyondApologiaandBannings 31
PeggyLinDuthie
4. Causation,PropheticVisions,andtheFreeWillQuestion
inHarryPotter 47
PatriciaDonaherandJamesM.Okapal
5. HarryPotterandNarrativesofDestiny 63
LisaHopkins
6. TheGood,theBad,andtheUgly:LiesinHarryPotter 77
ChantelM.Lavoie
vi Contents
II. ThePoliticsofHarryPotter:IssuesofGender,Race,andClass
7. HappilyEverAfter:HarryPotterandtheQuestfor
theDomestic 91
XimenaGallardoC.andC.JasonSmith
8. TheReplicationofVictorianRacialIdeologyinHarryPotter 109
GiselleLizaAnatol
9. AMarxistInquiryintoJ.K.Rowling’sHarryPotterSeries 127
ShamaRangwala
10. SecretDominationorCivicDuty:TheSourceandPurpose
ofMagicalPowerinHarryPotter 143
MargaretJ.Oakes
III. TheSocio-CulturalImpactoftheHarryPotterSeries
11. HermioneandtheHouse-ElvesRevisited:J.K.Rowling,
AntislaveryCampaigning,andthePoliticsofPotter 159
BrycchanCarey
12. (Dis)OrderandthePhoenix:LoveandPoliticalResistance
inHarryPotter 175
TracyL.Bealer
13. MilitantLiteracy:HermioneGranger,RitaSkeeter,Dolores
Umbridge,andthe(Mis)useofText 191
LesleeFriedman
14. Doubling,Transfiguration,andHaunting:TheArtofAdapting
HarryPotterforFilm 207
MichaelK.Johnson
SelectedBibliography 223
Index 229
AbouttheEditorandContributors 235
Acknowledgments
I offer profuse thanks to my editor, Suzanne Staszak-Silva, and to the con-
tributors for their time and efforts; I’m especially grateful for those who had
thepatiencetoenduremeaseditoronceagain.Iamindebtedtothemembers
oftheDepartmentofEnglishattheUniversityofKansas,particularlyDorice
Elliottforhergeneroussupportoftheproject,theparticipantsofSAGE’sAca-
demicsAnonymous,andAdamLong,withoutwhomInevercouldhavemetmy
deadlines.MuchappreciationgoestoTamaraFalicov,AnnRowland,andKim
Warren,themembersofmyKansasCitywritinggroup,whoseencouragement,
enthusiasm,andintellectualrigorconsistentlyhelpsmetofocusmymindand
energies.DeeHurtdeservesthegreatestpraiseforassistingmewithpassages
thatweresuretoruinthesurprisesofthenovelsforher,andforalwayshelp-
ing me to balance work and play. I thank Miles Hurt whose continued belief
in magic inspires me to continue writing about it. And last, but certainly not
least,IthankMylishaJoiHurtforcontinuingtoasktheimportantquestions
thatkeepmeonmytoes,andshowingmethatgreatthinkerscancomeinall
sizes.
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Introduction
WhenmyfirstcollectionofscholarshiponJ.K.Rowling’sHarryPotterseries—
Reading Harry Potter: Critical Essays (2003)—was published, many readers
hadbeenfinishedwithbookIV,HarryPotterandtheGobletofFire,formonths,
andwereeagerlyanticipatingthenextinstallmentintheseven-booksequence.
HarryPotterandtheOrderofthePhoenixwasreleasedinsummer2003tothe
usualeye-poppingfanfareandearth-shatteringsales;itwasfollowedbyHarry
Potter and the Half-Blood Prince in 2005 and Harry Potter and the Deathly
Hallowsin2007.AstheyfinishedthelastpageofHallows,Isuspectthatmany
fans of Rowling’s series reacted as I did: with a start of panic at the thought,
“WhatamIsupposedtodonow?”
Manyreadersconfessedtobesufferingfromwithdrawaluntilsummer2008,
when—on Harry’s and Rowling’s July 31 birthday—it was announced that
The Tales of Beedle the Bard would be published on December 4. The title
comesfromHarryPotterandtheDeathlyHallows,whereAlbusDumbledore
leavesHermioneGrangeracopyofthecollectionofchildren’stalesinhiswill.
Rowlingcraftedsevenduplicatesofthehandwrittenillustratedwork,givingsix
tofriendsandsupporters;theseventhwasauctionedatSotheby’sinLondonfor
arecord-breaking£1,950,000(US$4million),tobedonatedtoChildren’sHigh
LevelGroup,theEuropeanchildren’scharitycofoundedbyRowlingin2005.1
The successful buyer at the auction, Amazon.com, allowed readers to access
the work through its website, and produced a collector’s edition resembling
theoriginal;HarryPotterpublishersBloomsburyandScholasticwillreleasea
cheapereditionofthetales,“translatedfromtheoriginalrunesbyHermione
Granger”andfeaturinganintroductionandillustrationsbyRowling.
BesidesnotingHermione’sparticipationintheprojectinaJuly2008state-
ment, the Potter author claimed that the new text would include “notes by